By Lee Kyoung Mi and Hahm Hee-eun 

The Korean government held a ceremony to commemorate Dokdo Day on Oct. 25. Through the ceremony, which took place in many different regions of Korea, the government expressed its determination to protect Dokdo Island.

The date of Dokdo Day comes from the fact that Emperor Gojong declared Dokdo Island as the attached island of Ulleungdo Island by Imperial Ordinance No. 41 on Oct. 25, 1900. The Party for Tokdo Protection designated Dokdo Day in 2000 and various civic groups, such as the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations and The Dokdo Institute, proclaimed Dokdo Day in 2010. Although Dokdo Day is not counted as the national holiday, various commemorative events take place in different regions of Korea to inform the world that Dokdo Island is a part of the Korean territory. 

The Council of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, the administrative district that Dokdo Island belongs to, held the Korea Dokdo International Music Festival along with the commemorative ceremony for Dokdo Day at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on Oct. 25. Also, flash mob performances that feature the song “Dokdo is Our Territory” were staged at the Andong Station in Gyeongsangbuk-do.

Previously, a variety of performances were held at the Dokdo Culture Festival in Pohang City, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20. At the closing ceremony of the festival, a musical, titled The New World Dokdo Island, delivered the message that Dokdo Island belongs to Korea through singing and acting.  

The Ministry of Education and the Northeast Asian History Foundation held a forum for experts on the measures to instruct Japanese elementary and secondary schools that teach Dokdo as Japan’s territory. Educational video materials on Dokdo Island and a speech contest on Dokdo experiences are held for all secondary school students nationwide on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28. 

The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK) is arranging a social media campaign, Dokdo! The Heart of Independence Activists. Remember the Korea we have dreamed of, on VANK’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/vankprkorea). The campaign includes distribution of digital contents, such as an image composed of the national flag used in the Japanese colonial period and the current national flag, and 80 photographs taken on Dokdo Island. VANK also opened a Russian website (russia.prkorea.com) that inform the readers about Korean history, culture, East Sea and Dokdo Island for 100,004,000 native Russian speakers. 

After the recent death of Dokdo’s village foreman, King Sung-do, on Oct. 21, numerous inquiries on becoming a Dokdo guardian are received across the country. Kim Sung-do, who moved to Dokdo Island as a permanent resident with his wife in 1991, has protected Dokdo Island until now. This has been the case that shows how earnest the people of Korea are in protecting Dokdo Island. 


km137426@korea.kr