On November 28 of 1998, the Korean government contracted the Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement. Including the water zone of the Dokdo side to the middle zone by the treaty, the Korean government gave Japan a foothold in claiming the sovereignty of Dokdo. Consequently, the Korean government indirectly recognized Dokdo as a troubled area. Then, the Japanese government repeatedly claimed sovereignty of Dokdo.
Moreover, the treaty has worsened the Dokdo sovereignty dispute between Korea and Japan and made Dokdo a serious crisis. On July 14 of 2008, the Japanese government announced new guidelines for teaching manuals of Japanese middle school history textbooks where they claim Dokdo sovereignty. On July 16, the American Library of Congress decided to replace the key word of Dokdo with Liancour Rocks. However, two Korean women rapidly informed the Korean government.
As soon as the Korean government solved the Dokdo crisis, it came to another crisis. On July 24, the United States Board of Geographic Names declared that Dokdo is undesignated sovereignty. The reason why the BGN made that judgment was that the Korean government lacked the political correctness about practicing Dokdo’s sovereign authority. However, the BGN’s decision was canceled by the political decision of US President George W, Bush who visited Korea in early August.
Although Dokdo is clearly a Korean territory, it has become wrongly known in the international society as ‘Undesignated Sovereignty’ by the wrong judgment of the Korean government and the claiming of Dokdo’s sovereignty by Japan. Dokdo is not a lone island but a perfect symbol of recovery of sovereignty for a nation. The Korean government should defend Dokdo.
Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement: 신한일어협정
American Library of Congress: 미국의회도서관
United States Board of Geographic Names: 미국지명위원회