Novel brings Dokdo dispute to Western world's attention
The Korea-Japan dispute over Dokdo, recently sparked again by
Japanese territorial claim to the islands, is a long-pending issue
between the two nations, but often ignored by Western countries.
An English novel "Dokdo Is Our Land - A War on Dokdo," was written
to refute the Japanese claim. Henry H. Hong, who spent 15 years
working on the book, hopes his book will call Westerners' attention
to Korea and challenge them to rethink their views on the matter.
The author, both a Christian minister and a professor, has a
reputation for promoting cross-cultural understanding and friendship
between Korean-Americans and African-Americans while he lived in the
United States.
The novel is based on a true story of Ahn Yong-bok, a Korean
fisherman in the 17th century, who controlled Ulleung Island in the
East Sea and drove out all Japanese fishermen and pirates from the
area. The author depicts vividly the loyalty and love of characters
such as Ahn and Okio who later becomes the wife of the seventh
shogun of Japan. One day, Yong-bok's love, Yooyoo, is kidnapped by
Japanese pirates. To save her, Yongbok sails to Japan and sneaks
into Edo. However, due to a trivial incident, he is accused of two
crimes and thrown in jail. However, Okio, whom he had previously
rescued from her hardships, helps Yongbok and falls in love with
him. Through her, he manages to see Tsunayoshi, the fifth shogun of
Japan's Tokugawa feudal government. In front of the shogun, Yong-bok
asserts that the Ulleung Island and the nearby Dokdo have belonged
to Joseon since the Shilla Kingdom period and finally succeeds in
persuading the shogun to admit that the two islands are part of
Joseon.
Hong plans to have his novel translated into several other
languages. The Korean edition is scheduled to be released in
September, followed by Japanese and Chinese versions.
(
davidpooh@...)
By Jin Dae-woong
2005.08.31