Activist urges people to visit Dokdo

Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University and a veteran “Dokdo” advocate, stands before the national flag at the Independence Hall of Korea, where he launched the “Dokdo School,” in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.

Advocates campaign to encourage learning about islets

This is the last of a five-part series on major issues

between Korea and Japan. — ED.

An ad titled “CONNECT” that also appeared on the New York Times, on March 1, 2012, asks people to match the national flags of the United States, Italy, Korea and Indonesia with Dokdo, Hawaii, Bali and Sicily. Seo Kyoung-duk twitted the carrying of the ad and asked twitter users to tweet in acknowledgement.

By Park Jin-hai

Every year, a familiar chain of events involving Korea and Japan occurs.

A small band of Japanese right-wing politicians visit the Yasukuni Shine, where Japan’s war dead, including war criminals, are buried, and claim that Japan has sovereignty over Korea’s easternmost rocky islets of Dokdo.

Some of these politicians attempt to visit the islets, but this is prevented by the Korean government out of concern for national security. They, together with angry Korean citizens, are featured in newspaper headlines. This territorial conflict intermittently freezes bilateral relations between the two countries.

Seo Kyoung-duk, 39, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University who has been a Dokdo advocate for a decade, says that the conflict should end.

“Koreans, with no exception, say that Dokdo is Korean territory. But when asked to explain their logic, only a few come forward,” said Seo.

He said that to counter Japan’s claim, Koreans, more than anything else, should learn about Dokdo.

“We should know about Dokdo first. Take some time to visit and see the beautiful islets yourself. This way can we only strengthen our effective control over the islets.”

To that end, he opened a “Dokdo School” within the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province on March 1, the nation’s Independence Movement Day.

“I wanted to build it here because the hall itself was built some 20 years ago with donations from the people. Likewise, I wish that the Dokdo School will be run by the people,” said Seo.

This year, the school aims to educate 3,000 children. A textbook that’s full of fun and educational activities related to plants and fish living in the Dokdo territory was developed for the children who take a study course.

Seo was surprised when the 3,000 seats were filled on the first day the course was offered online. He realized how much people wanted to know more about Dokdo.

However, he says that people need to exercise caution when considering joining the Dokdo campaign.

“Since I placed a Dokdo ad in The New York Times in 2005, a lot of people have e-mailed me saying that they, too, would like to make some contribution to the campaign,” he said.

Since then, he has also placed ads on the East Sea, Hangul (Korean alphabet) and “bibimbap” (rice mixed with assorted vegetables), as well as ads on historical issues such as Korean war-time sex slaves to promote Korean culture in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

An ad that professor Seo Kyoung-duk and singer Kim Jang-hoon paid for in the Feb. 22, 2011, edition of the New York Times, inviting more people to visit Korea. The map shows the East Sea and Dokdo as part of Korean territory. / Korea Times file

According to Seo, some people have used their own money to set up a billboard about Dokdo in the United States, while younger generations have formed study groups and engaged in flash mobs to increase awareness about Dokdo.

“In such cases, people tend to say that ‘Dokdo belongs to Korea.’ But by saying so, we could send a wrong message to international audiences who are unaware of the issue, that Dokdo is embroiled in a territorial dispute, which is not the case.”

He suggests that people should find indirect ways to promote that the islets are Korean territory. He urges people to focus on Korea’s tourism and culture. For instance, writing that conveys the beauty of Dokdo in a “Come Visit Korea” advertisement communicates indirectly that the islets belong to Korea.

He is also working on adding English subtitles to the movie “Sorry, Dokdo (2008)” before submitting it to international film festivals.

“Who knows? If, by any chance, the film is nominated and wins an award, it could have a significant impact on the Dokdo campaign,” Seo said.

The small act of pinning 100 Korean flag-imprinted badges onto the bags of backpackers he met on his trip to Europe in 1996 contributed toward his current role as a Dokdo specialist. Using this as an example, he says anybody can start a “Love Dokdo” campaign.

“It is important that people visit the islets and present proof that it is our territory. If more and more people visit the islets and upload their pictures online, ‘Korea’ will appear next to ‘Dokdo’ in web searches. That can demonstrate the power of the citizens,” he said.

As for the roles of the government and civilians, he says that the former should pursue quiet diplomacy, while the latter can play a more vocal role.

“Being silent doesn’t mean that the government should sit idle on the issue. What I mean is that the government should support the campaign by collecting data and proof that backs up our claim, instead of countering Japanese extremists head-on,” he added.

In contrast, civilians can organize events that can get much publicity, he adds. One example is a relay swimming event, during which swimmers crossed the East Sea to get to Dokdo. This took place on Aug. 15, the nation’s Liberation Day, in 2012.

The event was organized to show that Dokdo is Korean territory, and that Koreans can swim across to it whenever they want. Singer Kim Jang-hoon and actor Song Il-gook together with some 40 university students swam across the waters. However, because he participated in the event, Song was denied entry to Japan.

“The rest of the world was puzzled by the Japanese government’s emotional reaction to the civilian event. People wonder why the Japanese government fretted about such a benign event. If there is nothing to hide, why would they?”

He believes that his role in the campaign is to constantly send a message that the Dokdo issue should not be forgotten, to point out wrongdoings by the two governments, and, most importantly, to find effective countermeasures against Japan through consultations with the government.