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The Liancourt Rocks are islets in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), claimed by both Korea and Japan but administered by South Korea since 1953.

Korea classifies the rocks as a part of Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang Province, while Japan regards them as within Okinoshima Town, Oki District, Shimane Prefecture.

History

Historical identification of the islands is complicated by the presence of the nearby island of Ulleung-do, known as Utsuryo-to (鬱陵島) in modern Japanese but previously known under the names Matsushima and Takeshima.

Before 1618

Korean scholars claim that Samguk Sagi (三國史記, 1145) mentions the islets of Ulleung-do 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 Usan-guk, dating back from the Silla Dynasty in 512 AD. Usan-guk became a protectorate of Goryeo in 930 as Silla fell. Usan-guk eventually fell to Jurchen invasion and later was administered directly by the mainland government.

However, Samguk Sagi 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.

Also in Korean maps of the period such as 八道總圖 (팔도총도, 1530), Usan-do is situated to the west of Ulleung-do. This is contrary to the location of the Liancourt Rocks.

1618-1900

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 1618 the Tokugawa Shogunate granted the Ōya and Murakawa families of Hōki province (modern Tottori) 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.

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.

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.

According to Historical Geography of Great Japan (大日本地名辞書), published by Yoshira Dogo (吉田東伍) on March 31, 1900, the local government of Shimane prefecture had inquired of the Japanese Meiji government whether the Liancourt Rocks would be merged into Shimane county. The Meiji government of Japan stated on March 17, 1877 that Japan had no relation with Takeshima. However, according to some Japanese interpretations, this refers to the islet of Ulleung-do, not the Liancourt Rocks.

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.

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

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).

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.

1950 to 1960

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. After the incident, South Korea built a lighthouse and helicopter landing pad on the islet, which it has administered ever since.

1960 to 1990

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. 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.

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 the Japanese Foreign Ministry written in 1966, 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 Ulleung-do. This claim is false as proved by photos by Kim Cheol Hwan (김철환) among others published on Kyongbuk Ilbo. (慶北日報) (a photo of the Liancourt Rocks taken from Ulleung-do on December 11, 1999.)

1990 to present

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."

External links

• Cyber Dokdo Web Page by Gyeongsangbuk-Do Province, Korea
• Korean Government's Policy About Dokdo
• Takeshima is Japanese Territory (Shimane Prefectural Government)
• Japan's Position on Takeshima (by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

• Islands of Korea
• Islands of Japan
• Disputed territories