The Foreign Ministry plans to establish a website on Dokdo in seven languages, including Japanese, in August to counter Tokyo’s claim to the easternmost islets.
The ministry also plans to create a mobile version for smartphone, and tablet PC.
“The ministry decided to create a homepage in multiple languages so that foreigners can easily understand Korea’s stance,” a ministry official said.
The current Korean-language homepage contains information and the government’s stance on the Dokdo issue.
Japan has consistently claimed ownership over Dokdo, triggering a string of diplomatic feuds. Korea sees Tokyo’s claim over Dokdo as a sign that it does not accept responsibility for its imperialist past and the 1910-45 colonial rule over Korea.
In the latest diplomatic spat, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se canceled an official trip to Tokyo in protest of Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, National Public Safety Commission chairman Keiji Furuya and other ranking officials paying tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine on Sunday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not attend in person, but sent flowers.
The Foreign Ministry expressed “deep concern and regret,” criticizing them for paying respects at a place that “enshrines war criminals together and glorifies an aggressive war that instigated enormous damage and pain for the people in neighboring countries.”
Following the visit, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a series of nationalist remarks Tuesday which apparently legitimized his country’s imperial past, further straining ties between Japan and Korea.
By Lee Sang-ju (
sjlee370@heraldcorp.com)
