The push to officially recognize Oct. 25 as Dokdo Day

North Gyeongsang Province has observed Dokdo Month every October since 2005, when Japan established a day observing their claim on the territory

A view of Dokdo (from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website)

A campaign for Dokdo Day, observed on Oct. 25, to be officially recognized by the South Korean government is gaining strength in South Korea.

Dokdo, also known as the Liancourt Rocks, refers to two rocky islets in South Korean territory that are also claimed by Japan.

Commemorative events were held in various parts of the country on Monday. Gyeongsangbuk-do Independence Movement Memorial, in the city of Andong, hosted a rally for “the defenders of Dokdo,” while Daegu organized a flash mob to express “love for Dokdo” in the square in front of the city hall annex.

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, which operates under the South Korean government’s Cultural Heritage Administration, held a feature exhibition on the Dokdo nature preserve, covering the past, present, and future of the islets.

Government institutions have held commemorative events, but not a national commemorative day or occasion hosted by a local government.

In 2000, the civic group the Party for Tokdo Protection (Tokdo being another spelling of Dokdo) declared Oct. 25 to be Dokdo Day, based on Emperor Gojong’s edict issued on Oct. 25, 1900, saying the island was within the jurisdiction of the Great Korean Empire — a predecessor of modern Korea.

Calls for Dokdo Day to be designated a national commemorative day are mounting. Rep. Kim Byong-wook of the conservative People Power Party on Oct. 13 expressed his support for this stance by proposing a bill for partial amendment to the Act on the Sustainable Use of Dokdo.

Jeong Yeong-gil, a legislator in North Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 17 said in a five-minute speech to a plenary session of his provincial council, "Establishing Dokdo Day is not a response to Japanese aggression, but a matter of protecting the sovereignty of Korea. The government must take the lead and without delay actively promote the designation to private civic groups and local governments."

A similar movement to designate Dokdo Day came in 2008. At the time, a bill for the Act on the Enactment of Dokdo Day was proposed and reviewed by the relevant standing committee but failed to make it to the plenary session. The bill was eventually discarded due to the term of office expiring.

Meanwhile, North Gyeongsang Province observes Dokdo Month every October after passing an ordinance to that effect in 2005. This action came after Japan’s Shimane Prefecture designated Feb. 22 as Takeshima Day that year; Takeshima is what Japan refers to Dokdo as.

By Kim Gyu-hyeon, staff reporter

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