1714 Jul 22: "Visible to the east of Ulleung is an island attached to Japnese territory."

According to a July 22, 1714 entry in King Sukjong's "Bo Gweol Jeong O" (補闕正吳), a Korean government emissary to Korea's Gangwon Province said that the people in the ports there told him the following:

鬱陵之東 島嶼相望 接于倭境
"Visible to the east of Ulleung is an island attached to Japanese territory."

Except for its neighboring islands, the only island visible to the east of Ulleungdo is Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima); therefore, the above sentence is evidence that Koreans in 1714 recognized Liancourt Rocks as being part of Japanese territory. Also, by mentioning the above quote, the Korean emissary seemed to be warning government officials that Japan was within eyesight of Korean territory (Ulleungdo).

Korean historians mistranslate the above sentence, possibly in an attempt to hide the fact that a Korean document described Liancourt Rocks as being Japanese territory, but it seems quite clear to me that this island east of Ulleungdo was not considered part of Ulleungdo since it was described as being visible from Ulleungdo. Also, by only saying that there was an island visible to the east of Ulleungdo, without giving any distance, suggests that they had not been to the island.

HERE is how Korea's National Institute of Korean History translated the passage:

鬱陵之東 島嶼相望 接于倭境
울릉도 동쪽에는 섬이 서로 잇달아 왜경(倭境)에 접해 있다.
East of Ulleungdo, islands connect to each other to reach the Japanese border.

Notice in the above Korean translation that nothing was said about the island east of Ulleungdo being visible from Ulleungdo (鬱陵之東 島嶼相望 ). Instead, they translated 島嶼相望 as being a "chain of islands," which is really ridiculous and something the National Institute of Korean History should be ashamed of. The fact that the National Institute of Korean History came up with such a ridiculous translation stongly suggests that they realized the important of this sentence and how it would hurt the Korean claim to Liancourt Rocks.

This passage is one of only two instances in Korean documents prior to 1906 that mentioned seeing an island east of Ulleungdo that was most likely Liancourt Rocks. The other passage can be found in a 1694 Korean document HERE.

Here is my translation of the relevant passage:

Gangwon Provincial emissary Jo Seok-myeong (趙錫命) discussed the neglected coastal defenses in the Yeongdong region. Here is a summary:

I listened carefully to the people in the ports (浦人) who said, "Pyeonghae (平海) and Uljin (蔚珍) are closest to Ulleungdo, and there are no obstructions along the sea route. Visible to the east of Ulleung is an island attached to Japanese territory." In 1708 and 1712, strange-looking ships drifted to the borders of Goseong (高城) and Ganseong (杆城), so we know that Japanese ships frequently come and go. The government, however, says that the vast sea is a barrier, so there is no need to worry, but how can we be sure that a future war will not break out in the Yeongdong region instead of the Yeongnam region? We cannot allow even a little delay in taking measures to be thoroughly prepared.

In accordance with the request, the Myodang (廟堂) requested that Gangwondo be reprimanded to cracked down on its military officials.

辛酉江原道御使趙錫命 論嶺東海防疎虞狀略曰 詳聞浦人言 平海蔚珍 距鬱陵島最近 船路無少礙 鬱陵之東 島嶼相望 接于倭境. 戊子壬辰 異攘帆穡 漂到高杆境 倭船往來之頻數 可知. 朝家雖以嶺海之限隔 謂無可憂 而安知異日生釁之必由嶺南 而不由嶺東乎. 綢繆之策 不容少緩. 廟堂請依其言 飭江原道 團束軍保.