Historical refers to the fact that the undistorted evidence is still contained in Tsushima Island, and ethnic refers to the fact that the blood DNA of the 2,000 to 3,000 residents still residing today is Korean, whose blood DNA is 100% identical to that of our people, unlike the mainland residents. In addition, the name Tsushima Island was given because it is a place facing Mahan(馬韓) during the Three Han Period of Silla. It was a land managed by Joseon since before the Three Kingdoms Period, and tribute was paid to our king every year, and sometimes even punished for betrayal. It was a place where it had been done. (In 1494, the first year of King Sejong's reign, King Sejong even sent General Lee Jong-mu to receive a document of surrender to prevent him from betraying again.) However, the country of Joseon was divided by endless factional fighting, and Japan took advantage of the opportunity when its national power was weakened by foreign invasions such as the Japanese invasions of Korea. is a place that has been illegally occupied and has been pretending to be the owner to this day.
Tsushima Island is 130km away from Japan's mainland Kyushu region, but 49.5km from Busan, within an hour's boat ride away. Tsushima Island is rich in fish resources due to its mild oceanic climate, and has all the advantages of a continental peak, making it a treasure trove of underground resources. Additionally, militarily, it is an important place as it is located at the bridgehead through which Japan extends to the continent, serving as a gateway to the continent. Japan's proud victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 allowed it to take full advantage of Tsushima Island's geographical advantages, allowing it to commandeer Russia's Far East Fleet, the strongest at the time. With this victory, Japan had a swollen liver and even challenged the sleeping tiger, the United States, and was defeated. As a result, Tsushima is a land for which we are very thankful and thankful for bringing liberation to us.
When Seung-Man Lee became the first president of the Republic of Korea, the first thing he did was to strongly warn against Japan, a barbarian who had no respect and no international courtesy. “Japan must immediately give up our land, Tsushima Island, a sacred territory that it has been illegally occupying!”
These words were a dagger that made the entire country of Japan freeze in an instant. It was also the first declaration of war in the 50,000 years of history in which we have been invaded by Japanese invaders nearly a thousand times. War is a battle of national power, but what is more important than national power is cause. Seung-Man Lee had a secret weapon and a clear cause that would inevitably lead to victory over Japan. During Japan's 36 years of illegal occupation, Seung-Man Lee was the only Korean who could not be caught despite offering the highest bounty. How nervous must Japan have been when he finally survived and became the first president of the Republic of Korea? But how nervous must they have been when he hurled a dagger at them, telling them to hand over Tsushima Island as it is Korean territory.
Japan was in a dispute with the United States over territorial issues in the early 1700s. It was a dispute over sovereignty over the “Ogasawa Islands,” a group of three or four small islands about 1,000 km away from Japan. This area had been owned by the United States since before independence, but Japan continued to claim that it was their land, eventually leading to a case being filed with the International Court of Justice. At this time, the criterion for judgment was which side presented more authentic historical evidence, and the basis presented by Japan was the Three Kingdoms Survey(Jeoyangjido) written by Japanese scholar Lim Zi-pyeong in 1786. This map was also approved by Klaproto, an authoritative German historian at the time, and since the United States did not reach this standard, the U.S. territory was inevitably changed to Japan because of this map. However, Syngman Rhee seems to have already known when he was studying abroad that Tsushima Island (Tsushima) in question is listed as part of Joseon on this map.
A phrase from Sun Tzu's Art of War means, 'The enemy catches the wind as if trying to attack the east, and takes advantage of the moment when he is caught off guard to strike the west.' As Japan came to its senses due to Seung-Man Lee's resignation, they decided to drive home the point that the ghost of Seung-Man Lee would never be revived on the Korean Peninsula again. After much deliberation, the trick they came up with was the evil method called Seongdonggyeokseo, which was promulgated in 2004. “Takeshima(Dokdo) is our land, so give it up to us.” In other words, it is a water-riding operation. At first, even among the Japanese, there was little sympathy and reactions were cold. However, it continues to be promoted, the government steps in to encourage it, mobilizing linguistics scholars, and it is even included in textbooks. Eventually, even the Prime Minister took the initiative to make it a national event, and today, it is said that more than 90% agree with it. If things continue like this, it won't be long before our Dokdo is taken away along with Ogasawa County.
Our attitude in dealing with this is even more pathetic. Not only is he so tired of it that he can't even respond, but even the song "Dokdo is our land," which is said to be for promotional purposes, is like saying, "I don't know Tsushima Island, but Dokdo is our land." Does this mean that they don't know Dokdo? Even today, we are singing along without knowing this history, without knowing the roots, and without any sense of subjectivity. Rather, aren't these immature and embarrassing incidents that encourage and justify Japan's ambition? Even though we have experienced so much, we still do not know how cruel, strict, and miserable the international community is.
The precious things we have now are not things we have achieved. It is just a legacy that our ancestors protected and passed down with their blood and sweat. It is our duty to cherish, protect, and pass it on to future generations.
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