Exhibition under joint-management by Dokdo Research Institute and Museum until April 28, 2023

Exhibition of historical materials and research materials in various fields, such as treasure “Old copy of Daedongunbugunok”, old maps, Ulleungdo excavated relics, and Dokdo wild flowers, etc., at a place for the first time in Korea

[May 27, 2022]

  YU (President CHOI Oe-chool) will hold a planned special exhibition, “Dokdo blossoms”, for 75th Anniversary.

  This special exhibition was jointly planned by Dokdo Research Institute and Museum of YU. YU Dokdo Research Institute is the first professional Dokdo research institute in domestic colleges to collect and study Dokdo-related data and was established in May 2005. It was designated as a strategic focused institution of the Ministry of Education since 2007 and has been leading studies on Dokdo to keep Dokdo sovereignty. This special exhibition was planned jointly with YU Museum to show the results of studies until now and to establish future research directions.

  In this special exhibition, a variety of historical materials including 19 old maps that prove that Dokdo is our own territory, Ulleungdo Encyclopedia, Oh Seong-il’s teaching paper, and Dokdo-related relics excavated from Ulleungdo and Gyeongju and various areas of Dokdo studies such as plant specimens collected from Dokdo and wild flowers of Dokdo, etc. will be disclosed.

  Especially, in this special exhibition, Visitors can also see Treasure No. 878, “The Old Book of Daedong Unbugunok (大東韻府群玉) [left photo],” which contains many articles related to Ulleungdo and Dokdo. This is a treasure of Yecheon Museum and is on loan for exhibition in YU Museum this time. This book is a kind of encyclopedia compiled by KWON Mun-hae (草澗權文海, 1534-1591), a scholar in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. It is highly meaningful in the respect that a vast amount of Korean history and culture was collected through various documents. Also, it is very valuable bibliographical data because it can identify one side of the books lost after the Imjin War. In addition, 'Dongguk Notice', which is being applied for designation as a treasure by Yecheon Museum, will also be exhibited. This book is also an important document that proves sovereignty over Ulleungdo and Dokdo and is highly regarded in that it is a historical book written by intellectuals in the Yeongnam region and deals with various topics.

Visitors can meet pottery from the Unified Silla period unearthed on Ulleungdo in this special exhibition. This porcelain is a historical material that reveals that the maritime kingdom Usan-guk (Ulleungdo) entered the history and culture of the Korean Peninsula before the 6th century. The sea lion bones of the Unified Silla period (right pictured) discovered in Gyeongju are believed to had been captured in Ulleungdo and Dokdo and transported to Gyeongju, the capital of Silla, indicating that, at that time, Ulleungdo and Dokdo belonged to the living area of Silla.

  CHOI Jae-mok, director of the Dokdo Research Institute (professor of Department of Philosophy) of YU who prepared this special exhibition said, “We will be able to clearly know that Dokdo is our territory with disclosure of the ancient original maps, documents, and pottery related to Dokdo’s sovereignty in Korea.” Director JEONG In-seung of YU Museum (professor of Department of Cultural Anthropology) also said, “I hope this special exhibition will be a place where you can see how vain Japan’s claim to sovereignty over Dokdo is. I hope it will be a place to understand our land, Dokdo, and the Dokdo issue.”

The special exhibition, which will open on May 30th at 2:30 pm in the special exhibition room on the 2nd floor of YU Museum, will be continued until April 28, 2023. Visiting hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and the museum will be closed on Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays. For more information, visit the YU Museum website (http://museum.yu.ac.kr/).