1902 Japanese Document Describing Ulleungdo

The following is a translation of an appendix from a 1902 Japanese document entitled, "Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Trade, Document Section: Trade Documents" (外務省通商局編纂 通商彙纂). The appendix is titled, "Situation on Korea's Ulleungdo," and it talks in detail about Ulleungdo's geography, climate, population, products, commerce, fishing, transportion, moorage, and epidemics. In the Geography Section of the document, Ulleungdo's neighoring islands of Jukdo and Gwaneumdo are mentioned, as are some rocky islets, but there is no mention of Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima), which clearly shows that the Japanese government did not consider Liancourt Rocks to be part of Ulleungdo geography. Liancourt Rocks is mentioned in the fishing section of the document, but it says it was the Japanese who were going there to fish since the document said there were "absolutely no Korean fishermen" on Ulleungdo.

The document says that Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島) was called テツセミ島, which seems to be the Japanese pronunciation of "Daetseom" (댓섬). "Daetseom" is a pure Korean word that means "Bamboo Island." As for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Gwaneumdo (觀音島), it said it was called "the island of Do-mok" (島牧ノ島嶼), which is the Korean pronunciation. "Domok" seems to have been a mixed Sino-Korean and pure Korean name since "do" (島) means "island" and "mok" (牧) is the sound for the pure Korean word for neck 목. In his 1882 report, Ulleungdo inspector Lee Gyu-won referred to Gwanemdo as 島項 (도항 - Dohang), whch means "Island Neck." Today, Koreans refer to the cape pointing toward Gwaneumdo as "Seom-mok" (섬목), which is the pure Korean word for "Island Neck."

Here is a translation, by Kaneganese, of the appendix on Ulleungdo:

Appendix

Situation on Korea's Ulleungdo

Geography, Situation of Korean Residents on the Island, Products, Boat Moorage, General & Business Situation of Japanese Residents, Fishing Industry Situation, Climate, Epidemics, and Union charter

(Department of Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Section 1 - Geography of Ulleungdo

Ulleungdo is an isolated island 40 ri from Uljin (蔚鎮) in Gangwon Province (江原道). It has a circumference of about nine and a half ri. The shape of the island is similar to an irregular triangle. The shoreline of the whole island is precipitous cliffs and beaches are rare. There are no good harbours for ships. There are only a few small bays or inlets, such as at Dodong (道洞) and Jeodong (苧洞). Since most of the seafloor along the shore is rock, it is not suitable for anchorage.

The geography is long and winding mountains, and there are not many flat paths leading through the mountains. It used to be a thickly forested island, which was dark even in the daytime, but it has now been cultivated and deforested along the coastline, with the growth of the population on the island.

"Daetseom" (テツセミ島) is located offshore in front of Wadalli (臥達里), and Japanese residents call the island "Takeshima"(竹島). The circumference of the island is about thirty chou (三拾丁余). "Metake" bamboo(女竹) grows thick there, but since there is no drinking water, it is said that there are no people living on the island. Moreover, offshore of Jeongseok-po (亭石浦), there are Ssangchok Rock (雙燭石 - Sou-Soku-Seki ) and the island of Do-mok (島牧ノ島嶼), which has a circumference of twenty chou (二十丁). The Japanese residents call the island "Gwaneumdo" (観音島) and the cape "Gwaneum Cape" (観音岬). Between the two is the "Strait of Gwaneum" (観音ノ瀬戸 - Kan-Non-no-Seto). Another name for Ssangchok Rock (雙燭石 Sou-Soku Seki) is "Three Rocks" (三本) since there are three rocks sticking up out of the sea. There are other jagged, steep rocks on the shore nearby, but none of those rocks are named, except tiny Tawara-jima(俵島), which is located in front of "Bright Cliffs"(光岸 - Gwang-an).

Mount Rari (羅里山) is located in the center of the island and is the highest of the peaks on the island. [In Korean, 羅里山 would be pronounced as "Narisan."] Large trees thickly cover the mountain and screen out the sky. Fallen snow remains unmelted throughout the four seasons, so if you go into a shady(?) part of the mountain, it is cold even in the summer.

Halfway up the mountain is a flat area of about eight square cho (丁) that Koreans farm, but it is barren soil and not suitable for soy beans or wheat. Therefore, they often plant corn. Mount Chu (錐山) stands to the north of Mount Rari ( 羅里山), but it is a bit smaller than Mount Rari. The mountain is very rocky and the top is covered with trees, but because it rises up near the shore, everyone (mistakenly) says it is the highest mountain on the island. There are a chain of other mountain peaks covered with thick trees and grass, but no one has bothered to name them. The two largest rushing steams on the island are Namyang Stream (南陽川) and Taeha Stream (台霞川 ), which are following by smaller streams like ?bok (?伏) and Jukam (竹岩) flow. Since these streams flow through the four seasons and the quality of the water is very high, they generally provide drinking water for the islanders.

Section 2 - Situation of Korean Residents on the Island

There are no Koreans on this island who lived there since ancient times. Twenty-one years ago four people immigrated from Gangwon Province (江原道): Bae Gye-ju (裵季周)、Kim Dae-mok (金大木)、Byeon Gyeong-un (卞敬云)、and Jeon Sa-il (田士日). They reclaimed land between the mountains, made farming land, and worked as farmers. The following year Hwang Jong-hae (黄鐘海)、Choi Do-su (崔島守)、Jeon Sa-un (田士雲)、Kim Hwa-cho (金花椒)、Hong Bong-yo (洪奉堯)、and Lee Son-pal (李孫八) came from the Gangneung region of Gangwon Province (江原道江陵地方), and Jang Kyeon-i (張敬伊) came from somewhere in the Cholla Province (全羅道). All together seven people came to the island. Every year since then, many people immigrated from four provinces: Gangwon (江原), Gyeongsang (慶尚), Hamgyeong (咸鏡), and Cholla (全羅). Their homes were scattered, and they cultivated the land in earnest, engaging wholly in farming. There are only a few who engaged in fishing. The soil in the southeast portion of the island is black and better than the soil on the Joseon mainland. However, the northwest portion of the island is barren land and farming is not productive.

Generally, the manner of the people is simple and unspoiled. There are no brutal or cruel people. They organize schools every where and teach classes on Confucianism. Generally, people learn Chinese, so their nature is gentle and reliable. Thus, our trade goes smoothly without any conflicts. The Japanese residents and the Korean islanders maintain direct, trouble-free relationships.

No.1 - Name of Village, Number of Households, and Population ("X" refers to Japanese households) [I will just write Korean or Japanese]:

[Households]

• Dodong (道洞) - 27 Korean; 36 Japanese (307 men, 79 women)


• ?bokdong (?伏洞) - 10 Korean; 2 Japanese (6 men, 2 women)


• Jungryeong (中嶺) - 30 Korean; 2 Japanese (4 men, 2 women)


• Tonggumi (通龜尾) - 20 Korean; 5 Japanese (23 men, 7 women)


• Gul-am (窟巖) - 7 Korean


• Sanmak-gok (山幕谷) - 26 Korean


• Hyangmokdong (香木洞) - 17 Korean


• Sinchon (新村) - 35 Korean; 1 Japanese (1 man)


• Chusan (錐山) - 7 Korean; 1 Japanese (1 man)


• Cheonnyeon-po (千年浦) - 6 Korean


• Cheonbudong (天府洞) - 16 Korean


• Jongseokdong (亭石洞) - 20 Korean


• Naesujeon (乃守田) - 11 Korean; 2 Japanese (5 men, 4 women)


• Sagongnam (砂工南) - 2 Korean


• Sadong (沙洞) - 40 Korean; 2 Japanese (9 men; 3 women)


• Sinri (新里) - 7 Korean


• Ganryeong (間嶺) - 10 Korean


• Namyangdong (南陽洞) - 57 Korean; 9 Japanese (26 men; 12 women)


• Sucheung ? (水層?) - 1 Korean; 1 Japanese (2 men)


• Daehadong (臺霞洞) - 34 Korean; 6 Japanese (15 men, 4 women)


• Hyeon-po (玄浦) - 50 Korean


• Gwangam (光岩) - 10 Korean


• Naridong (羅里洞) - 30 Korean


• Changdong (昌洞) - 6 Korean; 2 Japanese (2 men, 2 women)


• Jukam (竹岩) - 11 Korean; 5 Japanese (14 men, 6 women)


• Wadalli (臥達里) - 2 Korean


• Jeodong (苧洞) - 62 Korean; 5 Japanese (7 men, 5 women)

There are many houses scattered in those 27 villages, and many of them are on land in valleys, on farmland and on the seashore. Groups of houses can be found here and there, so people live without overcrowding. Only in places like Naridong (羅里洞), with thirty households, and Cheonbu-dong (天府洞), with sixteen household, do people live close together. Based on last year's survery, there were 447 Korean households on the whole island, but today there are 556 households, with a population of 3,340. (The Japanese population by home province, by industry and by the table of imports and exports is attached.)

Section 3 - Products

(槻梅)?,Japanese white pine, phellodendron, "tempo"pear, "tabu" tree (Machilus thunbergii), Japanese beech, ? , empress tree, sandalwood, camellia, cherry, Jew's Ear Fungus, holm oak (Ilex integra), phellodendron bark, mulberry, soybeans, barley, broad bean, wheat, potato, abalone, dried squid, laver, Ceylon moss, copper pheasant?, cuckoo, etc. (Last year, the yield was more than 6,000 koku for soybeans, 2,000 koku for broad beans, 4,000 koku for barley, and 3,000 koku for wheat.)

Cuckoos that look like seagulls fly as far as thirty nautical ri during the day, but stay on the island at night. Natives make fires on mountains to attract the birds and then beat them to death when they gather. They then squeeze out their oil for their lamps, and dry their meat for food.

Section 4 - Boat Moorage

Initially, one can say that there are absolutely no suitable coves for anchoring on this island, but Dodong (道洞) is the best available. On average it has a width of about seventy ken (127.26 meters) and a depth of about ten jin (18.18meters). Both the east and west shore of the island are high, sheer cliffs, so ships anchor at "the Rock" (巌石), where there is room enough for only a few ships. Therefore, ships that stay for a while must be pulled up on the shore while waiting to load and set sail again. It seems unlikely that large vessels would be able to enter the cove since it is so narrow. When there is strong wind from the southeast or southwest, large swells occur, and even worse, spray splashes up onto the houses on the shore. Needless to say, ships in this cove would be in great danger of colliding with each other when those powerful winds and swell occur. Every ships that comes to this island, without exception, stops at this port since there are no other coves. Most of the Japanese stay here and all the trade cargo accumulates here.

Jeodong (苧洞) is a stopover for ships on the east side of this island. Though it is extremely narrow and, therefore, a hard place to anchor ships, it is convenient for ships to call at a port when they want a break from the southwestern winds.

Sadong (沙洞) is not a port, but the seafloor is sandy, without rocks or reefs, so it is convenient for ships to anchor there, and all the steamships do so. Though there are other small inlets, all their seafloors are rocky and reefy, so it is said they are not suitable for anchoring ships. As explained above, there are no good harbors on this island; therefore, it would necessary for steamships to consider the wind direction when calling at this port since it may prompt a change in where they take refuge.

(Note: 1 ken and 1 jin equal 6 shaku, which is about 1.818 meters.)

Section 5 - General Situation of Japanese Residents

A long time ago, people from Hamada of Sekishu (石州濱田) and Sakai of Hakushuu (伯州境) came to this island to cut and export the trees. During the 12th and 13th years of Meiji (1880-1881), a Tokyo company brought many loggers from Osaka here to cut zelkova trees, which were provided as building materials for a certain temple in Kyoto. Since the island was uninhabited in those years, there was no one here who engaged in lumbering or fishering, but later, in the 25th year of Meiji ( 1893), a few loggers from Oki came over, build a temporary shed, and finally started residing permanently. Now, there is only one man who still lives here, Wakita Shotaro (脇田庄太郎), a logger and blacksmith from Shimane Prefecture. Others have come, but none have lived here for more than seven or eight years.

As more and more people came to live here, it was only natural that bad people also came, which created a need for regulation. This led people to organize the so-called, Japanese Association of Commerce (日商組合会) in April of the 30th year of Meiji (1897). The association appointed two people to help protect the residents. However, as the population contiued to grew rapidly, it became impossible to sort out the problems with that method of law enforcement. Moreover, since the most of the residents were ignorant and illiterate, two groups of people developed. The strong subjugated the weak, and the wise tricked the ignorant. In one extreme case, a bad person even used a dangerous weapon to forcefully seize property.

The good people were deeply distressed by these bad people since there was no one to restrain them. Therefore, in July in the 34th year of Meiji (1902), important people in the community concerned with the situation held a meeting with the ordinary people, and they enacted a statue that would eliminate the old, bad habits. They agreed to appoint a chairman and a vice-chairman, both without salary, and one paid superintendent. They also agreed to elect 15 honored assemblymen to work under them and deal with the problems and incidents that occurred through a process of council and judgement. The association tried hard to enforce the statutes. For example, they put criminals in a newly created detention center to try to get them to repent their crimes, and they sent people who had committed serious crimes back to the nearest police station in the homeland (Japan).

On January 4th of this year, a dispute erupted between two groups of people. The former head of the association tried to disrupt the association, by convincing many of the lumbermen and other workers to leave the association and come over to his side. The present head tried everything he could to settle the dispute through arbitration, but he failed and ultimately accepted their leaving. Thus, all the Japanese residents divided into two groups of people. More than three fourths of the residents left the association, and only one-fourth remained. The two groups became hostile to each other not only in business dealings, but also in everyday dealings. Though the association shrank and was less prosperous, they continued to maintain order and never succumbed to the majority opposition.

On April 23th of this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) decided to establish a police substation on the island. That caused people to regret their actions, and they started applying to reenter the association one after another. The association accepted their applications and allowed all of them to become members again. On April 28th, the association changed the statue in the regulations due to the establishment of the police substation.

Section 6 - Business Conditions

The Japanese and Koreans on this island rarely do business through cash transactions; they mainly barter products and goods with each other. Therefore, both nationalities substitute soybeans for cash, regardless of whether the trade is big or small. The goods for import to Korean residents are fabric for shirts, calico, kai silk, yarn, oil, matches, sake, salt, and other small articles. There is not much Korean demand, so profits are small. Besides that, the only other trade to speak of is some trade of daily goods with the Japanese. Among the export products from the Koreans are soybeans, broadbeans, grains, Phellodendron bark, and a little Ilex integra, while lumber and marine products are from the Japanese.

Reference: Most zelkova trees close to the shore, where it is convenient for hauling, have already been cut down. Therefore, not only it is impossible to get good quality logs without going into deep into the forest, it is also so expensive to transport the logs, which are logged all over the island, to Dodong (道洞) that it is no longer profitable to export zelkova trees to Japan. Now, they have started logging such trees as Japanese hemlock, Japanese white pine, and "tempo pear." The list of product prices and workers' wages are attached with the list of imports and exports.

Section 7 - The Fishing Situation

The fishing season on the island is usually from March to September, and the marine products are only abalone, blowfish. agar weed, laver, and a few kinds of wakame seaweed. Most fishermen come from Amakusa of Kumamoto (熊本ノ天草), Oki in Shimane (島根ノ隠岐) and Shima region in Mie (三重ノ志摩地方). There are absolutely no Korean fishermen on the island, but many do come each year from Samdo (三島) in Cholla Province (全羅道) to collect the brown seaweed (wakame) which grows thickly on the seashore. [Samdo (三島) was present-day Keomundo (巨文島).]

This year fishermen from Amakusa and Oki brought eight boats equipped with diving gear and set up a base at Dodong (道洞). There were also two boats with divers (蜑船) from Shima and a one boat with divers (海士船) from Amakusa, who set up a temporary base at Jeodong (苧洞). All of these fishermen cruised around the island fishing, but compared to last year, the haul of fish was poor; thus, not much profit is expected this year. Also, about fifty nautical ri due east from the island, there are three small islands called "Ryanko-do" (Liancourt Rocks), which Japanese residents call Matsushima. There is abalone on the island, so some fishermen go there. However, drinking water on the island is scarce, so it is impossible to fish there for long periods. They come back to this island after four or five days there.

Section 8 - Transportation

Transportation between this island and the homeland (Japan) is in operation each year from March to August, and the Japanese ships come and go to the ports of Shimonoseki (下関=馬関), Sakai (境), Hamada (濱田), and Oki's Saigo (隠岐ノ西郷). However, the strong winds and high waves are always so severe after September that there is absolutely no transportation then since the voyage is so difficult. This means the number of Japanese residents grows in March, but many sail back to Japan before September or October. It has been reported that there were only 350 people who spent the new year on the island last year and only ninety-nine people the year before that.

Last year, there was not much rice imported, so the food supply for the people who spent the new year on the island began to grow short around December. Most Japanese residents had a huge trouble and had to eat soyabeans mixed with grass roots and bark. They tried to get a special food shipment from the homeland (Japan), but the voyage in winter was too dangerous, so no one answered their request. Finally, they asked the Sanko Company (三光社), who, on February 16th of this year, finally dispatched the 160-ton Sanko Maru 2 (第二三光丸) loaded with food supplies. The food was distributed to the residents, but it was too little to meet their needs, so they had to make three more requests for food delivery.

If you make a voyage on a traditional Japanese sailboat (和船) from this island to Busan, Sakai, Hamada, or Shimonoseki, it takes about two and a half days (ニ昼夜半), but if you take the steamship Sanko Maru (三光丸), it takes only a day and night (一昼夜) to reach the port of Sakai. However, strong winds blow for many days, so there are no more than five or six days a month when the weather is good enough to make the voyage. There are many cases of ships not being able to reach their destination, but drift, instead to other places like Tsuruga (敦賀), Mikuni (三国), Echizen (越前), Tajima (但馬), Tango(丹後), Sado (佐渡), or Noto (能登). It is treacherous, in fact, that it is said tthat only half the ships are able to sail directly and safely to their planned destinations while the other half are forced off course. Sometimes ships are even sinkwrecked.

Since there is absolutely no (Korean) transportation between the island and the Korean mainland, Korean residents on the island hire Japanese ships to come to the island, but it is only two or three times a year. Even though about twenty (Korean) ships from Samdo (三島) in Cholla Province (全羅道) come to the island to collect the brown seaweed (wakame) in the winter, they all return to the mainland fully loaded (without passengers). Other than those ships (from mainland), there is no one who owns a ship adquate enough to make the voyage. However, on April 11th of this year, Komiya Manjiro (小宮萬次郎)'s ship, Taihei maru (太平丸), went to Busan loaded with Korean goods and passengers. He left Busan and returned here on May 1st. The ship was pulled up on shore while the Korean goods were unloaded.

(Reference) The ports where many ships came and went in May were as follows: The incoming Japanese ships were one traditional Japanese sailboat (和船) from Busan, two ships from Janggi's Mopo (長鬐牟浦 = Pohang), two ships from Oki, five ships from Shimonoseki (赤間関), and one ship from Sakai (境) for a total of eleven. The outgoing Japanese ships were, two traditional Japanese sailboats to Shimonoseki, one ship to Hakata (博多), one ship from Janggi's Mopo (長鬐牟浦), and one steamship to Sakai for a total of five.

Section 9 - Climate

The average temprature in May is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but it goes up to around 100 degrees in the daytime around July and August and stays around 70 degrees in morning and after dark. In winter, it sometimes drops to about 20 degrees, the Japanese have never witnessed that it got so cold that it cracks water jars. The snow starts to fall around December and continues to fall until about February. It is said that the snow accumulates to between 1.21 (四尺) and 2.12 (七尺) meters every year.

Section 10 - Epidemics

There has no epidemics on the island, except for smallpox and malaria, but there has been one case dysentery, on July 19th of last year. There was no antiseptic, needless to say medicines, so the epidemic spread, finally, infecting fourteen people. Two of the people were said to have died, but the other twelve recovered completely by end of August. As a result, a mass sanitation regulation (大清潔法) was enforced.

The 1902 document mentioned that the Japanese residents on Ulleungdo had created an association to help govern their community. It was called the Japanese Commerce Association. The document also listed the bylaws that the Japanese association had made to govern themselves. Two of the bylaws mentioned the Korean residents on Ulleungdo, and they were as follows:

No. 10 - If a member of the association is harsh in his dealings with the Koreans, and it harms the peace and order or our membership, we will try to mediate the situation as much as possible, but if it is too serious, the person may be ordered to leave Korea.

No. 27 - If a person steals Korean property, damages their farm crops, uses obscene words or commits acts of obscenity against women and children, the person can also be ordered to leave Korea, depending on the situation.

The above report gives us a good understanding of what life was like on Ulleungdo in 1902, at least from the Japanese perspective. It also talks a great deal about the geography. Even though it mentioned the Korean names for Ulleungdo's neighboring islands of Jukdo and Gwaneumdo, it did not mention "Usando" (于山島) or "Seokdo" (石島), which are the Korean names Koreans claim were references to Liancourt Rocks. Usando was almost certainly just an old name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo since old Korean maps showed Usando in almost the exact location of Ulleungdo's neighboring island. As for Seokdo, though it was mentioned in the 1900 Imperial Edict, it was never again mentioned in any Korean document nor appeared on any Korean map of Ulleungdo, which suggests that it was most likely used as a catchall phrase to refer to the various, small rocky islets around Ulleungdo. The document also said that the Koreans on Ulleungdo were not fishermen and did not have any boats suitable for sailing to the mainland of Korea, which means that the Koreans on Ulleungdo did not travel to Liancourt Rocks, unless it was on a Japanese fishing boat.