A historical photo showing Japanese people capturing Dokdo sea lions during the Japanese colonial period (Photo courtesy of the National Maritime Museum).
BUSAN, Aug. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — In a move seen as both scientific and symbolic, South Korea has published the world’s first complete genome sequence of the extinct Dokdo sea lion (Dokdo Ganchi or Dokdo Kangchi) —commonly known in the West as the “Japanese sea lion”—while using the name “Dokdo sea lion” in a peer-reviewed international journal for the first time.
The marine mammal, once native to waters around the Korean Peninsula and particularly abundant near the disputed Dokdo islets, was driven to extinction between the 1950s and 1970s due to overhunting during Japan’s colonial rule.
Once numbering around 50,000 in the mid-19th century, the population plummeted to just 50 individuals by the 1950s, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The species was officially declared extinct in 1994.
Despite its strong association with Korea’s Dokdo, the animal has long been labeled in global scientific literature as the “Japanese sea lion,” a term dating back to studies and exploitation during the colonial era. That designation has even been used in South Korean government materials and databases.
Dokdo sea lion statue (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries).
Now, a team led by the National Institute of Fisheries Science’s Whale Research Center, in collaboration with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and the Genome Research Foundation, has taken a major step in reclaiming the species’ identity.
Their seven-year effort culminated in a genome study that not only advances restoration science but also introduces the term “Dokdo sea lion” as a formal species name in a paper published by BMC Biology, a respected journal under Springer.
According to Lee Kyung-ri, a researcher at the Whale Research Center, the idea to adopt the new naming came from UNIST professor Park Jong-hwa. “As this was a Korean-led study, we agreed it was time to reflect that in the name,” she said.
Japanese hunters placing sea lions caught on Dokdo into wooden crates in 1934 (Photo courtesy of the National Maritime Museum of Korea).
Though the team anticipated possible pushback from reviewers—given the academic convention of using “Japanese sea lion”—they opted not to self-censor. “We believed it was worth trying rather than giving up without even making an attempt,” said Lee.
Their successful publication marks a potential turning point in international nomenclature and represents a broader effort to promote Korea’s historical and scientific connection to the Dokdo islets, which remain the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute with Japan.
The researchers hope the naming will now be adopted more widely in global academia. “The paper’s use of the full genome means anyone studying sea lions will need to cite this work,” Lee noted. “To find it, they’ll have to search for ‘Dokdo sea lion,’ which we hope will lead more scientists to learn about Dokdo itself.”
Research published in an international journal (Image source: Screenshot from the BMC Biology website).
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
