Online encyclopedias around the world are increasingly adopting a French name to call South Korean islets of Dokdo rather than the indigenous name, apparently as a result of Japan's massive lobbying, according to a non-governmental organization Tuesday.
"While Korea was stressing its sovereignty over Dokdo, Japan has intensively lobbied the world to promote 'Liancourt Rocks' and 'Takeshima,'" Yonhap News quoted Park Ki-tae, representative of the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK), as saying. Japan calls the islets Takeshima.
Dokdo is Korean territory, but some encyclopedias call them Liancourt Rocks, named after a French whaling ship that first introduced the islets to Europe. Japan reportedly backs this reference to reinforce its attempt to lay claim to the islets.
A fresh diplomatic row erupted between Seoul and Tokyo after the Japanese Education Ministry, defying warnings from Seoul, Monday released new guidelines for middle school teachers and publishers claiming Dokdo as Japanese territory. Korea's top envoy to Japan was recalled home in protest.
Park said Japan's lobbying on the issue has expanded overseas. The number of Web sites referring to the islets as the Liancourt Rocks surged to 38,500 as of Wednesday, up from 32,500 in May and 22,000 in October 2005, he said.
The surge seems to be a result of the Columbia University encyclopedia, which started using the French name instead of the Korean name in its 2001 revision, he said. Major online encyclopedias around the world followed suit, such as popular Web sites factmonster.com, thefreedictionary.com, infoplease.com, education.yahoo.com and aol.bartleby.com.
According to Yonhap, Factmonster.com, a U.S.-based online encyclopedia describes the islets as "Liancourt Rocks, Jap. Takeshima, Korean Tok Do ... Consisting of two small rocky islands and nearby reefs, the Liancourt Rocks are claimed by Japan and South Korea, and have been occupied by South Korea since 1954."
Dokdo, meaning "lonely island" in Korean, lie 92km east of South Korea's Ulleung Island and 160 km west of Japan's Oki Island in the East Sea. South Korea maintains a small coast guard unit on the islets, where several locals are registered as residents. International studies suggest the region is a massive reservoir of methane hydrate, a potential energy resource.