Have you ever heard of the Dokdo island? It is in the middle of the East Sea between Japan and Korea. They are a set of islets. However, they are not just land. Dokdo represents pride, history, and identity. Dokdo although being historically a Korean territory has now been contested and claimed by Japan.
Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910 and it lasted until 1945. Not only their culture, history, language, rights taken from them, also there were many deaths and horrible atrocities committed. The fight over Dokdo started prior to this colonization, but truly set sail after Korea was liberated. Before, the Japanese government and the Joseon Dynasty had diplomatic negotiations regarding Ulleungdo and Dokdo due to fishing industry. During this time the Japanese government held an investigation and stated that these islands did not belong to them.
For 170 years this was not disputed, but after Korea’s liberation, Japan has claimed that previous agreement was only made in reference to Ulleungdo. Korea’s claim to the land is completely historical as there have been legal ground by the Japanese government in 1877 stating that the islands belonged to Joseon. Japan’s claim on Dokdo was based upon imperialist invasions. In 1905 Japan went toward after breaking the Treaty of Ganghwa and they wanted to annex Dokdo to build watch towers to watch for Russian fleets. However, in 1900, Emperor Gwangmu(King Gojong) of the Korean Empire(Joseon dynasty) had already proclaimed Dokdo as Korean territory, thus under international law, Dokdo is a land that belongs to Korea.
Japan now uses the San Fransico Peace Treaty as a claim for Dokdo. However, once Japan’s imperialization and wars ended all territories claimed were returned to their own countries. Thus Dokdo was retuned to Korea. Japan’s claim for Dokdo is an example of how the Japanese government will not allow countries to heal from the atrocities committed in World War 2 and it harms the global community .
Dokdo is a place where you can visit and learn about the history as well as see the beautiful nature. Dokdo is a national symbol of the fighting spirit that Korea had against Japan’s imperialization. It is a symbol that will last to hopefully prevent colonization from occurring again. If you have time, consider visiting Dokdo to learn the history as well as to experience these feelings.
Written by: Samantha Garcia. From New York , United States . Current 4th year student at John Jay college of Criminal Justice .Pursing an International Criminal Justice B.A and a minor in Psychology. Intern at VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea )