Dokdo consists of two tiny rocky islets surrounded by 33 smaller rocks. The first historical references to the island were cited in Korean documents, which make reference to them as a part of an independent island state known as “Usankuk” (Ullung Island) which was incorporated into the Korean Shilla Dynasty in 512 AD. (Information extracted from dokdoresearch.com)
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – The parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Monday passed a resolution denouncing Japan for laying claims to South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and approving school textbooks containing such claims.
The resolution had originally passed through the committee in June, but the committee decided to pass it again Monday after expanding the subject of condemnation to include not only school textbooks, but also Japanese government documents.
The latest resolution, which combines two drafts proposed by the ruling and opposition parties, urges Japan to immediately revoke its decision to approve the textbooks and withdraw its sovereignty claims over Dokdo from official government documents.
In late March, Japan’s education ministry approved 149 textbooks for elementary school students to be used in 2024. The texts were criticized for watering down Japan’s atrocities against Koreans during its 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula and strengthening its territorial claims over Dokdo.
(Yonhap)
