Chapter V Dispute over Ullngdo and Tokdo and An Yong-bok's Activities

1. Japan's Attempt to seize Ullngdo and Tokdo around the End of the 17th Century

Korean fishermen on the coast of the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and the Southern parts of Korea, often went over to Ullngdo clandestinely for fishing and shipbuilding. On the other hand, the Tokugawa shogunate issued a permit of voyage to Ullngdo to the Otanis and Murakawa in 1618. This put Koreans on a collision course with Japanese fishermen.

In 1693, the 19th year of King Sukchong, about 40 Korean fishermen from Tongnae and Ulsan clashed with Japanese while they were engaged in fishing. The numerically superior Japanese approached with ostensible kindness the Korean leaders, An Yong-bok and Pak -dn, and proposed to talk amicably over the matter, and hauled them to Oki Island.

There An Yong-bok appealed to the Lord of Oki that Ullngdo was Korea's territory, and protested against the abduction. The lord transferred the two Koreans to his superior, the magistrate of Hoki domain. An squarely faced the magistrate and asserted the Korean ownership of Ullngdo and demanded that Japanese be kept from trespassing on the national border for fishing. The magistrate was aware that Ullngdo belonged to Korea and handed them over to the shogunate.

The shogunate in Edo interrogated the Koreans and found their statement coherent and true, and prepared to instruct the magistrate of Hoki to write an official note stating that Ullngdo was not Japan's territory and to send An and Pak back to Korea from Edo via Nagasaki and Tsushima. Upon their arrival in Nagasaki, however, the Lord of Tsushima detained the Korenas, sent them to Tsushima, took the shogunate note away, and treated them as if they had invaded the Japanese territory of Ullngdo. Finally, in November 1693, the Lord of Tsushima surrendered them to the magistrate of Tongnae, Korea, and sent him a diplomatic note through an envoy named Tachibana Saneshige for transmittal to the Korean government.

In the letter, the Lord of Tsushima wrote as if there existed a Takeshima, apart from Ullngdo, in the East Sea, which belonged to Japan, declared that any Korean boats would not be allowed to enter "Takeshima" thenceforth, and demanded that the Korean government keep Korean fishermen strictly from going there.

It is apparent from this that the Lord of Tsushima, taking advantage of the incident, attempted to seize uninhabited Ullngdo, acting as if he represented the Tokugawa shogunate on this matter. He knew that Takeshima was Ullngdo, but schemed to secure an official letter from the Korean government admitting Takeshima to be Japanese territory in order to start a dispute over Ullngdo/Takeshima and finally annex Ullngdo to Tsushima.

2. Countermeasure by Moderate Politicians

In the Korean government the moderate and hardline groups hotly debated the question. First, the moderate politicions headed by Minister Mok Nae-sn (second highest state councillor) and Minister Min Nam (third highest state councillor) prevailed. They cautioned against a head-on clash with Japan as they were still haunted by the nightmarish Hideyoshi invasion (1592-8), and the government adopted their proposal: to clarify only that Ullngdo was Korean territory and feign ignorance of the "Takeshima" that was claimed as Japan's in the note, and to send a reply that Korean fishermen would be banned from crossing to Takeshima. Although they knew that Takeshima was Ullngdo, they sent the following letter to the Lord of Tsushima through

Tachibana:

"Whereas our fishermen on the eastern coast are not allowed to go out to an ocean, and are even prohibited to travel at will to Ullngdo, which that is our territory but is thought to be rather far off, how could they be authorized to go over to other places? Now that this boat had ventured into your territory of Takeshima and your side has taken the trouble of remanding them to us and dispatching an official letter from afar, we should like to express our gratitude to your amities of good neighborliness.

This reply reveals the moderate politicians' easy-going expediency to patch things up for the moment: they clearly stated Ullngdo was Korean territory, but pretended not to know that Takeshima was Ullngdo, though they indeed knew it was, and used the expression "your country's territory of Takeshima."

Envoy Tachibana Saneshige, who was waiting for the reply at the Japan House in Tongnae, thought his mission had been half-accomplished when he read the Korean reply stating "your territory of Takeshima," but found objectionable the words "our territory of Ullngdo." He protested and persistently requested for a fortnight the deletion of the words "our territory of Ullngdo" from the letter, but to no avail. Abiding by the inevitable, he returned to Tsushima.

Had the Korean government yielded to his request and expurgated the words in question, this might have sown the seeds of a dispute over the ownership of Ullngdo itself.

3. Hardliners Take Power and Thwart Japan's Design.

As the news reached the court that envoy Tachibana was discontented with the Korean government's reply, had stubbornly persisted in its revision, and had gone back home, the hardliners headed by Nam Ku-man rose, impeached the moderate politicians, and took over the government.

The court historians of the day point out that while Takeshima was another name for Ullngdo, the Japanese tried to remove the name of Ullngdo first and occupy Takeshima alias Ullngdo then on the strength of the Korean government's note.

They maintain it was why the hardliners demanded that the Korean government ban Koreans from going over to Takeshima. They think the note prepared by the moderates was indiscreet, outrageous and tantamount to giving up a Korean territory to the other country. In this way, they censured the weak-kneed diplomacy by the moderates.

New Prime Minister (Yngijong) Nam Ku-man thought the previous note to the Lord of Tsushima was equivocable and proposed to send a new envoy to Tsushima, retrieve the first note, punish those who wrote the note, and control Japanese fishermen coming to Ullngdo. He predicted that Kangnng and Samch'k would suffer greatly if Japanese occupied Ullngdo, so beseeched the king to take a resolute position toward Japan. King Sukchong accepted the proposal and ordered the first note recovered.

After the Korean government turned to the hardline policy, the Lord of Tsushima sent Tachibana Saneshige again to Tongnae with the reply to the previous Korean note in August 1694. The reply asked for the deletion of the words "our territory of Ullngdo."

The government interrogated An Yong-bok and others to analyze the situation and found out: they were received courteously in Edo; the shogunate was aware that Ullngdo was Korea's possession; the Japanese attitude toward them suddenly changed in Nagasaki and Tsushima; and it was not the view of the shogunate that "Takeshima" was a Japanese territory but the view of the Lord of Tsushima born of his personal ambition.

Accordingly, Nam Ku-man proceeded to revoke the first note and write the revised one, stating that Ullngdo was none other than Takeshima and was Korean territory. The letter pointed out that the Japanese entry into Ullngdo was an act of gross infringement on the Korean territory and that the abduction of the two Koreans from the Korean land was a glaring fault. Then it demanded that this fact be brought to the attention of the shogunate and a strict measure be taken to keep Japanese from trespassing on Ullngdo again.

The Japanese envoy requested that "gross infringement" and "abduction" be deleted and replaced by more moderate words and that the reply be given to the second note of the Lord of Tsushima. Both of them were rejected by the Korean government.

The Korean government sent Chang Han-sang, associate commander of Samch'ok, to Ullngdo for inspection from September to October 1694. Upon the receipt of the report from Chang, the Prime Minister proposed that it would be wise not to resettle the island, but to inspect Ullngdo once every year or two. This was sanctioned by the king and from 1694 on, an annual or biennial inspection of the island was conducted.

4. Tokugawa Shogunate's Reconfirmation of Korea's Ownership of Ullngdo and Tokdo

So Yoshitsugu was never content with the Korean government, continued calling Ullngdo/Takeshima and persisted in his design to seize the island.

He was thus in head-on conflict with the Korean government and soured Korea's relations with the shogunate.

But after his death So Yoshizane assumed the lordship and went to Edo to pay his respects to the shogun as new Lord of Tsushima in 1696 (22nd year of Sukchong in Korea; 9th year of the Genrok in Japan).

There in the presence of the four elder statesmen including the daimyo of the Hoki domain, the shogun asked him questions on Ullngdo. Afterwards, he discussed the matter with his aides and reached the conclusion that Ullngdo was a Korean territory and decided to prohibit any Japanese from crossing to Ullngdo for fishing.

The main points of the question-answer session, the final decision of the shogun and his instruction to the Lord of Tsushima are as follows:

(1) Ullngdo is 160 ri from Shimane prefecture while it is about 40 ri from Korea proper, and as the island is nearer to Korea, it is natural to regard the island as Korea's.

(2) Japanese voyages to Ullngdo should be banned.

(3) The Lord of Tsushima should communicate the decision to Korea.

(4) The Lord of Tsushima, when he has returned home, should send the Osakabo daisuk (the judge of Tsushima) to Korea, and inform this decision to Korea and report back to the shogun.

This decision reached in January 1696 put an end to the claim to Ullngdo started by So Yoshitsugu. At that time, Tokdo which was called Matsushima in Japan and regarded as an administrative dependency of Ullngdo, was included in the shogun's decision. This can be confirmed by the records related to An Yong-bok to be discussed in the following section.

When So Yoshizane returned to Tsushima, he summoned the official Korean interpreter-translator in Tsushima, briefed him on the shogunate's decision and handed him an official note addressed to the Korean government, reporting the shogun's decision.

5. Activities of An Yong-bok

Now, An Yong-bok, who was convinced that the Lord of Tsushima was still trying to seize Ullngdo, decided to make good use of his past experience and to go over to Japan for the second time and negotiate personally with the the magistrate of Hoki province.

According to the Annals of King Sukchong, An Yong-bok spread the word among fishermen that they would make a fortune at Ullngdo with rich marine resources, and recruited Noehyn, a monk-trader of the Songgwang Buddhist temple in Sunch'n, and 15 other boatsmen and fishermen.

Then they sailed for Ullngdo to find many Japanese boats at anchor. An roared at them: "Ullngdo is our island from of old. Why have you Japanese crossed the border? You should all be arrested."

They said that they were originally living on Matsushima (Usando, Tokdo) but had strayed into the place while fishing, and that they would soon return to their place. To this, An retorted, "Matsushima is Usando. This island too is ours. How could you say that you live on that island?"

The following day, An and his company went to Usando and found the Japanese fishermen cooking fish in a cauldron. They chased them with sticks and the Japanese all took flight to Japan.

An and the Korean fishermen followed them to Oki island. Asked by the Lord of Oki why they had come over the sea to his place, he angrily answered: "Several years ago when I came to Japan, Ullngdo and Usando were confirmed as Korean territory in a shogun's note, but Japanese have indiscreetly trespassed on our territory."

The Lord of Oki promised to convey his protest to the magistrate of Hoki (Shimane prefecture today). An waited but no reply was forthcoming. Angered at this delay, he asked for a meeting with the magistrate. The request was granted and Hoki authorities sent him horses and ushers.

Impersonating a Revenue Supervisor for Ullngdo and Usando, An Yong-bok attired himself in the official outfit, wore the black cap and leather shoes, and was carried stately in the sedan while others mounted horses and followed him. In the castle of the magistrate, An sat at the head table while the others were in waiting.

To the magistrate's inquiry about the purposes of his visit to Japan, he replied: "Last time, the shogun sent me a note on the settlement of the question of the two islands, but the note was taken away from me by the Lord of Tsushima, who doctored it and sent his emissaries many times to Korea. On the other hand, Japanese fishermen trespassed on our island. Therefore, I would like to have an audience with the shogun and explain everything to him. This is the purpose that has brought me here."

The magistrate accepted his plea, and An Yong-bok had an appeal written by Yi In-sng, one of his company, for delivery to the shogun.

At this time, the father of the Lord of Tsushima happened to be there for a visit to the magistrate. "If this appeal reached the shogun," he intervened, "my son would certainly be punished and might not escape from a death sentence." He entreated the magistrate not to accept the appeal. The magistrate gave in and the appeal did not reach its destination.

However, the magistrate arrested 15 fishermen who had intruded into Ullngdo and meted out a penalty. He assured An: "These islands are the possessions of Korea already; if any one crossed the border or trespassed on the islands, or if the Lord of Tsushima attempted to take the islands illegally, you could send an official memorandum of the Korean government to Japan through an official interpreter-translator. They will be punished severely without fail."

Here again, the magistrate of Hoki talked with An Yong-bok and reconfirmed that Ullngdo and Usando/Matsushima/Tokdo was Korea's territory in 1696.

6. Settlement of the Controversy over Ullngdo and Tokdo around the End of the 17th Century.

If the dates in the Korean and Japanese records are correct, it is assumed that the parley between An Yong-bok and the magistrate of Hoki took place within several months after January 1696 when the Tokugawa shogunate reconfirmed Ullngdo as Korean territory and issued an injunction forbidding Japanese voyages to the islands.

At this point of time, the Japanese government recognized Tokdo as a dependency of Ullngdo and the shogun's decision and order covered Ullngdo and Tokdo as its associated island. This fact was written down in the shogun's letter due to An Yong-bok's activities.

The new Lord of Tsushima, in accordance with the decision and instructions of the shogun, made or given in January 1696, summoned an official interpreter-translator from Korea and handed him a note in 1696, but it was in January of the following year that he sent Judge Tahirano Naritsune to Korea and formally communicated this to the Korean side. Since then diplomatic memoranda were exchanged several times and in 1699 (25th year of King Sukchong and 17th year of the Genroku in Japan) the matter was finally settled when Judge Tahirano Yoshizane of Tsushima sent a memorandum to Councillor Yi Sn-bu of the Korean Ministry of Rites.

The contention over Ullngdo and Tokdo that started in 1693 when the Lord of Tsushima tried to seize the two islands was solved in principle in January 1696 when the shogunate confirmed Korea's title to the two islands, and was finalized procedurally with the exchange of instruments in 1699.

7. Japanese Maps of the Edo Period

Since the reconfirmation of Korea's title to Ullngdo-Tokdo around the end of the 17th century, Japan continued to respect this as a fact.

For example, there is a typical map of the Tokugawa shogunate period; The Map of Three Adjoining Countries (Sangoku setsujozu) by Hayashi Shihei (1738-1793), an eminent scholar of the day, published in 1785 shows national boundaries and territories in color: Korea in yellow and Japan in green; not only are Ullngdo and Tokdo accurately positioned, but they are colored in yellow as Korea's territory. Alongside the two islands they are identified as Korea's possesions (Chosn no mochi ni [ ò¥ ªË ]).

Also, another map published in the 18th century, A Complete Illustrated Map (Soezu) distinguishes national boundary and territory in colors: Japan in red, Korea in yellow, and Ullngdo and Tokdo in yellow in their accurate positions. Moreover, to one side of the islands is also written "Korea's possessions" on the map.

Ullngdo and Tokdo are not recorded as "Korea's islands," but as "Korea's possessions" (mochi), and reflect the decision of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1696.

Up to the beginning of the Meiji government in 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate and Japanese were conscious of Ullngdo and Tokdo as Korea's possessions and recognized them as such.