To Whom It May Concern 

Firstly, I would like to show my respect for your managing this valuable website. My name is Soyong Park. I am a student of Hana Academy Seoul in Korea.

Recently I visited your website : https://www.spf.org/islandstudies/info_library/takeshima--index.html

I would like to inform you that your website includes information that seriously distort image of Korea and that could develop into diplomatic problem between Korea and Japan. We were surprised to see that your website marks Korea’s island Dokdo as Japan’s island Takeshima. 

Japan’s insistence on possession of Dokdo is the same as their insistence on the right of Dokdo and Korean peninsula that was plundered by militaristic war, further claiming the territorial rights of the past colony. Whenever Japan argues about possessing Dokdo, Koreans remember the unfortunate history of 1910 when Japan pillaged Korean peninsula. For this reason, we Koreans cannot overlook Japan’s insistence on dominium of Dokdo; that would be no more than negating Korea’s complete independence. The problem is that, although Korea became independent and retrieved all territories from Japan then, Japan is still distorting historical facts and publicly announcing that Dokdo is part of Japan. What is frustrating is that this distortion is accepted to many foreigners as truth because the perversion is well-documented by Japan.

We cannot endure the fact that this militaristic historical view is becoming known to people throughout the world through your website today; this situation is the same as when the international society approved tacitly of Japan’s position when Japan forcibly colonized Korea 100 years ago. During the time of sudden changes in international society, Japan began imperialism by changing people’s view on Japan’s invasion of South Korea. 

I ask your participation on Koreans’ hope for peace in Asia.

Please email us at 0404beauty@naver.com 

Yours very truly, 
So Yong Park