A Civilian Diplomat who Shines More Brightly than a Hero

The never-ending ownership dispute between South Korea and Japan over the East Sea islets of Dokdo was, in fact, quite intense 300 years ago. But the royal court of Joseon Korea couldn’t concentrate on the territorial row at the time due to political strife. During the reign of King Sukjong in the late 17th century, a brave person crossed the East Sea to Japan and succeeded in getting the Bakufu military government of Japan to decree that Ulleung Island and Dokdo belonged to the Joseon Dynasty. His name is Ahn Yong-bok. Although Ahn was a commoner by birth, he is praised as a civilian diplomat who set a new milestone in the history of the Joseon kingdom.

Who is Ahn Yong-bok?

Except his name, little is known about Ahn, who was neither a nobleman nor a politician. It is uncertain when he was born or when he died, but records in a book written by Lee Ik(이익), a Confucian scholar in the late Joseon period, indicate that Ahn was an oarsman from the naval forces in Dongrae(동래), Gyeongsang Province, and that he was good at Japanese. In fact, Ahn was able to learn the Japanese language as he frequently visited a lodging house for Japanese there, which was also used as a trade office. His fluency in Japanese shone in 1693.

Ahn’s First Travel to Japan

In 1693, the 19th year of King Sukjong’s reign, Ahn was fishing at Ulleung Island with about 40 fishermen. There, they encountered Japanese fishermen from Hoki Province, who sailed to the island to catch fish while the Joseon government was relocating residents on Ulleung Island to the mainland.

Ahn clashed with the Japanese fishermen over fishing rights, and he was taken to Japan, along with his fellow fisherman Park Eo-dun(박어둔), as the Japanese outnumbered the Koreans. In Japan, Ahn’s life was in danger but he dared to claim that Ulleung Island and Dokdo belonged to Joseon Korea as it took only one day from Ulleung Island to mainland Korea, while it took five days from the island to Japan. He also protested the Japanese detention of Joseon people, who simply had visited their own land.

Ahn’s strong and logical protest left the Hoki governor-general speechless. He included Ahn’s claims in a written document and asked the Edo Bakufu how to deal with the Korean fisherman. After various investigations, the Bakufu eventually admitted that Ahn’s claims were right and wrote a note promising to prohibit Japanese fishermen from sailing out for fishing near Ulleung Island and Dokdo, since the areas were not Japanese territory. It also ordered to return Ahn to his home country immediately.

On his way back home, however, Ahn was deprived of the important note by the lord of Tsushima Island, who sent a message to Korea to ask the Korean government to ban Korean fishermen from fishing near Ulleung Island. As a result, the Korean government and Tsushima Island, which acted as a proxy for the Japanese Bakufu, engaged in year-long negotiations on the ownership of the controversial islands, as well as fishing rights. After the negotiations, in 1696, the Japanese Bakufu finally admitted that Korea was the rightful owner of Ulleung Island and Dokdo.

Ahn’s Second Voyage to Japan

The territorial dispute over the Korean islands seemed to be resolved in that way. But Ahn found that Japanese’ trespassing into the Korean island still continued when he went out fishing to Ulleung Island again with Park in 1696. Ahn made preparations to settle this issue once more.

On the boat, he hung out a flag representing a tax-collecting government office. He was also disguised as a government official. He then went to Japan and made a protest to the Hoki governor-general over Japanese fishermen’s border violation. The governor-general promised that they would never intrude into the Korean territory again. The following year, the Japanese Bakufu confirmed Ulleung Island and Dokdo as Korean territory again through the lord of Tsushima Island and sent a document and a delegation to Korea as a sign of its promise to forbid Japanese to fish there.

Ahn defended Korean territory twice on behalf of the government. However, what he received was not a reward but a punishment. He was accused of impersonating a government official and causing diplomatic friction. He was sent to the royal court, and some even considered the death penalty for him. But many officials agreed that his contribution was equal to his wrongdoing as he did what the government couldn’t do. In the end, he was condemned to exile.

That was the depressing limitation of a civilian diplomat. Confucian scholar Lee Ik said in his book that Ahn Yong-bok fought off a formidable enemy at the risk of his own life and brought an end to the thorny dispute that had continued for generations. Lee also said that Ahn might be viewed as a private by rank but truly as a hero by his actions. Ahn’s achievements are no less important than those of legendary admiral Yi Sun-shin, in terms of defending their territory against intruders.