A map dating back to Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) shows Ulleung Island and the Dokdo islets, indicated in circle, as part of Korea. / Yonhap

By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter

A leading researcher and historian on the Dokdo islets said the Japanese government's recent decision regarding school teaching manuals shows how Japan is intensifying its claim over the islets. He said Japan's decision should be taken extremely seriously.

But Lee Sang-tae, former director of archival content at the National Institute of Korean History and now a professor at Korea International University of Cultural Studies, warned that the Korean government is not doing nearly enough.

In an exclusive interview with The Korea Times earlier this week, Professor Lee said there are a number of urgent measures that President Lee Myung-bak must implement to help bolster Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo.

A Matter of National Identity

``The Dokdo debate really touches on our identity and national pride," he said. ``Dokdo represents Japan's first imperialistic move in the early 20th century. When Japan was trying to rob Korea's national sovereignty, it first incorporated Dokdo as part of Japan. That was done illegally and without notifying Korean authorities at the time."

He noted that Japan's latest territorial claim over Dokdo also represents the continuing rise of the conservative, far-right forces there. ``We must respond resolutely and clearly refute Japan's claim."

Professor Lee said Tokyo's recent decision regarding school manuals should be viewed with extreme caution. He said this move might have implications that could last for decades.

``What Tokyo is doing, with its recent announcement that it will include a territorial claim over Dokdo in upcoming middle school teaching manuals, is that Japan is intent on teaching inaccurate facts to the next generation," he said. ``These school children are starting from a clean slate and everything that their school teaches, they will accept as the truth. And it will stay with them for the rest of their lives."

When these Japanese school children grow up, he noted, ``many will continue to hold on to the false belief that Japan rightfully owns these islets and that Korea is illegally occupying them. That could have devastating consequences, including the possibility of military conflict."

Lee observed: ``When you research ancient maps throughout Korean history, more than 90 percent of them explicitly show Ulleung-do and Dokdo as our territory. They even show Tsushima Island as Korean territory.

``Among ancient maps from Japan, some 80 different types acknowledge Ulleung-do and Dokdo as Korean territory. In the West, there are some two-dozen types of ancient maps showing Ulleung-do and Dokdo as Korean."

In 2006, the professor published a history book, titled ``Dokdo is Our Land," detailing historical documents and materials that offer a strong argument that Dokdo does indeed belong to Korea. The project was sponsored by a Seoul-based nonprofit group, the Korea Foundation.

``In my book, I discussed ancient maps from Korea, Japan and Western countries, as well as numerous ancient history texts," he said.

One ancient history text he discusses in the book is called ``Samguk Sagi," or the ``History of the Three Kingdoms." It chronicles the history of three Korean kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The text was first commissioned by Goryeo's King Injong in the 12th century and was published in the year 1145. It offers historical evidence that Dokdo was indeed recognized as part of Korea even during Korea's Three Kingdoms period in the 4th century, the professor explained.

Japan Intensifies Effort to Claim Dokdo

He warned that recent signs suggest Japan is stepping up its effort to claim Dokdo as its own, on par with Japan's previous effort to claim the Kuril Islands.

``Japan has ongoing territorial issues apart from Dokdo. Japan is an old hand at this and has a lot of experience when it comes to making territorial claims. Japan is in dispute with Russia over the Kuril Islands. It also has an island dispute with China. For Japan, the dispute over the Kuril Islands has always been the most significant," he said.

He spoke of government-sponsored advertisements and campaigns in Hokkaido Island, Japan's northernmost prefecture, that claims the Kuril Islands as part of Japan.

``When you go to Hokkaido and visit public places, these ads are everywhere," he said. ``For example, at the main airport, there hang giant-size posters that read ` Kuril Islands, come back to us!' These are financed by the Japanese government. Japan is putting a lot of public resources into its territorial dispute with Russia."

And he said there are now signs that Japan may be beginning to put similar attention and resources into its claim over Dokdo.

``The new controversial school teaching manuals mention the Kuril Islands and Dokdo in the same breath, in the same paragraph, describing them both as unequivocally belonging to Japan. That may mean Japan is now intensifying its claim over Dokdo, on par with its claim involving the Kuril Islands," he said.

``This is a significant development. It symbolizes Japan's explicit, intensified effort to claim Dokdo. We have to recognize this change within Japan and also boost our own effort at defending Dokdo."

Japan's `Takeshima Day'

Lee also pointed to the ``Takeshima Day" in Japan's Shimane region as part of Tokyo's continuing effort to incorporate Dokdo.

For the past couple of years, Feb. 22 has served as a sort of annual reminder to Koreans about Japan's claim. In 2005, the local Shimane Assembly passed a bill designating that day as a commemorative day for Dokdo, or Takeshima in Japanese.

Professor Lee said that while the bill was ratified at the local government level, the move was instigated from Tokyo.

Japan's central government was trying to be crafty, trying to avoid taking the heat, avoid drawing attention to the central authorities, by letting the regional Assembly pass this ordinance, he said.

``This was also Japan's modus operandi more than a hundred years ago, when Japan's central government ordered the Shimane Prefecture authorities to ratify the 1905 Notice. It unilaterally incorporated Dokdo as Japanese territory without counseling the Korean government.

``In ratifying this bill that designates Feb. 22 as a day to commemorate what Japanese call Takeshima, Japan's central government again turned to the local Shimane government. At first, this might look like Shimane authorities independently passed this ordinance. But in reality, the central government in Tokyo was behind this," he said.

Seoul Needs to Do Much More

When asked whether the Korean government is doing a good enough job regarding Dokdo, the professor said there is still much that needs to be done.

``In fact, when you look at what the Korean government has been doing, it's really not enough. In dealing with the Japanese government, there were a couple of high-profile gestures Korea took in the past few weeks," he said.

One was the temporary recall of the Korean ambassador to Japan, Kwon Chul-hyun, as a gesture of protest. ``And this week, the ambassador headed back to Tokyo. Japan is not going to change its stance with that type of kid-gloves approach."

And also last week, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo paid a visit to Dokdo in a highly publicized photo-op trip. Han set up a stone monument on the islets with an engraving that said `` Dokdo belongs to Korea."

``Well, these were just about the only major political responses to come out of the Korean government against Tokyo," the professor said.

Changing 1999 EEZ Pact

The professor emphasized that for starters, the Korean government should renegotiate the 1999 Korea-Japan fisheries agreement. He described this as ``one of the first steps" that Korea should take to boost its defense over the islets. He said the Lee administration should try to renegotiate the deal as to use Dokdo, and not Ulleung-do, as a reference point in figuring out the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for the fishing industry.

He also urged the Korean government to work on creating a detailed, forward-looking, multi-dimensional roadmap in rebuking Japan's continuing and possibly intensifying effort to claim Dokdo as its own. ``We need to urgently create a roadmap to deal with Japan's claim. The government also needs to get the public involved in the process and create a broad, nationwide consensus on ways to successfully refute Japan's claim."

Lee also said that more Korean civilians should be allowed to live on Dokdo to help boost Korea's sovereignty over the islets.

Currently, only one civilian couple live on Dokdo on a permanent basis. ``When you discuss territorial claims over islands in the context of international law, there are a number of factors to consider," Professor Lee said.

``One of the main considerations is whether the land is inhabited by civilians or not, and to which sovereign nation those civilians belong. That's one of the factors international law looks at.

``Right now, there is only one couple living there, Kim Sung-do and Kim Shin-yeol. The government really needs to take steps to help at least several more civilian families live on the islets on a permanent basis and help them settle down there," he said.

Making Dokdo Visitor-Friendly

Also, the government should make it easier for Korean tourists to visit the islets, he said. ``More Koreans should get the opportunity to visit Dokdo. Of course, the government needs to make sure it protects the islets' natural environment as well. The government could also develop a marine park in that area. We should take steps so that Dokdo becomes more incorporated into Korea, socially and economically."

He also noted vast mineral and potential energy resources underwater near Dokdo. He said that within seafloors leading from Dokdo to Japan's Tsushima Island, there is ``a massive reservoir of methane hydrate," a potential energy resource in coming years.

``Another urgent matter involves undersea naming. Korea has also designated and named undersea regions surrounding Dokdo. I was one of the consultative members who were involved in this official process. We need to register them quickly with international organizations including the United Nations. We need to demonstrate our sovereignty over Dokdo, not just on land, but also under the sea as well," he said.

Professor Lee also urged non-government organizations (NGOs) to more effectively work on promoting Dokdo. ``At the moment, there are more than 200 NGOs in Korea that deal with Dokdo. But among them, only about five groups actually have effective programs that promote Korea's sovereignty over the islets. The government needs to help these NGOs in implementing more productive programs."

Politics, Not Justice, May Prevail at International Court

He said he believe Japan will continue to make its territorial claim over Dokdo. ``I don't see that changing. What Japan wants is to drag this issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Japan's goal is to turn Dokdo into a `region of dispute' in the world community."

But Lee noted that ``the ICJ is influenced by the international status of various countries involved."

``It has less to do with getting to the truth and justice. We also need to take into consideration that among the 15 judges at the court, there is one representative from Japan, but none from Korea. There is a real chance that Japan could prevail in that court. That chance is small, but it exists.

He said: ``For us, there is a lot to lose and little to gain by taking the issue to the ICJ. On the other hand, Japan potentially has so much to gain if the court rules in favor of Japan."

``Also, to be sure, we have an abundance of historical data and supporting materials that would overwhelm whatever Japan shows as its historical materials," he said.

But one document that Korea needs to beware of in the international court is the 1905 Shimane Notice, Lee said. ``In the modernization process, Korea had a late start compared with Japan. That 1905 Notice, though unilaterally and illegally adopted by the Japanese, clearly contains the modern concept of land ownership. The Notice explicitly contains the modern land ownership concept and the exact sea coordinates for Dokdo. It's no exaggeration to say Japan is hanging its hope on that one single document."

michaelha@koreatimes.co.kr