De Facto

Liancourt Rocks

Contested territories
Area 0,187554 km²
Population 50

These ninety islets and reefs are the heart of a dispute between Korea and Japan. The Liancourt Rocks have been administered by South Korea since 1954. This action was taken after the United States stated in the Rusk documents that the Japanese claim to the Liancourt Rocks would not be renounced in their peace treaty with Japan. The Japanese call the islands Takeshima (bamboo islands) while in Korean they are called Dokdo (solitary islands). The rest of the world know them as the Liancourt Rocks, after a stranded French whaling ship.

news

Japan rejects gift from South Korea with image of disputed islands

The Japanese embassy in Seoul returned a holiday gift box from South Korea’s presidential Blue House on Friday because it contained an image of islands claimed by both countries.

Stars & Stripes | 25 Jan 2022

In focus

South Korea Erupts in Outrage Over Tokyo Olympics Map

The South Korean government and activists alike expressed deep regret toward a map marking disputed islets as Japanese territory.

The Diplomat | 2 Jun 2021

Asia
Maps

News

Sole resident of remote island

In 1991, Kim Sin-yeol and her husband made the unusual decision to move to a lonely outcrop of islands at the heart of a long-standing territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea. She is still there.

CNN | 14 Feb 2019

Asia
Family

Long read

Stamps on the Rocks

Stamps are a great way to assert territorial aspirations over a contested place. Simply by showing your position on such a (tiny) official seal, the claim is legitimized and affirmed. This can be done in a number of ways, one of which is annexing the territory on the map. This is a story of how stamps can be the cause of a diplomatic riot.

Floor Koomen | 24 Jan 2019