A rock with a history and purpose > 언론 속 이어도

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A rock with a history and purpose

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An exploration of one of Korea's most interesting non-islands

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BY YEARN HONG CHOI

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Ieodo(Socotra) ia a rock under the waters in Korea's South Sea, 149kilometers from Marado Island, near Jeju Island. The ending syllable "doh" is misleading to many korean people, because it means an island. Ieodo is just a rock, not an island; however, the Cheju people have always referred to it as an island. In the 1990s, the ministry of land, Transport and Maritime Affairs established the marine science research tower there, which since then has provided valuable information on the currents, changing water temperature and schools of migrating fish. So, this rock is extending and expanding Korea's sea territory intellectually, if not physically. However, I don't mean to use Ieodo as the baseline to start a discussion of korea's sea territory.

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Article 121(3) of the Law of the Sea Convention, an international treaty, states: "Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no excusive economic zone or continental shelf." Rocks therefore represent a disadvantaged sub-category of islands. But Ieodo with its research tower has been a provider of important scientific information, so it is functioning as an island, or more than that, as a useful piece of Korean real estate. Korean people, including myself, are grateful for the existence of Ieodo, known as Socotra Rock on international maps.

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Ieodo is also a place of mythology. It was said that cheju fishermen who never returned home had gone to Ieodo where they could live forever. It was a Utopian island, or perhaps a symbolic burial ground for all fishermen who could not return from their fishing voyage.

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As a poet and writer, I have spent some time reading other poets and writers' creative works on Ieodo. The late chung-joon Lee's Ieodo is the most famous novel and Il-hong chang's Sea Woman Heading Ieodo is a famous play. The following is my own poem on Ieodo.

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Ieodo

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Ieodo is the last port of call

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All fishermen visit

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and their boats anchor in

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At the end of the sea

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There is Ieodo.

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It is a Utopia, next world of Cheju fishermen and women. Their dream is surfing on high white waves

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Accompanied by the seagulls,

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Attracting Schools of fish and harvesting them.

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Ieodo is only one island

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Which does not appear above

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water on any maps

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In this world.

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So no one can steal it from Cheju people.

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It is a secret island.

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Ieodo is the last port of call

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All fishermen visit

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And ther boats anchor in.

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Now, a small research institute, Society of Ieodo Research, is conducting or sponsoring Research work on Ieodo from many different academic disciplines: Gelogy, oceanography, international law, especially on laws of oceans, and arts and mythology. It is properly located at cheju National University. I am glad to know the scholarly papers and monographs are coming out of the Society, which is becoming a kind of meeting place for both science and mythology surrounding this island.

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In the mid-1990s, China complained about South Korea's exploration of Ieodo for construction of a marine research tower. Some Chinese people claimed that Ieodo was part of China. Chinese ambition to occupy the vast territory from Tibet to the East China Sea and the South China Sea is well known. Concerning sea territory claims, they used the continental shelf theory which has been decried outside of China

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China claims that 200 sea miles from it shores is an exclusive economic zone; this directly confronts the Korean claim. In a similar dispute with China exploitation of Chun Xiao Gas Field in the East China Sea, Japan has proposed to draw a coenter line on the sea territory overlapping with China to explore oil reserves under the seabed. This is a fair deal, but the two nations have not yet resolved the long dispute in East China Sea.

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Ieodo is 100 kilometers closer to Marado than the nearest island belonging to china. If a third party were to draws center line through the overlapping EEZs between China and Korea, Ieodo would certainly be part of the Korean sea territory. There are many sea territorial disputes in this world. At the moment, I am proposing one grand principle to resolve disputes over sea territories: A rock or islet in the disputed sea territory should belong to the nearest island where human beings settle and live.

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The Japanese Tokugawa government in the 16th century declared to Chosun Kingdom, because it was closer to Ulnungdo than to Oki Island of Japan. The Tokugawa regime asked the Japanese fisherman: Is that islet closer to Chosun or to Japan? The answer was Chosun. Then, the government declared that belonged to chosun.

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This is already a good precedent a modern law of the sea. Where overlapping claims to territorial seas out to 12-nautical miles exist, Article 15 of the Law of the Sea Convention applies. This article provides for delimitation on the basis of the equidistant method, unless the interested parties both agree to the contrary or there exists an "historic title or other special circumstances" in the area to be delimited.

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The present Japanese government makes a false claim that Dokdo Islet belongs to Japan, despite all kinds of Japanese historical evidences proving that Dokdo belongs to Korea. Japan has forgotten the Tokugawa regime's declaration. Most unfortunate is Japan's colonial mentality in the 21st century.

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China has demonstrated a superpower mentality toward Korea. It has distorted the history of Koguryo, claiming that land was a part of the claims of the Tang Dynasty. It has also considered North Korea to be a Chinese colony. I don't think its superpower status can make Ieodo part of China. The civilized world will not tolerate such a mentality. Anyway, there are no mineral resources or oil reserves under the sea bed around Ieodo. So I do not see any serious potential for economic conflict in and around Ieodo.

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Needless to say, Korea should be able to defend Ieodo as a rock in the Korean sea geographically, culturally, poetically, and intellectually at any international forum when China claims that it is part of China. Better preparation is always better defense and protection. One good area to explore is the science and myths surrounding the Ieodo in Korea's South Sea.

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Yearn Hong Choi is poet and writer, and an associate of the Five Oceans Consultants.

Fall 2010 Korea Quarterly p.13