Japanese lawmakers plan to visit the Korean island of Ulleungdo, where they also plan to visit the Dokdo Museum, a museum dedicated to spreading Korea's false territorial claims to the Japanese islets of Takeshima, which Koreans call Dokdo. Koreans have illegally occupied Takeshima since the 1950s, beginning soon after the 1951 Peace Treaty recognized the islets as Japanese territory.In the photo to the left, Korean protestors rip up a portraint of one of the Japanese lawmakers planning to visit the museum during a rally near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. LINK
I think the reason Koreans are opposed to Japanese lawmakers visiting the museum is that they fear the lawmakers will expose some of the distortions and outrageous claims made at the museum, which is more of a propaganda facility than a real museum. The Korean government seems to be embarrassed by the museum. If Seoul were proud of the museum, then wouldn't the Korean government be encouraging the Japanese to visit the museum rather than discouraging them?
Probably one of the more infamous examples of the distortions at the Dokdo museum is an altered model of a 1530 Korean map. In the original map, an island labeled Usando (于山島 - 우산도) appears off the west coast of Ulleungdo (鬱陵島 - 울릉도), but in the model at the museum, Usando appears off the east coast of Ulleungdo. Koreans claim that Usando was the old name for "Dokdo," but Dokdo is off the east coast of Ulleungdo, so the museum staff apparently switched the location of the island on the model to better support their claim.
A copy of the original map and the altered model at the museum appear below:
The altered model of 1530 Korean map at the museum is famous in Japan. Many Japanese remember that distortion of history by Korea.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your diligent updating and sharing your unique opinion about Dokdo. After reading your writing, I called the Dokdo Museum and had an interview with the Director about the 1530 map. As you said, it must be famous in Japan because NHK TV crews visited here too. Anyway, the true story is the following.
ReplyDelete0. There are two maps of 1950 around the museum. (1) One is the copy of original one inside the museum; (2) the other is actually not a map but a image out of the map out of the museum.
1. They have exhibited the copy of original 1950 map without any change inside the museum.
2. They made a panel to show the distance of Dokdo, Ulengdo and land area. In this panel, they used the image of 1950 map. To show the right direction, the staff changed the location of Dokdo.
3. A reasonable person does think that the model out of the museum is not a map of 1950.
4. Also, a reasonable person does think the staff has no intention to distort the history once they have exhibited a copy of original 1950 map which shows Dokdo's wrong location.
5. If you are a person who knows a little about the history and old map of Japan at the same time around 16C, Japan had more serious errors in their map in terms of exact location.
6. Therefore, your comment shows your prejudice and one-sided opinion. Please be a reasonable person.
7. Anyway thank you for your interest for Dokdo, but please do not have unreasonable desire to make the island as one of Japanese territory.
Love Japan More,
ReplyDelete"2. They made a panel to show the distance of Dokdo, Ulengdo and land area. In this panel, they used the image of 1950 map. To show the right direction, the staff changed the location of Dokdo. "
The peninsular part of the "panel" is from 1530 map and they add the 1950 map to show the distance?
This is called "distortion", for the reasonable person around the rest of the world outside Korea.
Oh and one more thing.
ReplyDeletePlease show me "1950" map you referred. As far as I know, Korean didn't claim Usando as Dokdo until September 1953. Don't be ridiculed by Dokdo Museum's stupid excuses. They had already admitted that it is not correct and promised they gonna put it down to Japanese TV crew. What a big fat liars...
Love Japan More!,
ReplyDeleteThe model is of a 1530 map, not a 1950 map.
As Kaneganese mentioned, a Japanese newspaper reporter and photographer visited the Dokdo Museum in April 2007 and interviewed one of the Korean employees there. During the interview, the museum employee admitted that the model was a distortion of the 1530 map and said that it was done to make it easier to understand, which means it was altered to jive with Korean claims. He also said that they were considering correcting it. When the Japanese reporter asked when they were going to correct it, the museum employee said that it would probably be within the year.
After more than four years, the model still has not been corrected.
You can read about my interview with the Sankei Shimbun reporter HERE.
By the way, immediately after leaving Seoul's Koreana Hotel, where I had my interview with the Japanese reporter, I was approached by a Korean man who showed me an identification card and said he worked for Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS). He wanted to know my name and where I worked and asked for my Alien Registration Card. When I asked him why he was stopping me, he said that he had a report of a Caucasian man selling drugs in the area. When I asked him why the NIS was investigating drug-related crimes instead of the police, he just say that it was their jog.
Anyway, I was very suspicious because that was the first time I had ever been stopped in Korea and asked for my ID, and it happened just after my interview with the Japanese reporter. Also, even though he supposedly suspected me of dealing drugs, he did not search me and allowed me to leave after writing down the information on my ID card.
As for Japanese maps, can you give me an example where a Japanese museum has created a model distorting one of their historic maps?
To respond to Kanegansee and Gerry,
ReplyDeleteI would like to apologize that I made a mistake: the number 1950 must be 1530. Sorry for this mistake and thank you Gerry your correcting.
Also, I didn't know the fact that the staff of the Dokdo Museum made a kind of promise to the NHK TV crews.
Do you know what kind of promise the staff made at the time?
Also,let's think about this issue.
In the exhibition room, they have showed the copy of old map, as you know the map of 1530 which is in the book. So, you can find the book which shows the page with the 1530 map.
And, outside of the museum building, they made about 2 meter size model to show the distance.
Again, today, I called the office of the museum and they told me that, after NHK's visiting, the museum installed a notice that "this is not a real map and just a model to show the distance..."
However, really do you think that this is 'distortion' of history?
If they didn't display the original one inside, you may say distortion.
Frankly speaking, even if they didn't display the original one, if they just made a model out of the building, it's hard to say distortion. Everybody can see that it's just model using the old map as a background.
However, I would like to help you reduce your anger about the issue you raised 'the staff's promise part.'
Let's find what promise they made and how they kept the promise or not.
Keep in touch.
Love Japan More!,
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese reporter to whom I was referring was a newspaper reporter from Sankei Shimbun, not NHK.
When you make a huge model of a 1530 map that Koreans claim was the first to show "Dokdo" as Korean territory but then switch the position of Ulleungdo and the island Koreans claim to be Dokdo, that is distortion. They switched the islands because the island Koreans claim to be "Dokdo" was on the wrong side of Ulleungdo, and, therefore, could not have possibly been Dokdo.
Also, the model is inside the museum, not outside, and it is much larger than 2 meters.
Look at the following photo of the model and tell if you see the sign you claim is there.
http://visitkorea.or.kr/cms/resource/02/201602_image2_1.jpg
Did you really call the Dokdo Museum? I am asking because you seem to have a lot of facts wrong.
Love Japan More!
ReplyDeleteAs Gerry said, the one Dokdo Museum admitted to was not NHK, but Sankei Shimbun. You can read the article here. It tells what they admitted and promised. You do understand what it says, right? "Love Japan More"?
http://livedoor.2.blogimg.jp/onigunso2/imgs/a/d/adf802c2.jpg
And on second thought, I think it was not NHK too, but TV Asahi. You can watch their program on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPVJN4PXZ1M
Did Dokdo Museum staff really said NHK crew visited them and aired program? I'm extremely curious about it. Could you call them again and make sure if it was really NHK, please?
Gerry Bevers and Kaneganese,
ReplyDeleteI would like both of you to visit this site:
http://www.dokdocorea.com/map.htm
It shows the depictions of old maps which includes the altered 1530 map. The site states that it was drawn by a Korean man, but with an error: he changed the location of Ulengdo and Dokdo.
Thus, the Dokdo Museum decided to make a model of the map with the right locations of Dokdo and Ulengdo. One of the employees in the Museum wanted to explain that it was a wrong depiction of the 1530; however, it is the right depiction if you were to look at Dokdo and Ulengdo through a view from a window through an airplane. This is why the Koreans did not change the model; because it is true-- the map was what was drawn wrong.
I think that this is why the Korean officials did not want the Japanese people to come: because they will point this and many other "errors" as a distortions (which aren't really) and say that the Koreans distorted history. To avoid this catastrophe and to protect the Japanese lawmakers from harm from the Korean people who are already dislike them from abuse in the past, I think that the government decided upon unwelcoming them.
Booger,
ReplyDeleteUsando (于山島 - 우산도) was the old name for Ulleungdo's neighboring island of Jukdo, which is just 2 km off Ulleungdo's east shore.
The 1530 map was correct at the time because there is evidence that Koreans at the time believed the main island of Ulleungdo was called "Usando" and the neighboring island was called "Ulleungdo," which would explain why Ulleungdo is to the east of Usando and why "Usan" came before Usan-Ulleung, which was one of the names used for Ulleungdo at the time. Usan was probably placed before Ulleung because Koreans at the time believed it to be the main island.
The confusion started with this 1412 report, which talked about 11 families coming from the island of Yusanguk, which was a reference to Usanguk (于山國). They told authorities that they grew up on Muleungdo (武陵島 - 무릉도), which was a reference to Ulleungdo, but that they had now moved to the "main island" (Usanguk-do). That means that "Muleungdo" was the neighboring island of "Yusangukdo," which would explain why would explain why Ulleungdo (鬱陵島) was to the east of Usando (于山島) on the 1530 map.
The 1530 map was correct. It was just that Ulleungdo and its neighboring island of Usando had switched names at the time.
THIS LINK explains the situation better.
「八道総図」を改竄したレリーフは撤去あるいは修正したと聞きましたが、まだ展示されているのでしょうか。
ReplyDelete他に今まで知られていない捏造や改竄された展示品があるのでしょうか。（それが知られるのを恐れている?）
Makoto 様
ReplyDelete2009年08月の時点では展示されていました。
http://www.panoramio.com/user/197550/tags/fascist%20propaganda
Gerry Bevers,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the link that you showed me was entirely based upon your opinions without any other documents from Korea's perspective. I found a link that proves Korea's opinion that says that Usando is Dokdo:
http://academic.naver.com/view.nhn?doc_id=40747270&dir_id=0&page=0&query=%EC%9A%B0%EC%82%B0%EB%8F%84&library=5
It is an academic essay but nevertheless supports Korea's perspective.
Secondly, just as Love Japan More! said, the original map is inside the museum, meaning that the map was not permanently distorted; it is still existent and is displayed as the original map.
Also, I'd like to point out that Korea isn't "afraid" of Japanese lawmakers visiting Ulengdo. They are defending the lawmakers from the dangers of the protesters as well as defending their land from threat. I'm pretty sure the Koreans were waiting to hurl some nasty stuff at them once they got out of the airport. Japan already took over them once, and they do not want them to be taken over again. The fact that the Japanese lawmakers were trying to intrude into the country despite the government's opposition is shown as a threat.
Booger,
ReplyDeleteI do not understand what you are talking about. All the documents and maps on the link I gave you were Korean documents and maps. In other words, Korea's own documents and maps disprove her claims.
Wow, Gerry! NIS?! They really are afraid of having "inconvenient truth" known and spread to the Korean public.
ReplyDeleteLove Japan More!,
The Japanese lawmakers had announced their plan to visit Ulleungdo and the Dokdo Museum ahead of time. Why was the Korean gov't unable to escort them to ensure their safety, when the Jse gov't requested so?
Korean citizens are allowed to not only enter Japan but protest against some Japanese education policies at Jse gov't offices. Those lawmakers were not holding pickets or even intended to protest against Korea's illegal occupation, which is the official view of Japan, or to express anger by killing birds or cutting fingers. Their visit was a civil one intended to visit the Museum, and if possible, as Shindo said, to hear from Korean people there their views.
It was really an unacceptable and dishonorable move by the Korean gov't.
Gerry Bevers,
ReplyDeleteI am starting to understand your perspective of Korea's history; however, you are distorting the written documents by assuming that Ulengdo is Usando and Usando is Ulengdo, which is quite confusing and irrational.
I believe that this, however, is quite clear and shows that Dokdo was Korea's island:
1900 (Great Han Empire, 4th year of reign title Gwangmu)
－ On Oct. 27, Joseon issued Imperial Ordinance No. 41, thereby changing the name of Ulleungdo to Uldo and changing the role of its provost to that of a county magistrate. As a result, the island became the 27th county of Gangwon Province. Under the Ordinance, the county office was established in Taehadong and the new county magistrate of Uldo had authority over the entire island, Jukdo (Daetseom) and Seokdo (Dokdo).
The incumbent Provost, Bae Gye-ju, became the first County Magistrate of Uldo. The central government divided Ulleung County into Nam-myeon and Buk-myeon, with Dokdo belonging to Nam-myeon of Ulleng County for administrative purposes.
*Source: Uldo-gi (Record of Uldo) and a report written by U Yong-jeong; Gojongsillok (Annals of Emperor Gojong) vol. 40; Gwanbo (Official Gazette) Issue No. 1716 dated October 27 of the 4th year of reign title Gwangmu.
Legally, Dokdo was Korea's. However, Japan claimed that Dokdo was uninhabited when they already claimed in written documents that Dokdo was Korea's island. You should go to this site, which displays the main reasons why Dokdo is Korea's land: http://english.dokdohistory.com/dokdo-history/dokdo-dispute.asp
I believe that debating over Korea's past in which Dokdo was called a different name is now useless considering the legal documents that show Dokdo (in it's present name) is Korea's island. The fact that the Japanese people claimed it is illegal.
Haha! another comment about distorting history!! Sorry to say this but I actually believe that Korean's allegation is true. and rather say that Japan distorts the history the best! not just Japan's own but so many other countries' as well!!
ReplyDeleteThis is basically "You don't believe me, I don't believe you" situation.
The bottom line is that Dokdo is occupied by Koreans now. Please learn to deal with it.