Japan National Museum's Kids Corner Puzzle Claims 'Dokdo is Japanese Territory'... Controversy Over Child Indoctrination

Japan National Exhibition Hall Labels Dokdo with Japanese Name
Professor Seokyeongdeok "Blatant Ambition of Invasion"

The National Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall in Tokyo, Japan, has recently sparked controversy by creating a large territorial puzzle that labels Dokdo using Japanese-style notation.

On the 10th, Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University pointed out on his Facebook, "Amid Japan's increasingly blatant ambition to seize Dokdo, at the center of this is the National Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall located in Tokyo."

He wrote, "Recently, the Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall posted on SNS, 'There is a large territorial puzzle in the kids' corner! Come and play!' along with photos."

In the released photos, a child is standing in front of the territorial puzzle, and the puzzle board shows an enlarged map of Dokdo. The names of the large islands that make up Dokdo, Dongdo and Seodo, are written as Yeodo (女島) and Namdo (男島), respectively, using Japanese-style notation.

A large territorial puzzle created by the Japan Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall showing Dokdo labeled in the Japanese style. [Image source=Seokyeongdeok, Professor at Sungshin Women's University Facebook]

This is not the first time the Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall has been controversial. Last month, a video posted on the official YouTube account of the Exhibition Hall became controversial belatedly.

In the video, a Japanese child tells his father, "There are places like the Northern Territories and Takeshima (竹島, the Japanese name for Dokdo) that are Japanese but cannot be visited."

The child's mother, after visiting the Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall, tells the child, "You cannot go to the land that Japanese people reclaimed and lived on now," and adds, "In your generation, you will definitely be able to go." The father also emphasizes again, "You will definitely be able to go."

This is analyzed as being produced to instill the false perception that Dokdo was developed and inhabited by Japanese people long ago. The video was posted in March 2021 but became controversial only recently.

Dokdo panorama. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Seo criticized this by saying, "It is no exaggeration to say that the Japanese government has long been engaged in 'brainwashing' children regarding Dokdo education."

He added, "In 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Defense began publishing a defense white paper specialized for children for the first time, and starting next year, all social studies and map textbooks used by Japanese elementary school students will include the baseless claim that Dokdo is 'Japan's inherent territory' and that 'Korea is illegally occupying it.' It is truly deplorable that Japanese children are receiving 'brainwashing education' with distorted information from their government about Dokdo."

Finally, Professor Seo stated, "To counter the Japanese government's distortion, we plan to proceed with a 'Dokdo video project for children' to teach the correct history of Dokdo to our children."

Meanwhile, the Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall, which opened in January 2018 in Hibiya Park, Tokyo, was significantly expanded when it moved to Toranomon, Chiyoda Ward, in January 2020. The exhibition hall's Korean homepage states, "The Northern Territories, Takeshima, and Senkaku Islands are Japan's inherent territories and have never been part of any other country."

In the diplomatic bluebook released last month, the Japanese government also claimed, "Takeshima is clearly Japan's inherent territory both historically and under international law," and "Korea continues to illegally occupy Takeshima without any basis under international law by stationing coast guards." The expression that Korea is 'illegally occupying' Dokdo first appeared in the 2018 Japanese diplomatic bluebook and has been maintained for six years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.