Winter at Dokdo

Until December 1904, there were numerous Korean and Japanese texts indicating that Dokdo was Korean territory, but no document indicating that Dokdo was Japanese territory. This is because it was an obvious historical fact that Dokdo was Korean territory.

On January 28, 1905, the Japanese government decided at a cabinet meeting that, since Dokdo had been ownerless up until then, it would be incorporated into Japanese territory. However, knowing full well that Dokdo was Korean territory, the Japanese government did not conduct an inquiry, issue a report to the Korean government, or print this news in the regular government documents, only publishing a small notice in fine print in the Shimane Prefecture report on February 22, 1905, so as to not raise attention from the Korean government and people.

In 1910 Japan annexed all of Korea as a colony. When Korea was liberated on August 15, 1945, based on the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Declaration, and the document of Japan's surrender, the Supreme Command for the Allied Powers (SCAP) ordered that all "territories seized through violence or greed or wars of aggression after 1894" be returned to their original owners. To this effect, on January 29, 1946, the SCAP (the U.S. military government in Korea at the time) had Dokdo permanently excluded from Japanese territory and returned to Korea under international law (SCAP Instruction SCAPIN No. 677). Thereafter, on June 22, 1946, SCAP ordered that Japanese fishermen could not approach within 12 miles of Dokdo and its territorial waters (SCAPIN No. 1033). These measures further confirmed, under modern international law, Korea's ownership of Dokdo.

When the Republic of Korea was established on August 15, 1948, the U.S. military government transferred Dokdo to Korea. The United Nations recognized the Republic of Korea on December 12, 1948, as well as its control over the Korean peninsula and ancillary islands, including Dokdo.

At the time that the government of the Republic of Korea was established in 1948, Dokdo was also transferred to Korean control from the U.S. military government in accordance with international law. Since then, Korea has exercised continuous practical control over the island group until this day. Therefore, Dokdo is clearly the territory of the Republic of Korea, both historically and by modern international law.