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영어

Korea incorporates Dokdo into Uldo County on October 25th 1900. Article II of the decree designated Taehadong as the kun office venue and defined the jurisdiction of the Uldo County magistrate extending over the whole of Ulleungdo, Chukdo and Sokdo. Chukdo refers to Chuksodo and the rocky islet about 2.2 kms from Ulleungdo and Sokdo refers to Dokdo Island. However, the Japanese Government insists that the ROK researchers argue “Seokdo (Stone Island) actually corresponds to the current “Dokdo. If “Seokdo” corresponds to Dokdo, then a number of questions arise, including why the Imperial Decree of 1900 did not use “Dokdo” as the island's name, why it used “Seokdo” and why the name “Usando” (or another name), which the ROK claims to be the former name of Dokdo was not used. How did the name Sokdo come to represent Dokdo Island? In Korean the word for rock is “dol”. The Hanja character for rock (“dol”) is “dok(石)” In standard Korean this character can be pronounced as either “dol” or “seok”. Thus, Korea’s explanation that Seokdo refers to Dokdo as a result of the Chollanamdo dialect still seems to be the most plausible explanation for the name confusion. It is said the residents of Ulleungdo used the names Seokdo and Dokdo interchangeably. Shortly after the character Seok(石) was no longer used to denote the sound “dok” but rather the standard Korean Hanja character “獨(dok)” This charcter usage and the same name Dokdo was confirmed by Japanese records such as the logbooks of the Japanese Warship Niitaka in 1904 prior to the Japanese annexation of Dokdo. The name Dokdo was also used by Uldo Governor Shim Heung Taek when he contested the Dokdo’s annexation in 1906. This position has been steadfastly maintained by Korea for the long time.