A letter from third-year students of South Korea’s Hampyeong middle school history club

Geography teachers at junior high schools in Shimane Prefecture received a letter fromthree South Korean middle school students who belong to the school’s history club. The
letter states as follows: “Recently, we were told a disappointing story.” According to thestory, “In the new curriculum guidelines, the Japanese Government describes Dokdo as anintegral part of Japan.” “The Japanese Government makes a false claim.” “Students in Japanare taught an incorrect ‘fact’ at elementary and junior high schools.”
The letter then goes on to say, “Dokdo was the first land occupied and annexed by theJapanese imperialists during the Russo-Japanese war as part of their war implementationpolicies.” It also states, “The Japanese Government high-handedly claims that Dokdo was
Japan’s territory as early as in the pre-modern era, but this is not factually correct.” They thenseek to justify their view by saying, “The fact that Dokdo was a part of South Korea’s territoryis proved by the large number of documents and maps dating from that period, some of whichwere even published by the Japanese Government. This fact is easily discoverable if you
carefully examine these historic materials.”
The letter then goes on to state: “We kindly request Japanese teachers to teach a correct
account of history to Japanese students who know little about the historical facts related toDokdo,” and “Please make efforts to become more closely aligned with the real history
instead of accepting only the distorted claims of the Japanese Government.”
The letter concludes by saying, “we hope that students, the future generation of SouthKorea and Japan, will be able to learn correct history, based on which they will be able tocome to terms with the unfortunate past between the two countries and build a brighter futureof mutual cooperation.”
The letter mirrors the arguments used by the South Korean Government in the Takeshima
dispute. Throughout the letter, the students give a very one-sided account of the territorial
dispute, using words such as “a false claim,” “an incorrect ‘fact’,” “the far-fetched argument,”
and “the distorted argument.” I would like to strongly encourage them to reconsider the claimsof both the Japanese and South Korean Governments as well as the basis of these claims bycomparing and examining them in a cool-headed manner for themselves.
In Shimane Prefecture, we have already prepared our unique educational materials andrelevant documents such as historical records, and these are used by students at all theelementary and junior high schools in the prefecture to learn about the Takeshima issue. In
the process, we give students the opportunity to learn about the claims being made by both
the Japanese and South Korean Governments as well as the basis of these claims, while
taking the students’ stage of development into consideration. In addition, the Shimane
Prefectural Board of Education prepared a booklet called Handbook for Territorial
Education and have distributed it to teachers, hoping it will help to nurture children capableof resolving territorial disputes peacefully and developing genuinely friendly relationships
with the countries involved.
The letter from Korean middle school students was addressed to teachers working at juniorhigh schools in Shimane Prefecture. Japanese students should also try to understand the“Takeshima issue” without falling into a self-righteousness attitude. I sincerely hope thatyoung people, who are expected to shape the future of Japan and South Korea, will have thechance to increase their interaction with each other and “build a brighter future of mutualcooperation.”

Shigeru Sasaki
Takeshima Issue Research Advisor for Shimane Prefecture