Ministry of Education and the YU Dokdo Research Center provides strong measures against Japan's 'Teaching Guidebook'
Prominent professors say, "Need to produce standard textbook for education on Dokdo... Need more assertive international PR policies”
[June 23, 2017]
<YU Dokdo Research Center and Ministry of Education held the 'Round Table for Veteran Researchers on Dokdo'>
Korea's top experts on research of Dokdo gathered at YU.
In the morning of the 23rd, the YU Dokdo Research Center (Director Choi Jae-mok) invited scholars of domestic research on Dokdo together with the Ministry of Education to host the '2017 Korean Round Table for Veteran Researchers on Dokdo'. The round table meeting held at Seminar Room 2 on the second floor of the YU Law School Library under the theme 'Future Challenges and Prospects of Dokdo Research', 10 of the top experts on Dokdo research such as international law, history, history education, geography, and Korea-Japan relations were in attendance.
Professor Song Hwi-young of the YU Dokdo Research Center said, "The Ministry of Education and the YU Dokdo Research Center worked together to work together to respond strongly against Japan's serious violation of our territorial rights." He added, "This is very meaningful in that ten of the top experts for research on Dokdo who devoted their lives in conducting research on Dokdo gathered for the first time to discuss the current outcomes and future research direction on Dokdo, while coming up with response plans against Japan's violation and provocations over the territorial rights of Dokdo."
<YU Dokdo Research Center 'International Academic Conference'>
In March, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced the revised 'teaching guide' for elementary and middle schools requiring social science textbooks to state that 'Dokdo is Japanese territory. On June 21, Japan released the detailed 'teaching guideline', thus making extreme provocations over Dokdo, and thus bringing in attention to this round table meeting.
At this meeting, the veteran researchers took advantage of their research experience spanning over several decades to provide advice for next-generation researchers from the perspective of experts in different fields including international law, history, geography, ancient maps, and Korea-Japan relations, while also discussing measures to protect the territorial rights over Dokdo. In-depth proposals were also made for future research assignments from various perspectives through sub-topics as follows: Professor Kim Myung-gi (honorary professor at Myungji University, International Law) on 'Proposal for Basic Direction for research on Dokdo', Professor Shin Yong-ha (named endowed chair professor at University of Ulsan, History) on 'Need to Strengthen Policies to Protect the Territorial Rights of Dokdo', Professor Lim Yeong-jeong (honorary professor at Dongkuk University, History Education)' on 'Problems on Awareness of Usan-do in the Early Joseon Dynasty', Representative Na Hong-joo (Co-representative of the Heungsadan Dokdo Protection Headquarters, International Law) on 'Focusing on Criticisms for Violation of International Laws as Claimed by Japan', Professor Lee Gi-seok (honorary professor at Seoul National University, Geography) on 'Challenges of International Standardization of the East Sea and Dokdo's Geographical Names', Professor Lee Sang-tae (named endowed chair professor at Korea International Culture University of Graduate, Historical Geography) on 'Ancient Maps and Dokdo', Professor Lee Sang-myun (honorary professor at Seoul National University, International Law) on 'Sovereignty over Dokdo and Nearby Seas', Lee Jang-hee (honorary professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, International Maritime Law) on 'Direction for Future Research on Dokdo and Case Studies', Professor Sohn Seung-cheol (Kangwon University, Korea-Japan Relations) on 'Activities and Research of Lee Sa-bu Society', and Professor Kim Byeong-ryeol (Korea National Defense University, International Law) on 'Outcomes of Research on Dokdo Issues and Proposal for Future Research Direction'.
In particular, Professor Kim Myung-gi emphasized, "We need to pursue interdisciplinary research on Dokdo and actively distribute the achievements of Dokdo research both in and outside of Korea, while also producing standard educational textbooks for Dokdo" as he explained the need to specialize the Dokdo Research Center and strengthen PR activities. Also, honorary professor at Seoul National University and named endowed chair professor at the University of Ulsan Shin Yong-ha (Historical Sociology) proposed to "Strengthen execution of territorial rights of Dokdo to solidify sovereignty over Dokdo, revise the New Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement (January 23, 1999), turn Ulleung-do and Dokdo into a national park, and substitute the Dokdo Security Police with the Marine Security Police," while adding, "We should change our 'no-response' policy of the past and actively conduct PR to the world to sternly reject Japan's ICJ (International Court of Justice), while actively telling the world about Korea's territorial rights over Dokdo."
Together with the round table meeting, the 'Dokdo Research Center International Academic Conference' was also held at YU. At this international academic conference, prominent scholars from Korea and abroad such as Canada and Japan met to make presentations and hold discussions under the theme of 'modern transition and territorial awareness of the international order in East Asia'.
YU Dokdo Research Center Director Choi Jae-mok (Professor of Philosophy), who hosted the round table meeting, said, "Together with the international academic conference joined by scholars around the world, the round table meeting that gathered the experiences and wisdom of veteran scholars who led research on Dokdo in Korea was held simultaneously to act as an opportunity to solidify territorial claims on Dokdo, discuss strategic plans to respond to Japan's provocations over Dokdo, and search for solutions for Korea-Japan relations." He added, "Based on the opinions of the veteran professors and scholars, the YU Dokdo Research Center will focus even more on research and education on Dokdo. In addition, we will also focus on PR to confidently explain to the international community that Dokdo is Korean territory in terms of history, geography, and international law."
