Dokdo Foundation

The two islands, Usan and Meureung, were called "Usanguk" during the Silla Dynasty.

"Sambongdo" means "an island of three peaks."

The sea lions inhabiting Dokdo were written as "gajieo," and the island was called "Gajido" for the large number of gajieos living there.

"dolseam (rocky island)" is written in Chinese characters.

The early settlers of Dolseom were Koreans from the coast of the South Sea in Jeolla Province. They pronounced Dolseom as "Dokseom," which later became written as "Dokdo."

Meanwhile, in Japan, Dokdo was called "Matsushima" prior to the Meiji era, but after Japan claimed that it had incorporated it into its territory, it began calling it "Takeshima." In the West, Dokdo is known as "Liancourt Rocks," after the French whaling ship, Le Liancourt, which found the island in 1849. In 1885, the British named it "Hornet Rocks," after their ship, Hornet, and recorded it on their sea map.