Kim Woo-young's Gwanggyo Column Dokdo Called Takeshima? Scholar Lee Jong-hak Would Be Furious!

Recently, Professor Seo Kyoung-duk of Sungshin Women's University stated that “when 'Dokdo' is translated into Japanese on Google Translate, the result is not '独島' (Dokdo) but '竹島' (Takeshima), a name that only Japan insists upon with distorted claims. This is a clear error.”

I do not hate Japan. Let me rephrase: I have favorable feelings toward the many good and conscientious Japanese people, excluding ultra-rightists, Korea-haters, and politicians with distorted views on historical issues such as the Japanese colonial period and Dokdo.

In fact, the Japanese people I have met are truly kind. Their consideration for others is particularly striking. Representative examples are the members of the Himeji City Harima Hangeul Research Association, an overseas sister organization of the Hwaseong Research Association to which I belong.

Every time we exchange visits, the sincerity they show through their actions has moved us.

However, the conduct of those groups I mentioned earlier provokes not only my anger but also the nation's fury. What added to this anger is Google's search results for 'Takeshima.'

Had Scholar Lee Jong-hak been alive, he would have immediately visited Google's headquarters and lodged a strong protest.

Scholar Saun Lee Jong-hak (李鍾學, 1927–2002) was a bibliographer and document collector who dedicated his entire life to collecting materials on Dokdo, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the history of Japanese invasion, and the anti-Japanese resistance movement. He was a notable figure of Suwon.

He is enshrined in the 'Hall of Fame of Suwon City' at the entrance of Suwon City Hall, and there is a 'Saun Room' (史芸室) at the Suwon Gwanggyo Museum that houses precious materials donated by the scholar.

In particular, he visited Japan over 50 times to prove that Dokdo is our territory and discovered various materials. The scholar, who passed away in November 2002, the year South Korea held the World Cup, donated enormous quantities of related materials to the Dokdo Museum, the Independence Hall of Korea, the Hyungchungsa Shrine, and Suwon City.

In 2018, ahead of the March 1st Independence Movement Day, I recalled the scholar in an editorial for Gyeonggi Newspaper as follows:

“During his lifetime, the scholar emphasized to those around him that 'the mission to protect Dokdo has no distinction between North and South, so we must join forces.' In March 2001, he also organized the first inter-Korean historical materials exhibition at the People's Study House in Pyongyang, North Korea. The exhibition materials were then made public to our people through special exhibitions at the Dokdo Museum. In October of last year, the Suwon Gwanggyo Museum, which displays and preserves materials donated by Scholar Lee Jong-hak, jointly held a special exhibition titled 'Dokdo, Recording and Remembering' with the Ulleungdo and Dokdo Museum. On this March 1st, I hope we remember Scholar Lee Jong-hak, who collected and donated Dokdo materials throughout his life to protect Dokdo, along with the noble anti-Japanese spirit of the patriotic heroes.”

I first met the scholar during the compilation process of the Suwon City History published in 1986. My first impression of him, which I remember, was that he was 'very principled and inflexible, brooking no compromise.' The scholar participated as a member of the editorial committee, and I served as a member of the writing committee, authoring sections on culture, arts, and administration.

Since we met on business and there was a 30-year age gap between us, we were not particularly close.

In 1990, while working as a culture reporter at Joongbu Ilbo, a daily newspaper headquartered in Suwon, the scholar visited me at the newspaper office. He handed me materials related to the independence movement activities in this region during the Japanese colonial period, and the article I wrote on this became the front-page lead story. After that, whenever he discovered new materials, he would call me to a Chinese restaurant called Godeungban in front of Suwon Girls' High School. The materials were mainly about Japanese oppression and the activities of independence activists resisting it. Those articles mostly became front-page or top society section stories.

Once, he handed me a thick envelope of documents. It contained materials related to the first inter-Korean historical materials exhibition held on March 1, 2001, at the People's Study House in Pyongyang, North Korea. It included exhibition pamphlets, clippings from North Korea's 'Rodong Sinmun' newspaper praising the exhibition, and photographs of the exhibition.

The scholar did not ordinarily drink alcohol. But on that occasion, he drank a couple of glasses of strong baijiu.

“I said this to them in North Korea. Based on this evidence, I told them that even North Korea should properly receive the apologies and compensation that we have not received. The mission to protect Dokdo has no distinction between North and South, so we must join forces.”

These words have not faded from my memory even 25 years later.

As mentioned earlier, Scholar Lee was one who dedicated his entire life to proving that 'Dokdo is the inherent territory of the Republic of Korea.' He personally funded frequent visits to Japanese libraries and rare book dealers to find materials related to Dokdo.

These precious historical materials he collected are displayed in the Saun Room at the Suwon Gwanggyo Museum.

Some of the Dokdo-related historical materials were donated to the Dokdo Museum (Ulleung County), South Korea's first territorial museum that opened in 1997.

The Suwon Gwanggyo Museum houses the 'Map of the Three Kingdoms' (삼국접양지도) and other Dokdo-related materials clearly marking Ulleungdo and Dokdo as Korean territory, as well as precious materials including Admiral Yi Sun-sin's 'Complete Works of Admiral Yi Chung-mu,' Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, Gando, and Mount Geumgang.

The records clearly show that Dokdo is the territory of the Republic of Korea.

However, the Japanese government unilaterally changed Dokdo's name to Takeshima in 1905 and incorporated it into Shimane Prefecture. The Shimane Prefecture Assembly of Japan passed an ordinance designating February 22 each year as 'Takeshima Day' beginning in 2005. Korean anger reached its peak, and in response, our government fully permitted visits to Dokdo by the Korean people on March 17 of the same year.

Japan's historical distortion and claims of sovereignty over Dokdo are becoming increasingly blatant.

In response, there is growing consensus on the need to designate 'Dokdo Day' as a national commemorative day.

To reiterate, Google's error of marking Dokdo as Takeshima must be corrected immediately.

Only then will Scholar Saun in the next world be able to ease his concerns to some extent.

This weekend, I must visit the Saun Lee Jong-hak Collection Room at the Suwon Gwanggyo Museum and pay respects to the scholar's legacy.