Dear The EurAsian Times

Hello,

I am Jiwoo Park, a 3rd grade student in a Korean high school. I am writing this email to request you to correct biased and unfair tone and manner as well as a couple of factual errors in your article, “Japan Lodges Formal Protest As South Korea Conducts Military Drills To Defend Disputed Islands” posted in December 29, 2021. I’ve found a couple of lines that could cause serious factual misunderstanding of just sovereignty over the island in that article.

First, the article says “Japan has protested against the military drills of the Republic of Korea’s armed forces at Takeshima (Korean Dokdo, also known as the Liancourt Islands) in the Sea of ​​Japan, which are the subject of a territorial dispute between the two countries.” Placing Takeshima at first while putting Dokdo inside parenthesis, your article ingeniously weighs Japanese denomination of the island over Korean denomination of it. Moreover, your article call the sea between Korea and Japan Sea of Japan without introducing Korean name of the sea, the East Sea. It’s absolutely unfair way of dealing with this issue.   

Second, it is highly likely to be seen to readers that Japan does the right protest in the face of unjustifiable Korean military drills over the island. Your article does not mention anything about why Korea conducts such drills. Dokdo has been our territory without any question since Shilla Dynasty lasting through 10th Century based on historical documents and international law. The only time Korea lost sovereignty over the island was 1910 – 1945 under illegal colonialization by Japanese imperialists. After liberation from Japan in 1945, Korea retrieved its sovereignty over the island. So, We do conduct military drills regularly to defend our territory, which is so natural and justifed.   

Third, your article made a factual errors by saying, “these uninhabited rocky areas became the subject of an international dispute after 1945, when Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule.” Dokdo is not an uninhabited islands because a Korean couple resided in the island over 10 years, needless to say that a group of Korean guards had been positioned in it. Also, this is not an international dispute, but a baseless and bold claim made by Japan only.

Thank you very much for reading through my email. I strongly request the tone and manner as well as factual errors in the article will be corrected as soon as possible. I also hope that you would take serious research toward Dokdo issue based on historical facts. I wish you the best luck.