Dokdo-or-Takeshima?: 1436 Jun 19 - Gangwondo Governor Asks to Populate "Muleungdo's Usan"

6.8.08

1436 Jun 19 - Gangwondo Governor Asks to Populate "Muleungdo's Usan"

Below is a record from the "Annals of King Sejong" dated June 19, 1436. According to the record, the governor of Gangwon Province asks King Sejong to allow him to populate "Muleungdo's Usan," (武陵島牛山 - 무릉도의 우산), which he described as being a fertile island with many products and having north-south and east-west diameters of fifty ri each. That means the Usan being referred to had to be Ulleungdo.

Source:『世宗實錄』卷七十三, 世宗十八年閏六月甲申條

June 19, 1436

江原道監司柳季聞啓武陵島牛山土沃多産東西南北各五十餘里沿海四面石壁周回又有可泊船隻之處請募民實之仍置萬戶守令實爲久長之策不允

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강원도 감사 유계문(柳季聞)이 아뢰기를,“무릉도(武陵島)의 우산(牛山)은 토지가 비옥하고 산물도 많사오며, 동서남북이 각각 50여 리로 사면이 바다이며 석벽(石壁)으로 둘러싸여 있고, 또 선박이 정박할 만한 곳도 있사오니, 청컨대, 백성을 모집하여 이를 채우고, 인하여 만호수령(萬戶守令)을 두게 되면 실로 장구지책이 될 것입니다.” 라고 하였으나 윤허하지 아니하였다.

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Gangwon Provincial Governor Yu Gye-mun said: "The land of Muleungdo's Usan is fertile and has many products. It is surrounded by the sea and is about 50 ri from both north to south and east to west. It is surrounded by rock cliffs, and there are also places where ships can anchor. Please allow me to gather people to settle this place. If we do this and assign a magistrate there, it will likely be a long-lasting endeavor." The request, however, was denied royal sanction.

11 comments:

misol7/8/08 00:17
Hi!
You omit the base of decision!
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pacifist7/8/08 00:30
misol221,

I can't understand what you mean.

Gerry introduced Korean old document 世宗實錄 which mentioned Muleungdo's Usan was fertile.

This expression "fertile" does not fit to Liancourt Rocks because Liancourt Rocks are rock islets without soil and water.

And the measurements (東西南北各五十餘里) show that it was bigger island than Liancourt Rcoks.

The island which fit these conditions may be only Ulleungdo.
So this document is one of the evidences to show that at least in the 15th century Usan was not Liancourt Rocks.
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misol7/8/08 00:36
Doesn't it mean Usan was not man living island?
AND
Sejong do not allow people to live?
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misol7/8/08 00:45
AND
Pacifist, Are you Gerry,?
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Gerry Bevers7/8/08 00:48
No, Miso. Pacifist is the good-looking one.
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misol7/8/08 00:55
I mean the old document say
just Usan is not allowed to live.
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pacifist7/8/08 00:56
misol221,

You wrote;
"Doesn't it mean Usan was not man living island?"

No, Usan was "inhabitable" island while Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Dokdo) were "uninhabitable" island(s). It means Usan was not Liancourt Rocks.

misol221, I'm not Gerry but Gerry is good looking too.
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misol7/8/08 01:02
OK. I understand.

Pacifist do you love peace?!
(I misunderstood because you comment zealously)
ReplyDelete
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misol7/8/08 01:07
I thought P. love G.
:->
P&G may be... (run away!!)
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Illegalworker/NoLicenseHolder.24/2/09 12:29
This comment has been removed by the author.
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ace_ventura24/4/11 20:47
pacifist,

Jukdo and Dokdo have about the same size
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NE Shore of Ulleungdo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도)

This satellite photo shows Ulleungdo's neighboring islands of Gwaneumdo (觀音島) and Jukdo (竹島) off Ulleungdo's east shore. Gwaneumdo is only about 100 meters offshore and looks more like a cape than an island. Jukdo is about 2 km offshore. The old Korean name for Jukdo was "Usando" (于山島), as many of Korea's old maps show. Koreans claim that Usando was Korea's old name for "Dokdo" (Liancourt Rocks), but they have no documents or maps to prove it. Also, Liancourt Rocks is about ninety-two kilometers southeast of Ulleungdo and are essentially two islands, but all of Korea's old maps show it as one island just off shore of Ulleungdo.

"Cheonggudo" (靑邱圖) Atlas (1860 - 1872)

This Korean map of Ulleungdo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도) showed it with a small island off its eastern shore labeled as "Usan" (于山). Hash marks at the bottom of the map showed that Usan was less than 4 km off Ulleungdo's east shore. That would mean that it would be Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo, which is about 2.2 km off Ulleungdo's east shore. Koreans claim that Usando was the old name for Dokdo (Liancourt Rocks), but Dokdo is 92 km southeast of Ulleungdo and is essentially two islands, not one. The map is stored in the National Library of Korea.

"Cheonggudo" (靑邱圖) Atlas (1834)

This Korean map of Ulleungdo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도) showed Usan (于山 - 우산) as a neighboring island just off Ulleungdo's east shore. The hash marks at the bottom of the map showed the island to be about 4 km offshore. Usando was the old Korean name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo, which is about 2.2 km of Ulleungdo's east shore. Koreans claim that Usando was the old Korean name for "Dokdo" (Liancourt Rocks), which is 92 km southeast of Ulleungdo, but this map and many others prove that claim false. The map is stored in Seoul National University's Kyujanggak Center for Korean Studies.

"Dong Yeodo" (東輿圖) Atlas (1795 - 1800)

This map showed Ulleungdo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도) with a neighboring island labeled as "Usan" (于山 - 우산). Usando (于山島) was the old Korean name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島 - 죽도), which is about 2.2 km off Ulleungdo's east shore. Koreans claim that Usando was the old name for "Dokdo" (Liancourt Rocks), which is 92 km southeast of Ulleungdo, but this map and many others prove that claim wrong. The map is stored in Japan's "University of Tsukuba Library" (筑波大学附属図書館).

"Joseon-do" (朝鮮圖) - 1800 - 1822

This map of Ullelungdo (鬱陵島) is from the Korean atlas "Joseon-do" (朝鮮圖), which is believed to have been made sometime between 1800 and 1822. Ulleungdo is shown with a neighboring island labeled as Usan (于山). Koreans claim that Usando (于山島) was the old Korean name for Dokdo (Liancourt Rocks), but this map and many others show that it was Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島), which is Ulleungdo's largest neighboring island and only two kilometers off Ulleungdo's east shore. The map is stored in the Osaka Nakanoshima Library (中之島圖書館).

"Gwandong Bangyeo" (關東方輿) - late 1800s?)

This map of Ulleungdo comes from an atlas entitled "Gwandong Bangyeo" (關東方輿), which was probably made in the late 1800s since the map is very similarly to another map of Ulleungdo that was made between 1884 and 1894. The mapmaker used gridlines to help show relative size and distance. The map shows Ulleungdo with a small island off its east shore labeled as "Usan" (于山), which was the old Korean name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島 - 죽도). Jukdo is Ulleungdo's largest neighoring island and is about two kilometers off Ulleungdo's east shore. Koreans claim that Usando was the old Korean name for "Dokdo" (Liancourt Rocks), but they have no maps or documents to prove it. The map is stored in the Korean National Library.

"Joseon Jido" (朝鮮地圖) Atlas (1750 - 1768)

This Korean map of Ulleungdo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도) showed "Usan" (于山 - 우산) as a neighboring island. The grid lines on the map helped show the small island's relative distance from Ulleungdo. Usando (于山島 - 우산도) was the old Korean name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島 - 죽도), which is about 2.2 km off Ulleungdo's east shore. Korean's claim that Usando was the old name for "Dokdo" (Liancourt Rocks), but this map and many others prove that claim false.

Inspector's Map of Ulleungdo (1711)

The map is an inspector's map that showed Ulleungdo with an island off its east shore labeled as "the so-called Usando" (所謂于山島). The small island was also labeled as having "fields of haejang bamboo" (海長竹田). Koreans claim that Usando was Dokdo (Liancourt Rocks), but this map shows that it could not have been Dokdo since Dokdo is just rocks without the soil to grow haejang bamboo. Also, Usando was shown as a neighboring island of Ulleungdo, but Dokdo is 92 km southeast of Ulleungdo. Stored in Seoul Nat'l University's Kyujanggak Institute of Korean Studies.

"Haejwa Jeondo" (海左全圖) - mid 1800s

This old Korean map showed Ulleungdo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도) with a small neighboring island just off its east shore labeled as "Usan" (于山 - 우산). Koreans claim that Usando (于山島 - 우산도) was the old name for Dokdo (Liancourt Rocks), but this map is evidence against the Korean claim. Liancourt Rocks is essentially two islands 92 kilometers southeast of Ulleungdo, but the Usan on this map is just off Ulleungdo's east shore and is only one island. In fact, Usando was the old name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島 - 죽도), which is only two kilometers off Ulleungdo's east shore.

Carte de la Coree (1846)

This map was made iin 1846 by Kim Dae-geon (金大建), who was Korea's first Catholic priest. He made this map for the benefit of the French priest he works with. He was killed by the Joseon government the same year this map was made. The map shows Ulleungdo labeled in French as "Oulangto" and its neighboring island of Usando labeled as "Ousan." Koreans claim that Usando (于山島 - 우산도) was the old name for Dokdo (Liancourt Rock), but this map shows Usando as one island just of the east shore of Ulleungdo. That tells us that Usando was almost certainly Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島 - 죽도), which is only 2 kilometers off Ulleungdo's east shore. Also, this island could not have been Liancourt Rocks since Liancourt Rocks is essentially two islands not one. The original of this map is stored in the National Library of France.

Joseon Jeondo (朝鮮全圖) from the "Gakdo Jido" (各道地圖) Atlas (latter 18th c.)

This old Korean map showed an island labeled as "Usando" (于山島 - 우산도) just off the east shore of Ulleundo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도). Koreans claim that Usando was the old name for Dokdo (Liancourt Rocks), but this map is more evidence against that claim. Liancourt Rocks is essentially two islands ninety-two kilometers southeast of Ulleungdo, but this map shows Usando as one island just off Ulleungdo's east shore. Usando was, in fact, the old name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島 - 죽도), which is about two kilometers off Ulleungdo's east shore. This map is stored in Korea's Yeongnam University Museum.

"Joseon Jido" (朝鮮地圖) Atlas (1898)

"Donggyeong San Cheon - Paldo Jido (東京山川八道地圖) Atlas (date unknown)

"Jeongukdo" (全國圖) from the "Dongguk Daecheondo" (東國大全圖) - 1740

This old Korean map shows Ulleungdo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도) with a small neighboring island just off its east shore labeled as "Usando" (于山島 - 우산도). Koreans claim that Usando was the old name for Dokdo, but this map is evidence against that claim. Liancourt Rocks is essentially two islands ninety-two kilometers southeast of Ulleungdo, but the Usando on this map is one island just off the east shore of Ulleungdo. Usando was, in fact, the old name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo (竹島 - 죽도), which is about two kilometers off Ulleungdo's east shore. This map is stored in the Korean National Museum.

竹島問題の歴史

6.8.08

1436 Jun 19 - Gangwondo Governor Asks to Populate "Muleungdo's Usan"

11 comments: