Swimming to Dokdo: South Korean Stunt Raises Tensions

August 21, 2012 from LinkAsia

A group of South Korean swimmers made it 140 miles to the disputed Dokdo islands on the anniversary of Korea's independence from Japanese rule. The stunt was done in part to emphasize Korean ownership of the islands that Japan calls "Takeshima." Footage from Reuters.

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Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up... Explore this topic

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Yul Kwon:
Farther to the north, a group of Koreans is stirring the waters around another chain of disputed islands. The islands are called Dokdo by the Koreans, and Takeshima by the Japanese. The Korean swimmers swam 140 miles to the islands to emphasize that Dokdo belongs to South Korea.

More than 40 people swam in relays, escorted by boats. They braved the rough waters for more than 2 days. The stunt was organized to mark the anniversary of Korea's independence from Japanese rule. Two of the swimmers managed to land on one of the islands and unfurl the Korean flag.

The swim follows a visit to the islands last week by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to re-enforce his country's claim. The visit prompted a Japanese threat to take the long-running dispute to the International Court of Justice.

Now, it's not just national pride that's at stake here. Both countries want ownership of potentially rich natural gas deposits that could be located in the seabed surrounding the islands.

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