Controversy is growing as various tourism products distributed on Oki Island in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, label Dokdo as Japanese territory.
Seo Kyung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, said on the 20th on social media (SNS), "As part of the 'Korea history tour' conducted with Travel Technology Lab over the weekend, I visited Japan's Shimane Prefecture with 25 citizens." Seo said, "After confirming the reality of Dokdo distortion at the 'Takeshima Reference Room' inside the Shimane prefectural government building, we went to Oki Island, which is being used as a forward base for claims to seize Dokdo."
Oki Island held a rally asserting sovereignty over Dokdo in 2024 and has installed Dokdo-related billboards throughout the island, continuing to claim that Korea is illegally occupying Dokdo.
According to Seo, Oki Island opened the 'Gumi Takeshima History Museum' in 2016 and has collected and exhibited testimonies and materials asserting Japan's sovereignty over Dokdo to residents. Recently, it was confirmed that they are even selling various goods such as Dokdo T-shirts and badges. In particular, a shop inside the Oki Island passenger terminal, a popular spot for tourists, is selling shot glasses that label Dokdo as Japanese territory.
Seo noted, "As seen in the past remarks by Japan's former Minister in charge of territorial issues regarding Oki Island and the inclusion of Oki Island in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay route, Japan has persistently promoted its claim to sovereignty over Dokdo using Oki Island as a base."
He added, "Now they are trying to instill in ordinary tourists through tourism products the perception that Dokdo is Japanese land," and emphasized, "Such attempts cannot make Dokdo Japanese land, but we must prepare more specific and systematic response strategies to counter Japan's persistent Dokdo publicity strategy."