Yep… here we go again. Regardless of whether you call them the Dokdo Islets, Takeshima Islets or the Liancourt Rocks, the sovereignty dispute over the rocks located in the middle of the Sea of Japan seems to be heating up. Last year, the Korean government initiated plans to print four series of stamps featuring the islets, resulting in a letter of protest from the Japanese government — not that anyone knew of either the plans or the protest letter at the time, however. The Koreans failed to respond to the letter, so yesterday, Japanese Minister for Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Aso Taro - a bit of a goofball - comes out and suggests that Japan should run its own series of Dokdo stamps. Aso, you may recall, was the guy who claimed that Koreans were forced to change their names to Japanese ones during the colonial period because, well, the Koreans asked for them. And today, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi — he of the cool coif — said that the islets are Japanese, but expressed concern that the Taro Plan might aggravate the issue.
For those unfamiliar with this nasty little hindrance to the smooth functioning of bilateral ties between Japan and Korea, I direct you to the following websites:
The Territorial Dispute Over Dokdo: great background, from a pro-Korean perspective. Check out the cool pic of the black van (the kind much beloved by Japanese right-wing nutjobs) with the “Get off of Takeshima Island, Korea!” banner - I was simply impressed that Japanese militarists would write anything in Korean.
The Politics of Competing Territorial Claims to Tokdo
First Written Records on Tokdo: Pretty damned informative
Cyber Dokdo: a Korean government site
Japan’s Position on Takeshima: courtesy the Japanese Foreign Ministry
Takeshima is Japanese Territory: via the General Affairs Division, Department of General Affairs, Shimane Prefectural Government
As a Falcon 4.0 fan, this has to be one of my all-time favorite photos:
UPDATE: Nothing brings Korean politicians together quite like a spat with the Japanese. Check out Korean politicians of all stripes exercising their rhetorical skills in condemning Prime Minister Koizumi’s claims to Dokdo. The piece has already been translated for the Chosun (an ealier version of it, anyway), but it doesn’t appear to be posted yet. I’ll link to it when it finally comes out.
UPDATE: English version posted.
UPDATE II: The Oranckay gives us some very well-argued reasons why we should avoid calling Dokdo a “disputed territory.” Says the Oranckay:
Call it a disputed territory, and you are siding with Japan.
One of the reasons Korea’s foreign ministry tries to keep the Korean population from getting too confrontational about this is because it, and many others, believe that Japan’s strategy here is to get it formally declared a “disputed territory” by the International Court of Justice and placed on the court docket. Once there, anything could happen.
I disagree with the Oranckay somewhat, which I note in his comments. Anyway, read his post - it’s a good one.
26 Comments
I remember that F-16 photo! That was taken several years back, wasn’t it?
Singapore and Malaysia have another example of these kind of disputes over a rock: Pedra Branca / Pulau Batu Putih in the middle of the Singapore strait, with nothing on it except a lighthouse for the heavy maritime traffic.
The case is probably impossible to solve as both Malaysia and Singapore used to be administered jointly at the time of the English colonisation, and the English couldn’t care less about this rock.
Now, these professionals of litigation have eventually agreed on going to the International Court of Justice to try and settle that, but I am not optimistic, as the only ‘evidences’ are a few maps.
So, we will probably continue to see stories and even government ads in the newspapers a-propos this Pedra Branca, while the Malaysian read the exact opposite in their newspapers…
And it is not even picturesque enough to create stamps about it!
I wondered how long the Japan love-in would last. Now that hating America is not seen in the national interest, Japan, and surprisingly, China, have taken America’s place. Korea will never cease to amaze me.
Excellent observation, Gerry. Korea is now emboiled in the mother of all scandals over campaign donations, added to the stagnant economy, falling FDI, lack of jobs for uni grads, etc.
With the election coming in April, a foreign enemy must be found. There is no way that it can be America this time because the presence of USFK keeps the Dear Leader in power. Korea and Koreans had convinced themselves that Uncle Sam would never change the status quo with USFK and sorely found out in 2003 that this was not the case.
Japan is a convenient target because the Japanese do not remotely care what any Korean says or thinks about them or their country. Japanese will always see Koreans as their retarded garlic-munching distant cousins. Demonstrators in front of the Japanese Embassy only confirm their opinions.
Japan has Korea where it wants in anyway, completely dependant on them for technology and machinery.
Koreans are calling Koizumi’s claims on Dokdo “provocative” and “reckless,” yet it was the Korean government who provoked the dispute by deciding to print Dokdo stamps, which, of course, would find their way into the Japanese mail system.
I am curious about why the Korean government would want to reignite this dispute at this time? Is it trying to deflect attention away from domestic problems or maybe the Koguryo history dispute with China? Is the Korean government worried that Koreans might start looking at China as more of a threat than Japan?
Marmot, territorial disputes seems to the topic of the day.
You have to check out PDF that talks about the islands (they spell it Tok-Do), it’s at
http://www.hawaii.edu/elp/publ.....ay2002.pdf
They can’t call it a “disputed territory” because it’s not a territory. It’s not even land. It’s just rocks. It says it all right there.
seems to me like it belongs to Korea. The picture from Ullong-Do the shows it on the horizon was the clincher. Add to that that Japan actually tried to maintain sovereignty over Ullong and Cheju after their empire collapsed seems to be the nail in this coffin.
It’s a pathetic little issue, but it seems to me that it’s Korea’s pathetic little issue.
I agree that it’s “Korea’s issue,” regardless of whether it’s pathetic or not. The problem is, neither the fact that Japan tried to maintain control over Ullung-do (a great place, BTW - if you ever get the chance to go there, don’t pass it up) and Cheju-do nor the fact that you can see Dok-do from Ullung-do clears up Dok-do’s legal status. One can see Tsushima Island (also disputed at the end of the war) from Pusan on a clear day, yet Japan was given sovereignty over it after the San Francisco Peace Treaty. There lies the crux of the dispute - unlike Ullung, Cheju, and Tsushima, Dok-do was never dealt with properly in the SF Treaty, which is why this issue is still an issue. Does that mean Dok-do is Japanese? Hell, no. But the legal issues are somewhat complex, and given Japan’s other island grievances — the Kurils come immediately to mind — I can understand why Tokyo would be so stubborn as to persist in the fiction that one day, the Red Sun will once again be flying over those rocks. However, the Japanese have got to realize that there is NO WAY IN HELL they’ll EVER gain possession of Dok-do (even if they did manage to get it brought before the ICJ, I doubt very highly the Koreans would recognize the court’s authority in the matter) unless they seize them by force — a move that would be unwise, to say the least.
China claims Koguryo, Japan claims Dokdo, the DPRK wants the southern half of the penninsula; damn, who else wants a piece of Korea?
Anyone know if fishing rights in the East Sea/Sea of Japan are at stake in the Dok-do dispute? I assume this is the case but can anyone confirm? Otherwise, who the hell cares about an uninhabited piece of rock?
‘japan has korea right where it wants it anyway, completely dependent on them for technology and machinary.’
cried len peters.
‘really? with so much power, why don’t the japanese just threaten the koreans with economic retalialtion? the fact of the matter is, lil guy, japan may be almost as dependent on south korea as south korea is on japan. that’s what happens when the country you hate the most is number three on you list of trading partners. 12 year recession, anyone?’
responded shin jong il
‘yet it was korea that provoked the dispute…’
declared gerry bevers.
‘yes, just like yasukuni shrine.’
retorted shin jong il
Shin, you are an idiot. Japan’s power’s that be would never “retaliate” against Korea by refusing to sell machinery to Korea because Japan has a $15,000,000,000 trade surplus with Korea. Learn to debate instead of hate.
‘japan’s power’s that would never retaliate…’
garbled len peters.
you told me once that i needed to improve my english. now, can you translate the above so we can all understand it? thanks in advance.
‘…15 billion dollar trade surplus….’
are the japanese the only ones who build what korea buys from them? i’ll bet you’re the kind of american who likes to threaten korea with economic retaliation since we buy more from them than they buy from us. see if your mind can read between the lines of what i just wrote.
‘debate rather than hate!’
shouted lil len.
i’m sure you’re very familiar with hatred, lenny. and don’t dain to think i see you all the same here on this board; mr marmot can be harsh with the koreans but i get the real sense he has a geniune interest in the korean people. i actually learn some things from the guy (thanks, mr marmot). you, on the other hand, just strike me as bitter and looking for revenge ala bevers.
don’t think i don’t see it.
shin
PS can anybody tell me who shin jong(chung?) il was?
Man, this guy us a real retard? I assume that he does not realize such things make Korea look like a laughing stock.
Man, this guy is a real retard. I assume that he does not realize such things make Korea look like a laughing stock. Japanese laugh out loud when they see such garbage.
>PS can anybody tell me who shin jong(chung?) il was?>
I don’t care.
lux, you are missing the point; Japan and Japanese do not care about what Korea thinks about them. They are used to ignoring you.
Uh… he’s my dentist down in yosu…
lux, you are missing the point; Japan and Japanese do not care about what Korea thinks about them. They are used to ignoring you.
Posted by: Len Peters at January 12, 2004 07:11 PM
WO WO WO WO
What do we have here
Len Peters, hahahaha, that white refuse, oh yeah
Lux Bearer is not shin jong il
Lux Bearer is not Silly Sally
What does that mean?
It means that a lot of English literate netizens are taking notice of this blog.
Is that good? hmm, you tell me
Len Peters is full of hatred towards Koreans. He’s a Jap ddong orifice licker.
The least that Len Peters could do is to be literate in his attempts to spew venom. Len Peters is nothing but a white refuse. I’ll bet that he dons a white triangular hat in his spare time (when he’s not licking Jap ddong orifice)
Shin, you are an idiot. Japan’s power’s that be would never “retaliate” against Korea by refusing to sell machinery to Korea because Japan has a $15,000,000,000 trade surplus with Korea. Learn to debate instead of hate.
Posted by: Len Peters at January 12, 2004 10:42 AM
too much sake? too much jap ddong?
or is it too little BRAIN?
Lux Bearer,
chill out. By using such terms as “white refuse”, you betray a serious inferiority complex, if not serious racist tendencies.
If anyone, be them African, Asian, European or American criticizes Korea, does that make them “anti-Korean”?
If Koreans have the right to live freely in countires such as the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and England as citizens, with all of the freedom to engage politically, make critical observations, open businesses and otherwise feel at home, why must Koreans FREAK OUT when a non Hankuk-saram says something critical of Korea.
A truly advanced Korea, (which, by the way, neo-Koreans such as myself)would be open to debate and criticism without feeling a need to resort to racist or anti-foreigner invective.
Wake up, there are hundreds of thousands of people on this peninsula of different blood than the Dae-Han-Nin-Guk and we are not going away.
And that goes as well for Japan, China and the rest of Asia. The challenge for Korea is to open its hermit mind and truly see itself as more than a glorified “uri-nun hana imnida” tribal grouping and more as modern growing agglomeration of people.
Are you ready for such a scenario? or are you going to resort to pathetic racist drivel?
A truly advanced Korea, (which, by the way, neo-Koreans such as myself)would be open to debate and criticism without feeling a need to resort to racist or anti-foreigner invective.
Posted by: SundubuMan at January 13, 2004 03:41 AM
I don’t get this.
“A truly advanced Korea would be open to debate and criticism without feeling a need to resort to racist or anti-foreigner invective.”
would have been OK
why insert “(which, by the way, neo-Koreans such as myself)” between “Korea” and “would”?
uh, mentally handicapped white refuse?
Lux,
that was a typo-
grow up, you’re a child.I posted what I thought is the single greatest failing of Korea. And again, instead of dealing with the issue raised, you resorted to racist language. You do your country a major disservice.
As I said, Korea will not be a truly advanced country until it can learn to accept criticism without flailing about evil Mi-Guk noms, Il-bon noms, and the general way-gook noms.
Think with your head, not with your ego or wounded pride.
Peace!
See, we probably all like “Korea” a lot and think this blog is “jeongmal joayo”! Wasting your energy - and my time - writing off-topic stuff isn’t very helpful to start a constructive discussion, hm?
Greetings from Germany
Hinrich
It is true that Tokdo is Korean territory because it was incorporated as part of the Korean kingdom of Shilla in the 6th century, and that was waaaay before the Japanese discovered the island. The Japanese also acknowledged this fact in several historical records made in the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The latest record that acknowledges this fact was made in 1906, by a Japanese!
However, the Japanese are claiming the islets only because they illegally incorporated the islets as a terra nullius (uninhabited island) in 1905, 9 years after they assassinated Empress Myeoung-Song (Queen Min) of the Korean Empire (Because she was preventing the Japanese from taking control of Korea). This was an illegal annexation because it was done secretly, without the permission of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had already been forcibly dismantled ater the Japanese forced the Protectorate Treaty upon the Korean Empire. For those of you who don’t know, the Protectorate Treaty of 1905 was forced upon Korea by the Japanese, without the permission of the Korean Emperor or prime minister. This treaty allowed Japan to take control of Korea’s domestic and international relations. When Emperor Gojong of Korea sent representitives to the Hague Peace Conference of 1907, and told the world of the Japanese wrongdoings, the Japanese Emperor Meiji forced Emperor Gojong to abdicate the throne, Therefore, Koreans were unable to protest the illegal annexation of Tokdo, contrary to the Japanese propaganda that Koreans agreed with the annexation, which makes no sense whatsoever. Moreover, the Japanese would later take control of the entire Korean Peninsula by the means of another forced treaty, the Korean-Japanese Protectorate Treaty of 1910, which was signed by pro-Japanese and threatened Korean ministers, making Korea into a Japanese colony, and subject to Japanese abuse (comfort women, forced labor, mass killings, nothing short of what Nazis did). Hereby, the Japanese Government and Japanese nationalists have nothing to proud of their late 19th century and early 20th century history. They continue to pay tribute to executed war criminals at Yasukuni Shrine, despite the protests of other nations (the war criminals devastated cities like Nanjing), distort textbook facts to glorify Japanese imperialism and to make it as if Tokdo is Japanese territory, and also refuse to compensate comfort women, forced laborers, and POWs, who all suffered greatly at the hands of the Japanese.
Therefore, I want the world to know the true Japan, the Japan that consistently denies its own crimes despite numerous witnesses and evidence, the Japan that receives so much support from the international community mostly due to its lies and deceit, and the Japan that falsely honors peace, while shooting water cannons at Chinese ship trespassing territory and injuring the passengers and quietly rebuilding its military.
Most of the names Koreans use to curse foreigners such as Mi-Guk noms, Il-bon noms, and way-gook noms are not used when they recieve criticism, but when certain foreigners do wrongs to Koreans. For example, when an American army tank crushed two Korean school girls in June, 2002, most Koreans were calm. But when the American court martial acquitted them of all charges, the public exploded. The public was already angry when trhe American short-track skater Anton Ono fouled Korean skater Kim Dong-Song during the Salt Lake City Olympics of 2001. And Kim Dong-Song was eliminated for that!
Anyway, it’s a good thing that most Asian countries support Korea on the Tokdo issue and Japan’s war crimes distortion. And finally, Korea’s bribe scandal issues and economic troubles are coming to an end. Students are getting better education, and private tutoring is now slowly decreasing (it used to be extremely popular, despite the fact that it had no effect whatsoever on the student)And who-hooo, Korea’s Samsung’s stocks and technology is now 15 percent higher than Japan’s Sony!
PING:
TITLE: Dokdo
BLOG NAME: Barry Talks!
Dokdo is a tiny, rocky, uninhabitable islet off the coast of Korea which is periodically a source of intense friction between Korea and Japan, which calls the 54-acre rock Takeshima.