1835 Japanese map

Your 1835 Japanese map is interesting because it shows Matsuhima (松島 - Songdo) to the northeast of Ulleungdo (竹島 - Takeshima), which is approximately where present-day Jukdo is. In my quote above, both King Kojong and Lee Gyu-won said that “Jukdo” was also called “Songdo.”

If present-day Jukdo was also called Songdo, then it would explain why An Yong-bok got so angry at the Japanese when they said they lived on “Songdo” (Matsushima), which he believed to be Usando (Jukdo).

Koreans believe that when An Yong-bok said that “Songdo” was the the Korean island of Usando, he was saying that “Usando was Dokdo.” However, since Korean documents and maps show that Usando was almost certainly Ulleungdo’s neighboring island of Jukdo, what An Yong-bok seems to have actually been saying is that Usando (Jukdo) was also called “Songdo.”gerry at marmot