Liancourt Rocks

Japan / Shimane / Hirata /
 archipelago, territorial dispute
The Liancourt Rocks, also known as Dokdo or Tokto (독도/獨島, literally "solitary island") in Korean or Takeshima (たけしま/竹島, literally "bamboo island") in Japanese, are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Sovereignty over the islets is disputed between Japan and South Korea. The islets are currently administered by South Korea, which has its Coast Guard stationed there.

The Franco-English name of the islets derives from Le Liancourt, the name of the French whaling ship whose crew almost crashed on the rocks in 1849. Both the Korean and Japanese names have changed over time, a testament to the historical confusion over the subject which led to today's heated dispute.

The Liancourt Rocks consist of two main islets and 35 smaller rocks. Their total surface area of the islets is 0.18745 square kilometres (46.32 acres), with the highest elevation of 169 metres (550 ft) found at an unnamed location on the west islet. Two Korean citizens, an octopus fisherman and his wife, are permanent residents on the islets. A small Korean police detachment, administrative personnel, and lighthouse staff are stationed in non-permanent supporting positions on the islets.

South Korea administers the islets as Dokdo-ri, Ulleung-eup, Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang Province. Japan classifies them as part of Okinoshima, Oki District, Shimane Prefecture.

The islets lie in rich fishing grounds which could also contain large gas deposits.

Wikipedia article for Korean name:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokdo_%28disambiguation%29

Wikipedia article for Japanese name:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshima_%28disambiguation%29
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liancourt_Rocks
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   37°14'34"N   131°52'2"E
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Comments

  • Dear Korean and Japanese visitors, I have read some of comments where you ask why the name here (English page) is not Tokto or Takeshima. Please understand that it is quite normal that a name of a place or a country is different in different languages: if you look at, e.g., Japan, you will see that this name is different fron Japanese Nihon; and Daehan Minguk is not what we would say in English. German for Germany is Deutschland and in France the name would be Allemagne. So, just leave 독도 for the Korean page and たけしま/竹島 for the Japanese one, OK?
  • Hey, Paul. The reason Koreans ask why the name here is not Dokdo is because this island is Korean Territory. They have a lot of historical documents that prove Dokdo has been Korean territory from the past. Also, it belongs to Korean territory these days. So I think the name here should be changed to Dokdo.