Liancourt Rocks: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively ← Previous edit Next edit →Content deleted Content addedVisual WikitextInline

Revision as of 14:08, 28 March 2005 view source4.250.132.69 (talk) →1960 to 1990 ← Previous edit		Revision as of 14:10, 28 March 2005 view source 143.248.31.61 (talk) more sections and chroniclesNext edit →
Line 5:		Line 5:
	\|-		\|-
	! colspan=2 \| ] Name		! colspan=2 \| ] Name
	\|-
	\| width=148 \| ]
	\| width=148 \| 독도
	\|-
	\| width=148 \| ]
	\| width=148 \| 獨島
	\|-		\|-
	\| width=148 \| ]		\| width=148 \| ]
Line 17:		Line 11:
	\| width=148 \| ]		\| width=148 \| ]
	\| width=148 \| Tokto		\| width=148 \| Tokto
			\|-
			\| width=148 \| ]
			\| width=148 \| ]
			\|-
			\| width=148 \| ]
			\| width=148 \| 獨島
	\|-		\|-
	! colspan=2 \| ] Name		! colspan=2 \| ] Name
Line 26:		Line 26:
	\| width=148 \| 竹島		\| width=148 \| 竹島
	\|-		\|-
	\| align=center colspan=2 \| ]		\| align=center colspan=2 \| ]
	\|}		\|}
	The '''Liancourt Rocks''' are ]s in the ] (East Sea), claimed by both ] and ] but administered by ] since ].

			'''Liancourt's rocks'''('''Dokdo''', 獨島) is Korean ]s in the ] (Sea of Japan). It has been the territory of Korea since the 6th century belonging to the ] kingdom of Korea (B.C. 57 - A.D. 935).
	Korea classifies the rocks as a part of ], ] Province, while Japan regards them as within ], ], ].
			Dokdo is a part of ], ] province of Korea. Ullenung County is in fact a bigger island that is located to the west of Dokdo. Dokdo is visible from Ulleungdo(the bigger island).

			== Nature of Dokdo ==
	==History==
			* Dokdo does not have any trees. It is made up of rocks.
	Historical identification of the islands is complicated by the presence of the nearby island of ], known as ''Utsuryo-to'' (鬱陵島) in modern Japanese but previously known under the names ''Matsushima'' and ''Takeshima''.
			* Dokdo has two main islands. They are called East (Dongdo) and West island (Seodo). The distance between the two main islands is 110-160 meters.
			* They are composed of 34 islands with 37 physical addresses (ranging from Mountain 1-37 of Dokdori, UlleungEup, Ulleungdo).
			* The total area is 64,698 square meter. The highest point is 98 meter.
			* The location is 131°52′∼ 131°53′to the East and 37°14′00″∼ 37°14′45″to the North.
			* A wharf is constructed in Nov. 1997. It is registered in August, 1998.
			* The distance from Ulleungdo is 90km to the South East. The cloest Japanese territory is Oki island 160kim apart.

			== Economical value of Dokdo==
	===Before 1618===
			Dokdo is important for fishing and natural resource buried underneath and around the islands.
	Korean scholars claim that '']'' (三國史記, ]) mentions the islets of ] and '''Usan-do''', the latter of which according to them corresponds to the Liancourt Rocks and, if so, would be the first known written reference. The islets were a part of the independent island state of ], dating back from the ] in ] AD. Usan-guk became a protectorate of ] in ] as ] fell. Usan-guk eventually fell to ] invasion and later was administered directly by the mainland government.

			== Name change ==
	However, '']'' only mentions an island state of Usan-'''guk''', which is also known as an island of Ulleung-do, not two islets of Ulleung-do and Usan-'''do''': 于山國征服, 歳以土宜為貢, '''于山國''', 在溟州東海島, '''或名鬱陵島''', 地方一百里, 恃嶮不服, 伊喰異斯夫, 為何琵羅州軍主, 謂于山人愚悍, 難以威来, 可以計服, 乃多造木偶師子, 分載戦船, 抵其國海岸, 誑告曰, 汝若不服, 則放此猛獣踏殺之, 國人恐懼則降. The hanja "do" (島) refers to island, whereas "guk" (國) refers to state/nation.
			The Ulleungdo (the bigger island) to the west of Dokdo is believed to be occupied by ethnic Koreans until it was conquered by a mainland kingdom. The islands were called Usan.
			The present name, Dokdo, is believed to be from a name
			Sukdo" which means rock islands in a Korean dialect. The first usage of the name of Dokdo was by Shim HeungTak who was the governer of Ulleungdo in 1906. In 1910, ] annexed Korea and Dokdo became part of the united Japan Korea empire. ] is another islands under dispute due to the occupation of Korea by Japan in 1910. See below.

			== Pre-History ==
	Also in Korean maps of the period such as (팔도총도, 1530), Usan-do is situated to the ''west'' of Ulleung-do. This is contrary to the location of the Liancourt Rocks.
			A.D. 300 : Silla kingdom style pots were discovered in Ulleungdo (the main island to the west of Dokdo). They were dated to A.D. 300. It indicated that Ulleungdo was trading with Silla out of the three Korean kingdoms. As Dokdo is visible from Ulleungdo, it is probable that the residents of Ulleungdo used Dokdo as a fishing ground.

	==~~=1618-1900=~~==		==History ==
			=== Silla Kingdom era ===
	''Takeshima Tokai Yuraiki Bassho Hikae'' (竹島渡海由来記抜書控), written by Ōya Kyuemon (大谷九右衛門), records that in ] the ] granted the Ōya and Murakawa families of ] (modern ]) the permission to take feudal tenure of Ulleung-do, known at the time as '''Takeshima''' in Japanese. The families were using the sea around the islet for fishing as late as 1696. On the seaway to Ullengo-do were the Liancourt Rocks, known as '''Matsushima''' (松島) by the Japanese, which were used as an intermediate port of call by their fishermen.
			According to Imperial Korean records, '']'' (]), the first known reference to the islands in the world, proclaiming them a part of the independent Korean island state of ], dates from the ] in ] AD. Usan-guk became a protectorate of ] in ] as ] fell.

			=== Josun Dynasty of Korea era ===
	In 1693, a Korean naval officer by the name of Ahn Yang-bok attempted to drive off Japanese fishermen from Ulleung Island, causing a scuffle and Ahn being kidnapped to Japan. Upon arrival at Japan, Ahn protested to the regional governer of the port he was taken to, claiming vehemently that the Liancourt Rocks and Ulleung Island were part of Korean territory. The governer yielded to his demands, drawing up a document that verified the status of the two islands as Korean. However, as he was being returned to Japan, Ahn was kidnapped again, this time by the governer of Tsushima Island, who planned to use Ahn and gain control of the Liancort Rocks and Ullueng Island. The Tokuwaga Shogunate immediately intervened, ordering Tsushima's governer to return Ahn to Korea. The governer eventually conceded to the shogun's commands, only stopping to take the verification document Ahn still held. Two years later, in 1697, Ahn sailed to Ulleung Island and the Liancourt Rocks again, this time expel the Japanese who had settled there in his absence and to chase them all the way back to their homeland. Once again in Japan, Ahn had the Tokuwaga shogunate create a new verification document for Korea, sealing the fact that Ulleung Island and the Liancourt Rocks were Korean islands, not Japanese.
			In 1432, in the empirical records(SeJongSilRok, the journal kept by the government), they classified two islands to the East: "In the middle of the sea to the East, there are two islands, called Usan and MuReung". The reason of the record is believed to describe the boundary of Korean territory around that time.

			In the ] of Korea (from 1312 to 1910), Koreans called Dokdo with various names such as "SamBongdo"(meaning 3 peaks), "Usando" and "Gajido".
	The location of the Liancourt Rocks is recorded in many maps published in Japan such as ''Kaisei Nippon Yochi Rotei Zenzu'' (改正日本輿地路程全図, Revised Complete Map of Japanese Lands and Roads) published by Sekisui Nagakubo (長久保赤水) in 1779 among others. Strangely enough, other Japanese maps of the same period often do not include the islets (or outrightedly place the islets as part of Korea such as the one here) , while Korean maps , such as the Dae Dong Yeo Ji Do (대동여지도 )(the most accurate, pre-modern map of the Korean peninsula), almost never exclude the islets.

			In 1899, in the official government geography (DaeHanJiJi), we can find Dokdo is denoted as "Usan" next to Ulleungdo (the closest island). At that time, it was belonged to Ganwon province, not the present Kyongsang province by the order of then Korean emperor, "GoJong".

			The first usage of the name of Dokdo was by ] who was the governer of Ulleungdo in 1906.
	According to ''Historical Geography of Great Japan'' (大日本地名辞書), published by Yoshira Dogo (吉田東伍) on ], ], the local government of ] had inquired of the Japanese Meiji government whether the Liancourt Rocks would be merged into Shimane county. The Meiji government of Japan stated on ], ] that Japan had no relation with Takeshima. However, according to some Japanese interpretations, this refers to the islet of ], not the Liancourt Rocks.

			In 1914, Dokdo became part of Kyungsang province.
	===1900 to 1950===
	On October 25th, 1900, the Korean royal government, after having carefully monitored the situation of Ulleung-do and the Liancourt Rocks since June 1882, issued Imperial Ordinance No. 41, which re-asserted Korea's effective management of the two islands. In the ordinance, both the Liancourt Rocks and Ulleung-do were mentioned.

			In 1849, France charted Dokdo and inclued it into their map with the name "]". Later, 1885, the British warship Hornet charted Dokdo and included in their map as "]".
	After a request by a Japanese fisherman, on ], ] upon the loss of Korean naval sovereignty after the ] the Liancourt Rocks under the name ''Takeshima'' were proclaimed a part of ] in ] under the doctrine of '']''. The government of Korea was unable to protest at the time, due to the loss of control over Korean foreign affairs via the Protectorate Treaty of 1905, through which Japan effectively began taking control of the Korean Peninsula.

			Japan claims Dokdo as their territory and here is ] of the history of Dokdo.
	Even after this incorpoartion, Japanese cartographer Dabuchi Tomohiko cited Dokdo as Korean territory in "Kankoku Shinchishi (New Geography of Korea), Teikoku Encyclopedia Number 134", published in September 1905; six months after the islets were "incorporated" into Shimane Prefecture. In a survey of Korea that was requested by the Colonial Government, Ihohara Fumiichi referred to Dokdo as belonging to Korea. In a 1930 article, Japanese scholar Hibata Sekko mentioned that Dokdo belonged to Kangwon Province, Korea. The Japanese Navy had also cited Dokdo as an appended island to Ullungdo, and Korean territory, in its 1923 publication, "Chosen Engan Suiroshi" (Korean Coastal Straits).

			According to Japanese records, the islands, then known as ''Matsushima''(Pinetree islands), were granted to the Ooya and Murakawa families of ] (modern ]) by the ] in the ]. The two families were actually two fishermen who happened to be drifted to Ulleung islands in 1616. They found that the islands had not been occupied and asked government a permission to fish and log trees. The permission lasted for about 80 years until the government banned them acknowledging the Korean sovereignty of Dokdo. The common ] name, Liancourt Rocks, was given by a ] whaling ship in ].
			Since the forceful annexation of Korea to Japan by the emperial Japan in 1910, Japan claimed them as their territory. The reason why the islands were not inhabitted when the two Japanese fishermen were drifted to them was due to lootings of Japanese pirates in the Far Eastern seas. Korean government occasionally conquered and erradicated them, but Japanese pirates kept attacking islands and coastlines of Korea. To protect residents, Korea occasionally evacuated some parts of the coast and islands and recolonized when there was a necessity.

			After a request by a Japanese fisherman, on ], ] upon the loss of Korean naval sovereignty after the ] the islands under the name ''Takeshima'' were proclaimed a part of ] in ] under the doctrine of '']''.

	During ], the island was used as a naval base by the Imperial Japanese Navy.		During ], the island was used as a naval base by the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Line 63:		Line 80:
	Upon Japan's defeat and occupation by the ], ] Instruction #677 of ], ] excluded the islands from Japan's administrative authority. However, the instruction specifically stated that it was not an 'ultimate determination' of the islands' fate, and all other islands listed in the document were eventually returned to Japan. The ] ], which settled the sovereignty of most other disputed islands, did not mention the islands.		Upon Japan's defeat and occupation by the ], ] Instruction #677 of ], ] excluded the islands from Japan's administrative authority. However, the instruction specifically stated that it was not an 'ultimate determination' of the islands' fate, and all other islands listed in the document were eventually returned to Japan. The ] ], which settled the sovereignty of most other disputed islands, did not mention the islands.

			On ], ], the Government of South Korea ordered the army to enforce their claim on the island, and in the same year on ], South Korean volunteer coast guards set up camp on the island. On ], ], two Japanese coast guard vessels landed on the East Islet, drove off the Korean guards and set up a territorial marker, but did not attempt permanent occupation. The Koreans soon returned and several armed skirmishes followed, leading to the sinking of a Japanese ship by Korean mortar fire on ], ]. Japan protested and suggested arbitration at the ], but the offer was rejected by South Korea who has had experienced the same tactic in ] in the early 1900s: a Japanese ship was sunken by Korean coastal fire arms requesting withdrawl from the Korean territory. This led to a modernized Japanese army invasion to Korean peninsula. After the incident in 1954, South Korea built a ] and ] landing pad on the islet, which it has occupied ever since.
	===1950 to 1960===
	On ], ], the Government of South Korea ordered the army to enforce their claim on the island, and in the same year on ], South Korean volunteer coast guards set up camp on the island. On ], ], two Japanese coast guard vessels landed on the East Islet, drove off the Korean guards and set up a territorial marker, but did not attempt permanent occupation. The Koreans soon returned and several armed skirmishes followed, leading to the sinking of a Japanese ship by Korean mortar fire on ], ]. Japan protested and suggested arbitration at the ], but the offer was rejected by South Korea. After the incident, South Korea built a ] and ] landing pad on the islet, which it has administered ever since.

			== Chronicles of Dokdo ==
	===1960 to 1990===
			# A.D. 300 : Silla kingdom pots were discovered in Ulleungdo (the main island to the west of Dokdo). They were dated to A.D. 300. It indicated that Ulleungdo was trading with Silla out of the three Korean kingdoms. As Dokdo is visible from Ulleungdo, it is probable that the residents of Ulleungdo used Dokdo as a fishing ground.
	The issue of sovereignty over the islands was omitted from the 1965 ], and both sides maintain territorial claims. The ] maintains a policy of non-recognition for claims by either side, although several private memoranda recorded in the ''Foreign Relations of the United States'' between 1949 and 1951 appear to side with Japan's view and are occasionally brought up as "proof" of American support. On the other hand, recently discovered documents made by the American CIA in Busan in November, 1951 reveal that during the Korean War, Japan staked a claim to the islets by clandestinely landing a group of reporters on the Liancourt Rocks the very same month to survey the terrain. The documents further mention that the American government was opposed to Japan's claim to the islets at the time, and had been aligned with the South Korean argument since South Korea lobbied for the inclusion of the Liancourt Rocks at the time of the San Fransisco Peace Treaty's creation.
			# A.D. 512 : Silla ordered "Yi Sabu" to conquer Usan-guk (the Ulleungdo kingdom). Silla soldiers made a wooden lion to scare the Usan-guk people. Usan-guk surrenderred to Silla.
			# A.D. 930 : There is a record of paying tax by two residents of Ulleungdo, "Back Gil" and "Tae Doo" to Goryo dynasty of Korea.
			# A.D. 1018 : There was a report/news by the refugee Usan-guk people on Jurchen pirate attacks on Ulleungdo. Goryo dynasty gave them some agricultural equipment to support them.
			# A.D. 1019 : The Goryo dynasty arranged the refugees to live in "YoungHae" district of Silla.
			# A.D. 1157 : The king heard that the Ulleungdo was fertile and people were living in the islands in the past. He sent "Gim Yu-Rip" to examine the island(Ulleungdo). Gim reported that there are too much rocks and the king cancelled the re-colonization plan.
			# A.D. 1197 : "Choi Chung Hun", the great scholar and politician of Goryo dynasty ordered to recolonize Ulleungdo. On the way, the ship met storm and lost many people. He ordered the people to come back.
			# A.D. 1407 : The governer of Daemado (Tshshima) asked the Korean King (Josun dynasty), to colonize Ulleungdo. The king refused.
			# A.D. 1425 : The government decided to evacuate the whole Ulleungdo (it seems that Koreans were keep visiting and living in the islands without the government's permission). The king ordered "Gim InWoo" to evacuate the islands. Gim was called "the general of Usan and MuReung" indicating that the dynasty was regarding the Ulleungdo and Dokdo as one entity.
			# A.D. 1432 : A geography book describes Ulleungdo and Dokdo.
			# A.D. 1531 : In one of the oldest maps of Korea (PalDoChongDo), Dokdo and Ulleungdo are marked as Korean territory (Dokdo is denoted to the west of Ulleungdo. It must be a mistake by the cartographer).
			# A.D. 1693 : A Korean fisherman An YongBok saw Japanese fishermen around Ulleungdo. He went to Japan to protest the Japanese government. Then Japanese government apologized and promised to ban their fishermen to approach Ulleungdo and Dokdo. The Japanese government sent an official document of apology (written in the journal of SukJongSilRok, Jojeon dynasty).
			# A.D. 1876 : The internal affair ministry of Japan denote that Ulleungdo and Dokdo are nothing to do with Japan. This shows the historical understanding on the sovereignty by both governments around that time.
			# A.D. 1881 : Korean government received reports that Korean and Japanese people are having conflict in Ulleungdo and protested Japanese government.
			## It is imporant to know that, for lay fishermen, the government's or historical facts are not important. The boundary of nations were not as clear as today. Imagine the situation in the northern Europen in 1700s.
			# A.D. 1883 : Korea abanded the evacuation polity of Ulleungdo and sent 54 people to Ulleungdo.
			# A.D. 1900 : Korea changed the name of Ulleungdo to Ulldo. The official guideline denoted that the governing area include all islets of Ulleungdo and Sukdo (Rock islands meaning Dokdo).
			# A.D. 1905 : Japan took over Korean sea sovereighty. (By this time, Korea lost her diplomatic, military and political power to Japan. In 1910, Korea was forced to be annexed to Japan).
			# A.D. 1905 : Japan put a watch tower in Dokdo to monitor Russian navy.
			# A.D. 1948 : The republic of Korea was established and designated a regional address to Dokdo as a part of Ulleungdo.
			# A.D. 1953 : A voluntary Dokdo guard was formed by 33 residents of Ulleungdo.
			# A.D. 1956 : The Dokdo guard handed over their responsibility to Korean police.
			# A.D. 1981 : Mr. "Choi JongDuk" moved his residential address to Dokdo and harvested seaweeds.

	According to ''Takeshima no rekishi chirigakuteki kenkyu'' (An Historical and Geographical Study of Takeshima, 竹島の歴史地理学的研究) by a researcher Kawakami Kenzo (川上健三) for ] written in ], the Koreans were not aware of the Liancourt Rocks before the 20th century, as seen in the lack of documents pertaining to the Liancourt Rocks. Kenzo also asserts that Koreans did not have adequate naval navigation to reach Dok-do/Takeshima. Furthermore, he asserts that the Koreans on Ulleungdo could not see Dokdo, due to the heavy forestation on ]. This claim is false as proved by photos by Kim Cheol Hwan (김철환) among others published on ''Kyongbuk Ilbo''. () (a photo of the Liancourt Rocks taken from ] on December 11, 1999.)

	===~~1990~~ ~~to present~~===		===Current situation===
			The issue of sovereignty over the islands was omitted from the 1965 ], and both sides maintain territorial claims. The ] maintains a policy of non-recognition for claims by either side, although several private memoranda recorded in the ''Foreign Relations of the United States'' between 1949 and 1951 appear to side with Japan's view and are occasionally brought up as "proof" of American support.

	The dispute has periodically flared up again, typically when South Korea acts to change the islets or their status (for example, building a wharf in ] or declaring them a natural monument in ]), resulting in a reassertion of the territorial claim by Japan. In 2002, two Japanese textbooks questioning ]'s claim to the islets were published, leading to protests in ]. Another conflict arose in March 2005, when the prefectual assembly of ] passed a bill to designate ] as "Takeshima Day," to commemorate the centenary of Japan's claim to the islands.		The dispute has periodically flared up again, typically when South Korea acts to change the islets or their status (for example, building a wharf in ] or declaring them a natural monument in ]), resulting in a reassertion of the territorial claim by Japan. In 2002, two Japanese textbooks questioning ]'s claim to the islets were published, leading to protests in ]. Another conflict arose in March 2005, when the prefectual assembly of ] passed a bill to designate ] as "Takeshima Day," to commemorate the centenary of Japan's claim to the islands.

Line 80:		Line 119:
	According to the ] constitution, the entire ] and surrounding islands, including Liancourt Rocks, belongs to ] (as in the ] constitution) and North Korean' state press heavily criticizes ] for their "attempts to invade the Republic territory."		According to the ] constitution, the entire ] and surrounding islands, including Liancourt Rocks, belongs to ] (as in the ] constitution) and North Korean' state press heavily criticizes ] for their "attempts to invade the Republic territory."

	== External links ==		==External links==
			*
	<!-- NOTE: Precisely two links per side, both to government sites, and Korea goes first as it has de facto control. If you wish to change the links, please discuss on Talk Page first. -->

	*
	*		*
	*		*
	*		*
			*

			* \|
	]
			* ]
	]
	]
	]
	]

	]
	]
	]

Revision as of 14:10, 28 March 2005

**Liancourt Rocks**
Korean Name
Liancourt Rocks Liancourt Rocks
Revised Romanization	Dokdo
McCune-Reischauer	Tokto
Hangul	독도
Hanja	獨島
Japanese Name
Hepburn Romaji	Takeshima
Kanji	竹島
Map showing the location of the Liancourt Rocks Map showing the location of the Liancourt Rocks

Liancourt's rocks(Dokdo, 獨島) is Korean islets in the East Sea (Sea of Japan). It has been the territory of Korea since the 6th century belonging to the Silla kingdom of Korea (B.C. 57 - A.D. 935). Dokdo is a part of Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang province of Korea. Ullenung County is in fact a bigger island that is located to the west of Dokdo. Dokdo is visible from Ulleungdo(the bigger island).

Nature of Dokdo

Dokdo does not have any trees. It is made up of rocks.
Dokdo has two main islands. They are called East (Dongdo) and West island (Seodo). The distance between the two main islands is 110-160 meters.
They are composed of 34 islands with 37 physical addresses (ranging from Mountain 1-37 of Dokdori, UlleungEup, Ulleungdo).
The total area is 64,698 square meter. The highest point is 98 meter.
The location is 131°52′∼ 131°53′to the East and 37°14′00″∼ 37°14′45″to the North.
A wharf is constructed in Nov. 1997. It is registered in August, 1998.
The distance from Ulleungdo is 90km to the South East. The cloest Japanese territory is Oki island 160kim apart.

Economical value of Dokdo

Dokdo is important for fishing and natural resource buried underneath and around the islands.

Name change

The Ulleungdo (the bigger island) to the west of Dokdo is believed to be occupied by ethnic Koreans until it was conquered by a mainland kingdom. The islands were called Usan. The present name, Dokdo, is believed to be from a name Sukdo" which means rock islands in a Korean dialect. The first usage of the name of Dokdo was by Shim HeungTak who was the governer of Ulleungdo in 1906. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea and Dokdo became part of the united Japan Korea empire. Daemado is another islands under dispute due to the occupation of Korea by Japan in 1910. See below.

Pre-History

A.D. 300 : Silla kingdom style pots were discovered in Ulleungdo (the main island to the west of Dokdo). They were dated to A.D. 300. It indicated that Ulleungdo was trading with Silla out of the three Korean kingdoms. As Dokdo is visible from Ulleungdo, it is probable that the residents of Ulleungdo used Dokdo as a fishing ground.

History

Silla Kingdom era

According to Imperial Korean records, Samguk Sagi (1145), the first known reference to the islands in the world, proclaiming them a part of the independent Korean island state of Usan-guk, dates from the Silla Dynasty in 512 AD. Usan-guk became a protectorate of Goryeo in 930 as Silla fell.

Josun Dynasty of Korea era

In 1432, in the empirical records(SeJongSilRok, the journal kept by the government), they classified two islands to the East: "In the middle of the sea to the East, there are two islands, called Usan and MuReung". The reason of the record is believed to describe the boundary of Korean territory around that time.

In the Josun dynasty of Korea (from 1312 to 1910), Koreans called Dokdo with various names such as "SamBongdo"(meaning 3 peaks), "Usando" and "Gajido".

In 1899, in the official government geography (DaeHanJiJi), we can find Dokdo is denoted as "Usan" next to Ulleungdo (the closest island). At that time, it was belonged to Ganwon province, not the present Kyongsang province by the order of then Korean emperor, "GoJong".

The first usage of the name of Dokdo was by Shim HeungTak who was the governer of Ulleungdo in 1906.

In 1914, Dokdo became part of Kyungsang province.

In 1849, France charted Dokdo and inclued it into their map with the name "Liancourt Rock". Later, 1885, the British warship Hornet charted Dokdo and included in their map as "Hornet Rock".

Japan claims Dokdo as their territory and here is their account of the history of Dokdo.

According to Japanese records, the islands, then known as Matsushima(Pinetree islands), were granted to the Ooya and Murakawa families of Hoki province (modern Tottori) by the Tokugawa Shogunate in the 1650s. The two families were actually two fishermen who happened to be drifted to Ulleung islands in 1616. They found that the islands had not been occupied and asked government a permission to fish and log trees. The permission lasted for about 80 years until the government banned them acknowledging the Korean sovereignty of Dokdo. The common English name, Liancourt Rocks, was given by a French whaling ship in 1849. Since the forceful annexation of Korea to Japan by the emperial Japan in 1910, Japan claimed them as their territory. The reason why the islands were not inhabitted when the two Japanese fishermen were drifted to them was due to lootings of Japanese pirates in the Far Eastern seas. Korean government occasionally conquered and erradicated them, but Japanese pirates kept attacking islands and coastlines of Korea. To protect residents, Korea occasionally evacuated some parts of the coast and islands and recolonized when there was a necessity.

After a request by a Japanese fisherman, on February 22, 1905 upon the loss of Korean naval sovereignty after the Russo-Japanese War the islands under the name Takeshima were proclaimed a part of Shimane prefecture in Japan under the doctrine of terra nullius.

During World War II, the island was used as a naval base by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Upon Japan's defeat and occupation by the Allies, SCAP Instruction #677 of January 29, 1946 excluded the islands from Japan's administrative authority. However, the instruction specifically stated that it was not an 'ultimate determination' of the islands' fate, and all other islands listed in the document were eventually returned to Japan. The 1952 Treaty of San Francisco, which settled the sovereignty of most other disputed islands, did not mention the islands.

On January 12, 1953, the Government of South Korea ordered the army to enforce their claim on the island, and in the same year on April 20, South Korean volunteer coast guards set up camp on the island. On June 27, 1953, two Japanese coast guard vessels landed on the East Islet, drove off the Korean guards and set up a territorial marker, but did not attempt permanent occupation. The Koreans soon returned and several armed skirmishes followed, leading to the sinking of a Japanese ship by Korean mortar fire on April 21, 1954. Japan protested and suggested arbitration at the International Court of Justice, but the offer was rejected by South Korea who has had experienced the same tactic in the occupation and annexation in the early 1900s: a Japanese ship was sunken by Korean coastal fire arms requesting withdrawl from the Korean territory. This led to a modernized Japanese army invasion to Korean peninsula. After the incident in 1954, South Korea built a lighthouse and helicopter landing pad on the islet, which it has occupied ever since.

Chronicles of Dokdo

A.D. 300 : Silla kingdom pots were discovered in Ulleungdo (the main island to the west of Dokdo). They were dated to A.D. 300. It indicated that Ulleungdo was trading with Silla out of the three Korean kingdoms. As Dokdo is visible from Ulleungdo, it is probable that the residents of Ulleungdo used Dokdo as a fishing ground.
A.D. 512 : Silla ordered "Yi Sabu" to conquer Usan-guk (the Ulleungdo kingdom). Silla soldiers made a wooden lion to scare the Usan-guk people. Usan-guk surrenderred to Silla.
A.D. 930 : There is a record of paying tax by two residents of Ulleungdo, "Back Gil" and "Tae Doo" to Goryo dynasty of Korea.
A.D. 1018 : There was a report/news by the refugee Usan-guk people on Jurchen pirate attacks on Ulleungdo. Goryo dynasty gave them some agricultural equipment to support them.
A.D. 1019 : The Goryo dynasty arranged the refugees to live in "YoungHae" district of Silla.
A.D. 1157 : The king heard that the Ulleungdo was fertile and people were living in the islands in the past. He sent "Gim Yu-Rip" to examine the island(Ulleungdo). Gim reported that there are too much rocks and the king cancelled the re-colonization plan.
A.D. 1197 : "Choi Chung Hun", the great scholar and politician of Goryo dynasty ordered to recolonize Ulleungdo. On the way, the ship met storm and lost many people. He ordered the people to come back.
A.D. 1407 : The governer of Daemado (Tshshima) asked the Korean King (Josun dynasty), to colonize Ulleungdo. The king refused.
A.D. 1425 : The government decided to evacuate the whole Ulleungdo (it seems that Koreans were keep visiting and living in the islands without the government's permission). The king ordered "Gim InWoo" to evacuate the islands. Gim was called "the general of Usan and MuReung" indicating that the dynasty was regarding the Ulleungdo and Dokdo as one entity.
A.D. 1432 : A geography book describes Ulleungdo and Dokdo.
A.D. 1531 : In one of the oldest maps of Korea (PalDoChongDo), Dokdo and Ulleungdo are marked as Korean territory (Dokdo is denoted to the west of Ulleungdo. It must be a mistake by the cartographer).
A.D. 1693 : A Korean fisherman An YongBok saw Japanese fishermen around Ulleungdo. He went to Japan to protest the Japanese government. Then Japanese government apologized and promised to ban their fishermen to approach Ulleungdo and Dokdo. The Japanese government sent an official document of apology (written in the journal of SukJongSilRok, Jojeon dynasty).
A.D. 1876 : The internal affair ministry of Japan denote that Ulleungdo and Dokdo are nothing to do with Japan. This shows the historical understanding on the sovereignty by both governments around that time.
A.D. 1881 : Korean government received reports that Korean and Japanese people are having conflict in Ulleungdo and protested Japanese government.
1. It is imporant to know that, for lay fishermen, the government's or historical facts are not important. The boundary of nations were not as clear as today. Imagine the situation in the northern Europen in 1700s.
A.D. 1883 : Korea abanded the evacuation polity of Ulleungdo and sent 54 people to Ulleungdo.
A.D. 1900 : Korea changed the name of Ulleungdo to Ulldo. The official guideline denoted that the governing area include all islets of Ulleungdo and Sukdo (Rock islands meaning Dokdo).
A.D. 1905 : Japan took over Korean sea sovereighty. (By this time, Korea lost her diplomatic, military and political power to Japan. In 1910, Korea was forced to be annexed to Japan).
A.D. 1905 : Japan put a watch tower in Dokdo to monitor Russian navy.
A.D. 1948 : The republic of Korea was established and designated a regional address to Dokdo as a part of Ulleungdo.
A.D. 1953 : A voluntary Dokdo guard was formed by 33 residents of Ulleungdo.
A.D. 1956 : The Dokdo guard handed over their responsibility to Korean police.
A.D. 1981 : Mr. "Choi JongDuk" moved his residential address to Dokdo and harvested seaweeds.

Current situation

The issue of sovereignty over the islands was omitted from the 1965 Basic Relations Treaty, and both sides maintain territorial claims. The United States maintains a policy of non-recognition for claims by either side, although several private memoranda recorded in the Foreign Relations of the United States between 1949 and 1951 appear to side with Japan's view and are occasionally brought up as "proof" of American support.

The dispute has periodically flared up again, typically when South Korea acts to change the islets or their status (for example, building a wharf in 1996 or declaring them a natural monument in 2002), resulting in a reassertion of the territorial claim by Japan. In 2002, two Japanese textbooks questioning Korea's claim to the islets were published, leading to protests in South Korea. Another conflict arose in March 2005, when the prefectual assembly of Shimane passed a bill to designate February 22 as "Takeshima Day," to commemorate the centenary of Japan's claim to the islands.

In a survey performed in both countries, the level of interest in Japan in relation to the islets was substantially lower, whereas over 99% of people surveyed in Korea believed that the islets were part of their country. Korea shows the islets in all of their official maps, and includes them in weather forecasts as well.

The Republic of Korea currently has stationed a small police unit on the islands, and there are a handful of Korean citizens who list the islands as their residence.

According to the North Korean constitution, the entire Korean peninsula and surrounding islands, including Liancourt Rocks, belongs to North Korea (as in the South Korean constitution) and North Korean' state press heavily criticizes Japan for their "attempts to invade the Republic territory."