Chapter IV Chosn Dynasty's Policy toward Ullngdo and Tokdo

1. Administration of Ullngdo and Tokdo, and Japanese Marauders

The dynasty of Chosn, which came to govern Korea in the wake of the collapse of the Koryo dynasty, continued managing Ullngdo and Tokdo.

From the close of Koryo to the beginning of Chosn, waegu (Japanese pirates) invaded the coastal areas of Korea and sometimes made inroads into the mainland.

Yi Sng-gae, who had won popular support by pacifying the Japanese marauders deep in the heart of the southern province of Chlla, became the nation's hero and founded the new dynasty of Chosn in 1392.

As already stated, Ullngdo was also plundered by the Japanese pirates and the government sought to defend Ullngdo and Tokdo. T'aejong, the third King of the dynasty (r. 1400-1418), who was still facing the difficult situation coping with the remnant forces of the preceding dynasty, found it inevitable to safeguard the residents of Ullngdo. Just then the governor of Kangwndo reaqested the king to evacuate the people of Ullngdo to the mainland. The request was granted. The Japanese may have obtained this information and in 1407, Lord So Sadashige of Tsushima sent Tahirano Michitake to Korea. He brought a tribute to the king and requested that, in exchange for the repatriation of the Koreans abducted to Japan, Korea allow a mass emigration of Japanese to Ullngdo and that the lord of Tushima be authorized to control Ullngdo.

But the request was turned down by the king, who maintained that a people should live in their own country because conflict would certainly ensue if foreigners were permitted to settle down beyond the national boundary.

Attention must be drawn, in this connection, to the fact that the monarch was highly conscious of Ullngdo as Korea's domain while the lord of Tsushima readily recognized the island as Korea's. Here the King defined Ullngdo as his country's territory and regarded the coming of people of Tsushima as crossing "the national boundary."

Of course, Tokdo was not dissussed at this time, but both sides were aware that Tokdo consisted of rocky islets unfit for human habitation and that it was part of Ullngdo. Therefore, any discussion of Ullngdo is considered to include Tokdo implicitly.

Afterwards, mindful of Ullngdo, the king ordered the magistrate of Kangwndo to inspect the island.

According to the report from the magistrate of Kangwndo in 1412, the 12th year of King T'aejong, Paekamul and 11 other islanders from Yusan'gk (Usan'guk) came by boat to rajin in Kosng, Kangwndo and told the authorities that they were born and brought up in Ullngdo and that living there were over 60 people of 11 families on the island.

The local authorities reported to the royal court that they were accommodated separately in three different towns of T'ongju, Kosng and Kansng for fear that they might return home before the investigation was over.

King T'aejong instructed the government (ijongbu: State Council) to discuss the problem of the people of Yusan'guk to recommend government policies. This heightened the government interest in Ullngdo.

2. King T'aejong's Vacant Island Policy

King T'aejong, the third sovereign of the Chosn dynasty, sought measures to safeguard the people of Ullngdo and from 1416 to 1417 enforced a vacant island policy for Ullngdo. This decision was finally made after undergoing two stages.

The first stage came in September 1416 when the government asked the former manho (garrison commander, originally in charge of 10,000 households) of Samch'ok, Kim In-u, for his advisory opinion on Ullngdo. He stated that as the island was far off across the sea, a man called Pang Chi-yong escaped to Ullngdo to dodge military service and was living there with his family of 15. He added if people settled down there, the Japanese pirates might plunder them, and build a base on the island for further inroads into Kangwndo.

King T'aejong accepted his proposal, appointed Kim In-u Commissioner of Pacification and sent him to Ullngdo with two men-of-war and an entourage to persuade the islanders to return to the mainland.

The main purpose of the vacant island policy was to defend the island from the invasion of Japanese marauders and keep military service dodgers from taking asylum there.

Commissioner Kim found 15 families of 86 people living there and persuaded them to return to the mainland, but only three came back. Most of the residents implored the commissioner to allow them to live there and asked him to petition the King on their behalf.

The second stage started four days after Commissioner Kim returned on February 9, 1417, when the royal court called an elder statesmen's conference and King T'aejong made his final decision on the vacant island policy.

At the conference, two options were discussed: one was to bring back all the residents to the mainland and the other was to allow them to continue living there.

The first option was put forth by Minister of Public Works Hwang Hi, who proposed the evacuation of the residents from Ullngdo.

Those who supported the second option proposed the provision of food and farming tools to promote agriculture, to dispatch troops to defend the people's lives and safety, and to levy taxes in kind.

The King adopted the first option and took the vacant island policy on the grounds that the prolonged stationing of a garrison force and the collection of taxes would eventually incur people's hatred. This is recorded in the Annals of King T'aejong.

3. Reconfirmation of Tokdo/Usando

In putting into action the vacant island policy, King T'aejong reconfirmed the existence of another island (Tokdo) which was officially called Usando. This can be confirmed from the following records.

In September 1416, Minister of Taxation Pak Sup, when recommending Kim In-u for the office of commissioner of pacification, told the king what he had heard about Ullng and an islet nearby when he was the magistrate of Kwangwndo: "Ullngdo is about seven sik [45 km] around and there is an island nearby." The official title of Kim In-u was Commissioner of Pacification for Mullngdo (Ullngdo) and Other Islands, apparently being conscious of Tokdo.

At the elder statesmen's conference held after Commissioner Kim In-u's return from his first inspection trip to Ullngdo, King T'aejong used "Usan and Mullng" or "Usan and Mullng and other islands" instead of "Mullng and other islands." It is not unreasonable to infer that the King took notice of the Commissioner Kim's report, which he had heard from residents of Ullngdo, that there was an islet called Usando nearby.

Although Commissioner Kim did not make a firsthand observation of the islet, he believed what he was told by the fishermen of Ullngdo who had been to the islet and apparently reported it to the King.

Therefore, it was in the 17th year of King T'aejong (1417) that the court of Chosn settled on the name of "Usando" for Tokdo today.

Commissioner Kim In-u made his second trip to Ullngdo, brought back all the residents from the island, and settled them in different places.

4. King Sejong's and His Successors' Policy toward Ullngdo and Tokdo

King Sejong (1418-1450), who succeeded to the throne, followed the policy of the vacant island policy of his father, King T'aejong. Under a feudalist system when the exploitation by the ruling class was severe, people would often be deprived of their land and escape to start new life elsewhere. And it is not difficult to infer that people escaped to Ullngdo, ignoring the vacant island policy and engaged in farming and fishing.

In August 1423 (5th year of King Sejong), of those who had been brought to the mainland from Ullngdo, 28 escaped to the island. In August two years thereafter, King Sejong reappointed Kim In-u Commissioner of Pacification for Usan, Mullng and Other Islands, reminded him that Kim Ul-ji and 27 other males and females had been evacuated from the island to the mainland, and ordered him to bring back the rest of people still living on Ullngdo.

The entry dated August 1425 in the Annals of King Sejong which records this incident refers to the two facts worth noting. One is the official title of Kim In-u: Commissioner of Pacification for Usan and Mullng and Other Islands, not for Mullng and Other Islands. This means that the government's consciousness of Usando (Tokdo) as its territory had become more pronounced.

Another point to be considered is that Mullngdo was twice mentioned as the "main island," and this implies that the government was aware of another island of Tokdo associated with the main island. In other words, the dynasty of Chosn perceived both Ullngdo and Tokdo as Korea's territory and managed them inseparably together.

When Kim In-u brought back 20 islanders from Ullngdo after his second trip there, the Vice Minister of Rites counseled the King to mete out punishment for them. But the king opposed it on the grounds that they had not gone to a foreign country, citing a past instance when the repatriates from Ullngdo were freed. Then he ordered the Ministry of Military Affairs to send them to the hinterland in Ch'ungch'ng Province to keep them from escaping again and to exempt them from taxation after three years.

An important point in the entry dated October of the 7th year of King Sejong (1425) in the Annals of King Sejong is the King's remark that "they had not gone to a foreign country," stating that Usan and Mullng and other islands were Korean territories and that a voyage there, even if made secretly, could not be subject to punishment.

The foregoing may be summarized in the following way: the entries in the Annals of King Sejong dated August and October 1425 are important because,

(1) the dynasty of Chosn appointed a Commissioner of Pacification for Usan and Mullng and Other Islands and confirmed today's Tokdo and Ullngdo as Korean territory, and exercised its sovereignty over them;

(2) Ullngdo is termed as "main island" and regards Tokdo implicitly as its administrative dependency;

(3) These two islands are not foreign territories.

Despite this, King Sejong continued enforcing the vacant island policy initiated by King T'aejong. As people crossed over to Mullngo and settled down again, the king appointed Nam Hoe and Cho Min roving inspectors for search and apprehension of dwellers on Ullngdo in April 1438. They brought back 66 people from Ullngdo, and presented staple products of the island to the king.

It merits our attention here that the vacant island policy did not mean dereliction of these islands, but was another mode of territorial management. At that time, Tokdo islets were rocky and uninhabitable, and fishermen from Ullngdo made a short stay there during their fishing operations. Thus the vacant island policy naturally applied to Tokdo.

5. Reconfirmation of Tokdo as Korean Territory in the Gazetteer of the Annals of King Sejong

There is a document exant that confirms Tokdo and Ullngdo as Korean territory even while the vacant island policy was in force.

The Gazetteer of the Annals of King Sejong (Sejong sillok chiriji) compiled in 1432 and 1454 records in its entry on Uljin county in Kangwn province as follows: "Two islands of Usan and Ullngdo are located on the sea due east of this county [Uljin county]. The two islands are not so far away and are faintly visible on a clear day. They were called Usan'guk during the period of Silla. Another name is Ullngdo. The distance between these two islands is 100 ri [39.3 km]."

The Gazetteer cited here is an official publication which defines and demarcates Korea's territory. That Mullng is referred to as Ullngdo is evident in the records about the eviction of the residents of the island in the 7th year of King Sejong (1425).

Then how can we ascertain that Usando is today's Tokdo?

Around Ullngdo there are several rocky islets such as Samsnam (am: rock), Kwanumdo, (do: island) and Chukso (literally bamboo islet), which are all distinctly visible with the naked eye. Tokdo is the only islet that can faintly be visible on a clear day, but since this is the only island in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), this record alone undoubtedly refers to Tokdo.

In addition, the Handbook of State Affairs (Man'gi yoram) in its chapter on military administration, the Annals of King Sukchong, and the Augumented Reference Compilation of Documents record that Usando is what the Japanese call Matsushima, i.e., Tokdo.

It should be added here that during the reign of King Sngjong (1469-1494), Tokdo was called Sambongdo. In December 1470 the magistrate of Yngan Province (today's Hamgyng province in North Korea) reported to the government that there were a number of people living in Sambongdo to evade labor conscription, but that it was difficult to pursue them as the sea was rough. Then Sngjong instructed him to investigate in detail the island as he knew about Tokdo and Ullngdo already but Sambongdo was heard of for the first time.

Kim Cha-ju in the investigation team that the magistrate of Yngan province dispatched reported in September 1476 (7th year of King Sngjong) and the following passage confirms that Sambongdo refers to Tokdo:

"On the 25th day, the boat was placed at anchor 6 or 7 ri [24-28 km] west of the island, and we looked around. On the north side of the island are seen three rocks in a row: on one side there is a small islet; then rocks continue; on that side too is seen a middle-sized islet, on the west side of the space between the islets tiny islets continue; the waves beat against the rocks and everywhere around them are some 30 rocks looking like men standing; somewhat awe-stricken, we could not land at the islet, so we made drawings of the islets and came back home."

The drawings mentioned here have not survived, but the description above concurs with the topography of Tokdo today.

"Sambongdo" was used among the peasants in Hamgyng province. The official records used "Usando" from the period of King T'aejong (1400-1418) and after the demise of King Sngjong, "Sambongdo" disappeared and only the unified name of Usando was used in the official records thereafter.

6. Definition of Tokdo as Korean Territory in the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea

After a long period of compilation, the dynasty of Chosn published the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea (Tongguk yji sngnam) in 1481, in the 12th year of King Sngjong; and in 1531, in the 26th year of Chungjong, its revised edition (Sinjng tongguk yji sngnam) appeared.

The former has not survived and its contents are unknown, but the latter in the section on Uljin county records, "There are Usando and Ullngdo. The latter is also called Mullng or Ullng (éÍ×Õ). These two islands are located on the sea due east of Uljin county."

Now, the nature of the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea should be examined. This is not simply an official publication on the geography of Korea and an expounder on the territory and geography of the government. In the book is arranged the information on the territory for promotion of public knowledge of the definition of Korean territory.

This publication lists Usando and Ullngdo under the heading of Uljin county of Kangwndo, to which they were assigned as administrative units.

Also, attached to the publication are maps, A Complete Map of Eight Provinces [of Korea] (P'aldo ch'ongdo) and the maps by province. The Map of Kangwn Province made in 1481 shows Ullngdo and Usando as two islands in the middle of the East Sea and marked as Korea's territory, although Tokdo is incorrectly positioned west of Ullngdo.

The Japanese government strongly argues on the question of Tokdo that on A Complete Map of Eight Provinces and the Map of Kangwn Province attached to the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea, Usando is shown as a large island between Korea proper and Mullngdo, and that Usando in the survey is a fictitious island that cannot be proven as today's Tokdo.

The Japanese government stretches this logic further to deny that "Usando" in the Gazetteer of the Annals of King Sejong is today's Tokdo. However, it fails to notice that some ancient Korean maps show Usando east, west, or south of Ullngdo due to the inadequate geographical knowledge on Tokdo of Korean officials of the day. Apart from these immature cartographical skills, if we focus our study on the question of the ownership of Tokdo, the description on the maps of Ullngdo and Tokdo as two separate islands alone show they are Korea's possessions.

At that time, Korean cartographers made maps without firsthand observation but based on the past records and secondhand reports, and the location of such far off island was often incorrect, showing Tokdo nearer to the mainland. Therefore, this is simply a matter of cartography, not of territorial ownership.

The Japanese government questions whether Usando refers to today's Tokdo, but the existence of only two islands in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) naturally leads us to conclude that the other island can only be Tokdo.

Above all, the Map of Korea (Tongguk chido) by Chng Sang-gi (1678-1752), the map called the Haejwa chondo of 1822, A Complete Map of Korea (Chosn Chndo) by Kim Tae-gn of 1846, and other maps are more accurate in positioning Tokdo, southeast of Ullngdo, and confirm Tokdo as Korea's.

The documentary records that use the Japanese name of Matsushima for Tokdo include the Handbook of States Affairs, the Annals of King Sukchong, and the Augumented Reference Compilation of Documents, wherein it is stated, "Usando and Ullngdo were territories of Usan'guk of yore, and Usando is what the Japanese call Matsushima."

7. Japan's Policy Immediately after the Hideyoshi Invasion of Korea

Ullngdo and Usando (Tokdo) were occupied and ravaged during the Hideyoshi invasion of Korea (1592-1598). The Topical Discourses of Chibong by Yi Su-gwang (chibong: his penname) in 1614 describes the situation of that time in a fragmentary way:

"Ullngdo is also called Mullng or Ullng (éâ×Õ) and is in the mid-East Sea opposite Uljin county. There is a high mountain in the middle of the island and it is 100 ri [393 km] round...After the Hideyoshi invasion (Imjin waeran) some went over to Ullngdo for settlement, but were plundered by Japanese. None dared go there twice. Recently, Japanese reportedly occupied Isonotakeshima, which is none other than Ullngdo."

During the Hideyoshi invasion of Korea, the government was quite at a loss for any action when Japanese troops landed at Pusan, occupied Seoul and marched up to the northernmost Hamgyng province. Korea could hardly afford to think even of defending Ullngdo and Tokdo, which must have fallen to Japanese.

Even after the war, the Korean government's capability for governing its people and defending its land and people was grievously cast down. Even those who went to Ullngdo could not settle down there in the absence of government protection and by the presence of pillaging Japanese. Only the people of the eastern and southern coasts went over to Ullngdo for fishing, lumbering and boat building.

Soon after the Hideyoshi invasion, not only Koreans but also Japanese joined in poaching and illegal felling of trees. From this time on, Japanese began to call Ullngdo Takeshima or Isonotakeshima, and Usando/Tokdo Matsushima, which was an island on the way to Ullngdo/Isonotakeshima.

Taking advantage of the vacant island policy, the Lord of Tsushima was tempted to take hold of Ullngdo.

In 1614, the 6th year of King Kwanghaegun (1608-1623), he sent an envoy to Tongnae in Korea to deliver an official note to the magistrate. The note reads in part: "On orders of the Tokugawa shogunate, we plan to conduct a survey of Isonotakeshima [Ullngdo], and as there is a danger of a typhoon, we request that your side show us the way to the island." This note may have been designed to fathom how resolute Korea's determination was to defend the island.

The Korean government wrote a reply in the name of the Minister of Rites, politely declining the request and had it sent to the Lord of Tsushima through the envoy. In September of the year, the Border Defense Council (Pibynsa), after clearing the internal formalities, sent a diplomatic note to the Tokugawa shogunate through the Lord of Tsushima. In the letter, the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea was cited in confirming that Ullngdo was Korea's territory, that the residents in the islands had been evacuated to the mainland and that Korea would take a strong counteraction if Japan sent such a note again in the future. The Korean government also ordered the governor of Kyongsang province and magistrate of Tongnae to ban Japanese entry into Ullngdo.

In the following year of 1615, 7th year of Kwanghaegun, two Japanese ships came to Korea and requested that they be allowed to survey the topography of Isonotakoshima (Ullngdo).

Magistrate of Tongnae, Pak Kyong-p replied: "As stated in the Korean goverment note delivered to Japan last year, Ullngdo is Korean territory as described in the Augumented Survey of the Geography of Korea. Also, since the days of Silla and Koryo, the Korean government has received tributes of staple products from the island. There are documentary records that residents of Ullngdo were brought back home many times during the Chosn dynasty. At present, a vacant island policy is being enforced, but comings and goings of foreigners are strictly forbidden." He prepared a note to this effect and sent it to Japan through the representative of the Japanese.

However, the Tokugawa shogunate, without consulting the Korean government, issued a permit of voyage to Otani Jinkichi and Murakawa Ichihei, merchants of Yonago in Japan, in 1618 (10th year of King Kwanghaegun; 4th year of Genwa in Japan).

This was a license to go to a foreign country for trade, implying that the Tokugawa shogunate acknowledged Ullngdo as an alien territory, but under the pretext of being an vacant island, the shogunate authorized two merchants to fish and fell trees on and off Ullngdo. It is assumed that if the Korean government had protested, the shogunate might have feigned ignorance and have insisted that a permit of voyage was a license to trade with a foreign country.

Thus, Otani and Murakawa encroached on Ullngdo without the permission of the Korean government and indulged in fishing and lumbering on and off Ullngdo. They may have made a stopover at Tokdo on their way to and from Ullngdo.

Further in 1656, the Otanis received a permit of voyage to Tokdo from the Tokugawa shogunate, and in the intervening 38 years, they ignored the Korean government and infringed on the Korean territories of Ullngdo and Tokdo.

After the controversy arose over Tokdo in 1952, the Japanese side, in a memorandum sent to the Korean government, distorted and used the foregoing fact as evidence that Tokdo was its territory.

From the beginning of the dynasty of Chosn, the Korean government adhered to the vacant island policy and, as a result, Japanese voyages to Ullngdo increased, and for about 100 years, the island provided the fishing grounds for Japanese. This is what Japanese claim today.

The Japanese government also stresses that Otani and Murakawa were formally issued a permit of voyage to Ullngdo by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1618 and managed the island, and that Tokdo was "bestowed" on them by the shogunate in 1656 and the Otanis and Murakamis monopolized fishing and managed the island. It goes on to argue that the shogunate decided to abandon Ullngdo in January 1696,but did not ban voyages to Tokdo, and that Tokdo was always perceived as Japanese territory.

However, this argument of Japan is wholly based on the erroneous interpretation of the expression of "hairyo." The Japanese government puts emphasis on "hairyo" as a permit of voyage to Takeshima, but this is mistaken and misleading. According to the two standard Japanese-Japanese and English-Japanese dictionaries, the Kojien by lwanami shoten and The Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, hairyo (ÛÈÖÅ) is "an expression of humility for [receipt] of a thing from a lord or a high personage." Its verbalized form "hairyosuru" is translated as "be bestowed on."

However, the second part in this two-character sinitic expression, "ryo: ÖÅ," has the second meaning of "estate." Therefore, "hairyo" is erroneously interpreted as "receipt or bestowal of an estate" or even "enfeoffment." In fact, the shogunate permit was not the bestowal as gift or enfeoffment of Tokdo, but simply a license of voyage to Tokdo.

The letters of Kameyama Shouemon in 1660 and thereabouts, the documents on the issuance of a permit of voyage to the Otanis, contain such expressions as "Matsushima within Takeshima," "an islet near Takeshima" and "Matsushima near Takeshima," denoting the close relationship between Matsushima/Tokdo and Takeshima/Ullngdo. These letters also show that the permit for voyage to Tokdo was identical in nature to that for Ullngdo issued in 1618, i.e., a license to go over to a foreign country.

If Tokdo had been Japan's territory, a permit to make passage to the islet should not have been issued. Therefore, the issuance of a permit was the admission that Tokdo was a foreign territory. However, as mentioned already, the Korean government enforcement of the vacant island policy was taken advantage of by the Tokugawa shogunate. The shogunate's action taken without the consent of the Korean government was a flagrant violation of Korea's sovereignty.

8. Tokdo as Territory of Koryo (Korea) in Japanese Documentary Records

Research by the Japanese side reveals that the oldest Japanese document wherein Tokdo is mentioned along with Ullngdo is the Records on Observations in Onshu (Onshu shicho goki) compiled in 1667. The author Saito Hosen was a retainer of Izmo (Sesshu) domain and inspected Onshu (Oki Island today) in the atumn of 1667 on orders of his feudal lord. The book records what he had seen and heard in Oki. It contains the following passage:

Onshu is in the middle of the North Sea, so it is called Okinoshima...If one sails one night and two days in the

direction of northwest, one arrives at Matsushima [Tokdo]. Another day's voyage and one will reach Takeshima

[Ullng]. Another name for the island is Isonotakeshima where bamboo, fish and sea lions abound. These two

islets are uninhabited, and face the land of Koryo as Onshu does vis-a-vis Oki. Therefore, it is thought Onshu

marks the northwesternmost boundary of Japan.

This book states Tokdo is two days' voyage in the direction of northwest from Japan's Oki and that Ullngdo is another day's sail. Reasoning from the location and distance, Tokdo is called Matsushima and Ullngdo, Takeshima. In terms of distance, viewing the mainland of Koryo-Korea is likened to observing Oki Island from Sesshu (today's Shimane prefecture), Japan. And Oki Island was regarded as the northwesternmost boundary of Japan. This oldest Japanese book on Tokdo confirms Tokdo as Korean territory beyond the boundary of Japan.

Even while infringing on Tokdo and Ullngdo, the 17th century Japan was aware that these islands were owned by Korea.