Map Created by Royal Japanese Historian Cites Dokdo as “Joseon Territory”

(image: Ulleungdont/wikimedia)

SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — A volume of maps created during the Japanese colonial period by a Japanese historian belonging to Japanese royal patronage was found to indicate Dokdo and Ulleungdo as part of Joseon territory.

In a book published by the Dokdo Research Institute yesterday, Katsumori Shiba (1880-1955), the editor of the Japanese History Atlas published in 1927 and its revised 1931 edition recognized Korea’s precursor state Joseon to include Ulleungdo and Dokdo.

(image: Northeast Asian History Foundation)

In the index section of the maps produced by Katsumori, both Dokdo and Ullengdo are indicated as “Joseon.”

Considering that the maps were published at a time when Japan’s imperial ambition was at its peak, it is strongly indicative of how Japan viewed the two islands.

H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)