he Korean Peninsula is divided into three distinct regions: Central, Southern and Northern. These main regions are also subdivided into separate areas that show particular economic, cultural and physical distinctiveness.. Traditionally, the Northern Region was the Pyeongan, Hamgyeong and Hwanghae provinces, but after the division of the peninsula in 1945, the "North" now refers to all the areas north of the Demilitarized Zone: DPRK’s nine provinces, Pyeongannam-do, Pyeonganbuk-do Hamgyeongnam-do, Hamgyeongbuk-do Hwanghaenam-do, Hwanghaenam-do, Ryanggang-do, Jagang-do and Gangwon-do; three special industrial and tourist zones, Gaeseong, Geumgangsan and Sinuiju; and two directly governed cities, Pyongyang and Rason.

The far northern part of the peninsula is divided into two geographic regions: Jagang-do, Pyeonganbuk-do, and Pyeongannam-do comprise the agriculturally rich flatlands known as Gwanseo. The mountainous provinces Ryanggang-do, Hamgyeongbuk-do and Hamgyeongnam-do in the northeast form the Gwanbuk region, which is known for mining and forestry. Hamheung and Cheongjin are the major cities of Hamgyeongnam-do and Hamgyeongbuk-do, respectively. The directly governed city Pyongyang, DPRK’s capital and main urban area, lies to the south of Pyeongannam-do. The Yellow Sea port of Nampo serves as the gateway to Pyongyang.

The provinces Hwanghaenam-do, Hwanghaebuk-do and Gangwon-do comprise DPRK’s third main geographical region. Gaeseong, site of the inter-Korean industrial complex, is bordered by the Hwanghae provinces and South Korea’s Gyeonggi-do. Once a part of the traditional Central Region prior to the South-North division, this area shares many cultural similarities with the Southern provinces of Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do.

Dokdo, which is under the jurisdiction of South Korea, is once again insulted by Japan.  So far, Dokdo has served as a guardian for Koreans by its persistent existence in front of diverse hardships, keeping up Koreans' spirits.  However, as the Japanese people are calling Dokdo "Takesima" (their Japanese name of Dokdo), they are greatly irritating both South and North Koreans. 

On May 18, 2008, Japanese press reported that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) decided to include the phrase, "Dokdo is Japan's territory" from 2012 in a new guideline for teaching - a teacher's manual for the middle school textbook of sociology.  Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka said, "We, the Japanese government, are consistent in our view that Takesima (Dokdo) is Japan's territory.  But, we have not yet decided how to note such fact in our teacher's manual."

It is not the first time for Japan to claim Dokdo as their territory.  Many times, they made such unreasonable and irrational argument and making the Koreans very furious.  On April 21, South Korean President, Lee Myungbak and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda agreed on the need to promote a future-oriented Korea-Japan relations and a mature partnership between the two countries.  In less than a month, Japan started to make reckless and thoughtless remarks on Dokdo.  Those remarks are acts of betrayal, and many Koreans cannot help but feel angry.

In response, on May 19, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade made a formal protest against Japan and claimed for a correction. South Korean government strongly denounced that the Japanese government makes official apologies.  Many Korean social groups such as the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (South Korea) also followed suit.  They said, "Such irrational remarks of Japan are as same as a plundering of our sovereignty and invasion of our lands.  Japan is sure to give up their East Asian membership since their behavior clearly violates East Asia's pursuit of peaceful co-existence." 

We believe that Japan's attempt is none other than to inject lies to their children that Dokdo is Japan's territory by making such irrational remarks repeatedly every year.  It is very surprising that the current Japanese government is committing such acts that even the Japanese militarism era had not witnessed.  We surely believe that the conscientious elite of Japan and the international society will strongly denounce the illogical argument on Dokdo. 



Even though their behavior should become the target of severe accusation, the MEXT decided to teach their students that Dokdo is Japan's land.  It is very likely that Japanese ultra-rightists played a substantial role behind the scene.  We believe that the Japanese ultra-rightists would like to escalate Dokdo issue into a territorial dispute at an international level.

Moreover, although their behavior appears thoughtless at a glance, a meticulous calculation lies beneath.  That is to move both domestic and international attention from Japan's countless wrongdoings during the imperialist era (such as military comfort women) to the recently popular territorial dispute on Dokdo.

What is fortunate is that Japan's such delusive attempt has been already proved as groundless by Japan's diverse educational materials and conscientious Japanese historians.

Japanese historian Kajimura Hideki, who passed away in 1989, retorted the argument that Dokdo belongs to Japan by suggesting diverse historical articles in his paper released on the Review of Korean Studies.  He said, "Japan's history fabrication should end up in vain. It is a crime!"

On May 20,2008, Korean professor Huh Jong-hwa at Gyeongsang University said, "Haedong Map(海東地圖), a national map published by Joseon Government-General(總督府) during the Japanese imperialist era noted Dokdo as a part of Korea.  He also mentioned that National History and Maps for Middle School Children Textbook (40 pages) published by Japan's Tokyo Learning Corporation in 1939 (first print in 1928) also depicted Dokdo as a land of Korea.  National History and Maps for Middle School students contained a map depicting naval battles during the Russia-Japan War and was used as a textbook for Japanese students from 5th to 12th grades.

Although all facts support that Dokdo belongs to Korea, Japan is trying to make an issue of Dokdo and fabricate history whenever they have a chance.  They even argue that they did not force the women to become comfort women.  Against this backdrop, it is natural to see little apologies for their innumerable wrongdoings carried out during the imperialist era.  Rather, the Prime Minister paid a visit to Yasukuni, in which Japanese class-A war criminals are enshrined, triggering the anger of Korea as well as neighboring countries.  Those behaviors are hard to understand.  More worse, it is difficult to believe that such behavior came from Japan, which boasts of its global status as an advanced country.

In 1970, West Germany's Prime Minister Willy Brandt knelt his knees and begged for forgiveness in front of the Warsaw monument in memory of Jewish victims.  On March 18, 2008, Germany's Prime Minister Angela Merkel lowered his head with a humble bow during his apology speech for the Nazi massacre of Jews at the Israel Parliament.  Japanese politicians should learn a lesson from Germany that both leaders and people sincerely regret their painful mistakes and beg for forgiveness from victims.

As Prime Minister Hukuda said at the Korea-Japan summit talks, Korea and Japan are the closest neighbors and have indispensable relations with each other.  As Baekje's culture gave birth to the Buddhist culture of Japan (Asuka), we have a duty to develop and build our relations more strongly.

Japan should fully accept that Dokdo is a part of Korea and falls under the jurisdiction of South Korea.  It should not make any irrational argument further that Dokdo is Japan's territory.  Japan should recognize that any more history fabrication should be harmful not only to bilateral relations but also to our children as well as Japan's future.

If Japan does not stop their unfaithful remark or behavior on Dokdo and thus, if we see any repeated case of illogical argument, we, the Korean people and the international society should not just stand still but make a strong protest.  Japan's international status should be also severely harmed and other nations should lose their confidence in Japan.

Japan should remember that the two countries must make their every effort to promote a future-oriented relationship.