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Introduction

1
Lee MinbooKim Younghoon

The Geography of Dokdo

Geographical Location of Dokdo


Dokdo is an island in the East Sea and the easternmost territory of Korea
and it consists of two main islands, Dongdo (East Island) and Seodo (West
Island), and 89 smaller attached outcroppings. Dokdos coordinates are
3714'26.8" North Latitude and 13152'10.4" East Longitude for Dongdo
and 3714'30.6" North Latitude and 13151'54.6" East Longitude for Seodo.
The triangulation point of Dongdo (Dokdo 11) is located at 3714'23" North
Latitude and 13152'09" East Longitude.
As the easternmost part of the Korean territory, Dokdo observes the
earliest sunrise in Korea. According to the Korea Astronomy and Space Science
Institute (KASI), the first sunrise of 2008 was at 7:26:20 AM. On the Korean

Figure 1-1 Korea and surrounding countries Source: The National Geographic Information Institute, 2007

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Table 1-1 Geographic information about Dokdo


Item

Distance

Content

Dokdo ~ Ulleungdo

87.4 km (47.2 nautical miles)

Dokdo ~ Jukbyeon,
Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do

216.8 km (117.1 nautical miles)

Ulleungdo ~ Jukbyeon,
Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do

130.3 km (70.4 nautical miles)

Dokdo

187,554 m2

Dongdo

73,297 m2

Seodo

88, 740 m2

Attached islets

25,517 m2

Surface
Area

Distance between Dongdo and Seodo

151 m

Number of attached outcroppings

89 not including Dongdo and


Seodo

Dongdo

371426.8 N
1315210.4 E

Seodo

371430.6 N
1315154.6 E

Coordinates

Elevation

Circumference

Dongdo

98.6 m

Seodo

168.5 m

Dokdo

5.4 km

Dongdo

2.8 km

Seodo

2.6 km

Tidal range

Remarks

The shortest distance


between coasts at
ebb tide

The nearest distance


between coasts at
ebb tide

At peak of island

16 cm

Source: The National Geographic Information Institute

mainland, the earliest sunrise observed was 7:31:18 AM at Ganjeolgot Point in


Ulsan.
To get a fuller sense of geographical distances and relationships it helps to
know that the westernmost edge of Korea is Maando Island (currently called
Bidanseom), Pyeonganbuk-do at 12411'04" E, the southernmost edge is
the Marado Island of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province at 3306'43" N,
and the northernmost edge is Yuwonjin, Hamgyeongbuk-do at 4300'42" N
(National Geographic Information Institute, 2008a). The westernmost and the
northernmost points can be seen from China.

The Geography of Dokdo

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Figure 1-2
Dokdo seen from
Ulleungdo
Source: The Northeast
Asian History Foundation,
2009

Dokdo
Keungajebawi

Jageungajebawi

Gyeongsangbuk-do
Ulleung-gun
Ulleung-eup

East Sea

Dokdo-ri

Gimbawi
Jinebawi
Tanggeonbong

Samhyeongjegulbawi

Seodo

Daehanbong

Dakbawi

Miyeokbawi
Chotdaebawi

Usanbong

Dokdo Residents House

Old wharf

Ha

Kokkiribawi

ndo
baw
i

Gunhambawi
Neopdeokbawi

nba

Mulgol

Bochalbawi

Dongdo
Sutdolbawi
wharf Landmark

Cheonjanggul

Muroribawi
Dongnimmunbawi

Dokdo Lighthouse
Monument
Eolgulbawi

Jeonchabawi

Buchaebawi
Haenyeobawi
Chutbalbawi

Figure 1-3
Map of Dokdo
Source: National
Geographic Information
Institute, 2012

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Shenyang
FIR

Pyongyang FIR

Incheon FIR
Hukuoka
Hukuoka FIR
FIR
Shanghai
FIR

Figure 1-4
Incheon Flight Information
Region (FIR) which includes
Dokdo
Source: Aeronautical Information
Services, Ministry of Land,
Transport and Maritime Affairs

Dokdo is 87.4 km and 216.8 km away from Ulleungdo and the mainland
of the Korean Peninsula, respectively. It is 157.5 km away from Oki Islands of
the Shimane Prefecture in Japan to the east.
As seen in Table 1-1, the total surface area is 187, 554 m2, with 73,297
m2 belonging to Dongdo, 88, 740 m2 to Seodo, and 25,517 m2 to the rest.
Dokdos highest point of 168.5 m is found on Seodo, while the summit of
Dongdo is 98.6 m. On the flat-topped summit of Dongdo, there are a manned
lighthouse and facilities for the police (Ulleungdo and Dokdo Research Center
at Kyungpook National University, 2008). Dokdo can be observed with the
naked eye from the northeastern edge of Ulleungdo; weather permitting, the
two main islands of Dokdo would be seen as one island and Tanggeonbong,
the northern summit of Seodo, also can be seen with the naked eye. This
geographical proximity to the mainland is very strong evidence that Dokdo is
Korean territory.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) determines a
countrys airspace by assigning a Flight Information Region (FIR). The
ICAO stipulates that the sky of Dokdo is called Incheon FIR, that of Japan is

The Geography of Dokdo

Hukuoka FIR, and that of North Korea is Pyongyang FIR.


The Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ), established by
the U.S. Pacific Air Force in 1951, includes Dokdo and the Demilitarized
Zone (DMZ) of Korea. A U.S. Air Force navigation map of 1987 clearly
identified Dokdo as located within the area of the KADIZ. In 1969, the
Japan Self-Defense Forces did not include Dokdo in the Japanese Air Defense
Identification Zone (JADIZ). Furthermore, Dokdo was excluded from the
JADIZ when the Japan Self-Defense Forces expanded the JADIZ under the
Okinawa Reversion Treaty in May 1972. The absence of formal objections from
Japan on the KADIZ indicates that Japan recognized Koreas sovereignty over
Dokdo and its airspace (Kim Hantaek, 2008).

Geographic Meaning of Dokdo


Geography, history, and the International Law all confirm Dokdo as Korean
territory. During the Age of Discovery, European expedition, military and
merchant ships explored the world to expand trade routes and discover natural
resources. When they found a new island, they identified it by their own
names on the charts. Liancourt Rocks, one of the another names for Dokdo,
originated from the name of a French whaling vessel that ventured to the island
in 1849. In addition, Europeans called the East Sea the Sea of Corea as well as
the Sea of Whales because of an abundance of whales in the East Sea.
According to the International Law, a country that has sovereignty over an
island has the authority to name it if it is always above sea level. Other countries
and the international community are not able to claim any names for the
island.
Korean history books describe Dokdo as Korean territory. Japanese official
historical documents and maps also recognized that Dokdo belonged to
the Joseon Kingdom of Korea (1392-1910). According to Japanese official
documents (Kim Younggu, 2005), Japans Togugawa Shogunate announced

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in 1696 that Ulleungdo and its attached island, Dokdo were Joseon territory
when dealing with the Ahn Yongbok incident. Then in 1877, the Japanese
Meiji government also confirmed that Takeshima (Ulleungdo) and its attached
islands (including Dokdo) belonged to Korea. For more than 310 years, Japan
admitted that Dokdo was Korean territory. Even before the documents of
Japans Shogunate, Onshu shicho goki (, Records on Observations in
Oki Province) written by Saito Hosen in 1667 marked Dokdo as Matsushima
() and Ulleungdo as Takeshima () and also made it clear that they
were Korean territory (Shin Yongha, 1996).
From 512, Dokdo belonged to the territory of Silla, an ancient kingdom
of Korea, and since then the island has continuously been administered by
the Korean government. Under Korea's Imperial Edict No. 41 of October
25, 1900, Ulleungdo was raised to the status of Uldo County, and Dokdo
was included in Uldo County as an attached island. Since the reorganization
of local administrative districts in 1914, Dokdo has been administered by
Gyeongsangbuk-do. Addresses of Dokdo were San 42 to San 75, Do-dong,
Nam-myeon, Ulleung-gun Gyeongsangbuk-do in the 1990s. As of April
7, 2000, its addresses are 1 to 96 Dokdo-ri, Ulleung-eup, Ulleung-gun,
Gyeongsangbuk-do.
According to Ulleung County, a total of 40 people resided on the island in
November 2010. Kim Seongdo, a 72-year-old man, and his wife and two fulltime members of the administrative staff of Ulleung County live on Seodo.
Kim Seongdo, head of Dokdo Village, is making a living by catching fish and
running a ferry business to connect Dongdo and Seodo. Residents in Dokdo
live in a four-story building. The address of this building is 3rd Ahnyongbok
Street. A storage area and the Dokdo Administrative Office occupy the first and
second floors, respectively. Kim and his wife live on the third floor. Desalination
facilities are located on the fourth floor.
Dongdo has a population of 33: 3 lighthouse keepers from Pohang
Regional Maritime Affairs and Port Office and 30 Ulleungdo Dokdo police
guards from the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency. As of June 2010, 2,211
people changed their registered address to Dokdo. From 2007, the Korean

The Geography of Dokdo

Government allowed 1,880 people to visit the island per day. The entrance
of civilian visitors was restricted by Article 33 of the Cultural Heritage
Preservation Act, which officially named Dokdo a Natural Monument. Since
March 2005, Dongdo has been open to civilian visitors who obtain approval. In
addition, previous restrictions that allowed only 1,880 persons to visit Dokdo
per day were repealed in June 2009 (Ulleung-gun, 2010b).
Dongdo and Seodo are currently divided by a narrow water path, which is
151 m in width, 330 m in length and 10 m in depth. Dokdo is thought to have
been a single island, but sea waves eroded the island and separated it into two
main islands (Hwang and Park, 2008). Although coastal erosion in Dokdo is
caused by sea waves, easily erodible igneous rocks such as tuff and weathering
by fault lines also affect the erosion of Dokdos seashore (Jang and Park, 2008).
There are many dikes where trachyte penetrated into the fault gaps. Relatively
high peaks, and boulders such as the Chotdaebawi and the Dongnimmunbawi,
are made of trachyte and trachandesite that resulted from cooling lava.
The combinations of tuffs and tuff breccias were separated by volcanic
activity and then lumped together again as sedimentary rocks, which made
them susceptible to erosion. Sea waves eroded small angular stones into
rounded stones, and there are three gravel beaches developing: one beach on
Dongdo and two beaches on Seodo. A gravel beach on Dongdo and another
on Seodo are near the waterway between the two islands, and the third beach is
located on the northwest side of Seodo. These gravel beaches play an important
role in protecting the seashore of the island from sea waves.
Dongdo has 2.8 km of seashore with 3040 m steep sea cliffs. Vegetation is
rare due to the shallow soil layer over steep slopes. However, dense vegetation
is found in relatively flat areas around the summit, where a 20 to 30 cm layer
of soil has developed. Seodo has 2.6 km of seashore, and soil and vegetation are
poor due to the many sea cliffs (The Ulleungdo and Dokdo Research Center of
Kyungpook National University, 2008).
The contemporary name of Dokdo originates from Dokseom, which
means stone island. Some fishermen who were moved from the southeastern
part of Korea began calling the island Dokseom by Emperor Gojong (r. 1863-

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1907) of the Great Han Empire (Park Insik, 1996). In Imperial Edict No. 41 of
1900, Dokdo was recorded as Seokdo (); the Chinese characters also mean
stone island. The name Dokdo first appeared in an emergency report written
by the magistrate of Ulleungdo, Sim Heungtaek, in 1906. In Sejong sillok jiriji
(, The Geographical Appendix to the Annals of King Sejong)
written in 1454, Dokdo and Ulleungdo were called Usan and Mureung,
respectively, and the two islands were called Usan-guk during the Silla Kingdom
(57 BCE-935 CE) of Korea. In Dongguk munheonbigo (, Reference
Compilation of Documents on Korea,1770) and Mangi yoram (,
literally the Book of Ten Thousand Techniques of Governance but more
commonly referred to as the Manual of State Affairs for the Monarch, 1808),
Dokdo was called Usan, while Seongjong sillok (, Annals of King
Seongjong; 1499) records Dokdo as Sambongdo.
In 1982, Dokdo was designated as Natural Monument No. 336 by the
Korean Government; its official title is the Dokdo Natural Preservation Zone.
According to the Ulleungdo and Dokdo Research Center of Kyungpook
National University (2008), the flora of Dokdo was composed of forty-eight
taxa, including two phyla, three classes, three subclasses, 20 orders, 26 families,
44 genera, one subspecies, and one variety. Most plants on Dokdo are wind,
salt, and drought tolerant, including the representative species rose moss (Sedum
oryzifolium) and giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis). Considering the
shallow soil depth, a significantly large amount and variety of vegetation exists
on Dokdo.
Dokdo is a volcanic island covered with volcanic rocks and pyroclastic
sedimentary rocks, the result of multiple volcanic eruptions 2 km under the
sea during the Pliocene. Except for flat areas with shallow soil layers around the
summits, other parts of Dokdo are covered by volcanic ash and rock fragments.
The bedrock is also vulnerable to weathering and erosion due to the many fault
lines and joints caused by fault activities (Hwang and Park, 2008).
According to Landscape of Korea Seen from Satellites (Chi et al., 2007),
Dokdo began to form about 4.6 million years ago and erupted to the surface
around 2.7 million years ago, then separated by wave erosion into two islands

The Geography of Dokdo

around 2.1 million years ago. Millions of years of weathering and erosion have
resulted in the current appearance of Dokdo.
The rise in sea level due to recent climate change intensifies weathering
and coastal erosion on Dokdo. Therefore, the government should take steps
to prevent erosion and landslides and to protect the soil surface layers and
vegetation cover (Lee Minboo, 2008).
Approximately 18,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum, sea
level was up to 140 m lower than the current sea level. Thus, the total surface
area of Dokdo was likely much greater than now. As the sea level rose to its
present height, sea waves eroded the islands resulting in the formation of wide
wave-cut platforms especially between Dongdo and Seodo. The coast of Dokdo
continued to retreat carving out steep sea cliffs in the process.
On the northwest side of Seodo, there is a fresh-water well in a sea cave
called Mulgol that is the only source of drinking water on the island. In
the middle of Dongdo there are sunken caves connected at sea level due to
weathering and erosion along fault lines. Many sea caves have also been formed
along the wave-cut cliffs.
Dokdo provides sufficient space for human habitation and water for daily
use. These conditions enable Dokdo residents to live and make a living on the
island through fishing and tourism. Thus according to the International Law,
Dokdo is an island including Koreas territorial water area, exclusive economic
zone and continental shelf.
With the Act on Sustainable Use of Dokdo promulgated on November
19, 2005, the Korean Government has been making a special effort to protect
its ecological habitat for species of fauna and flora, to manage and conserve its
marine and fishery resources, and to explore and develop its marine natural
resources. The law also includes plans and measures to secure financial resources
for all activities and facilities on Dokdo.
Much research and many activities regarding Dokdo have been performed
by government institutions, academic organizations, and individuals since
the Korean Government was established. For example, the Northeast Asian
History Foundation established the Dokdo Research Institute in 2008 to

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recruit researchers from various academic disciplines in international law,


communication, geography, history, and international relations in order
to strengthen the research of the island. The Korea Ocean Research and
Development Institute (now the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and
Technology) also opened the East Sea Research Center to conduct academic
research associated with the marine ecology system and deep-sea natural
resources of the East Sea covering Ulleungdo and Dokdo. The Korea
Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration investigates the submarine
topographical features, ocean depth, and waterways of the East Sea and Dokdo.
The National Geographic Information Institute of Korea periodically performs
a control point survey to ensure the accuracy of the physical estimation of
Dokdo and produces topographic maps on scales of 1:1,000, 1:5,000, and
1:25,000. The Dokdo Research Center of the Korea Maritime Institute
conducts research to discover documents related to the ocean, fisheries, history,
and geography of the island. In addition, Ulleung-gun dispatches two full
administrative staff to the Dokdo Administrative Office.
The Society for the East Sea, a private organization, makes much effort
to restore the original name of the East Sea, the English translation of the
Korean name, Donghae, and conducts research associated with Dokdo. Other
research organizations including the Dokdo Society of Korea actively work on
the history of Dokdo and international law related to the island. In addition,
many non-profit organizations invest much effort to restore the name of Dokdo
internationally and correct wrong information about Korea, including place
names.
Along with the National Geographic Information Institute, the Korean
Geographical Society, an academic organization, publishes The National Atlas of
Korea(2007) and The Geography of Korea(2009) and distributes them worldwide
in order to provide facts and accurate information about Dokdo.

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