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Tsushima Islands | big>Tsushima | | align=center colspan=2 | | | colspan=2 | Japanese Name | | width=148 | Hepburn Romaji | width=148 | Tsushima-jima | | width=148 | Kanji | width=148 | 対馬島 | The Tsushima Islands is a group of islands lying in the Korea Strait. Lying between the Japanese Kyushu island and the mainland Korean peninsula, it has been a spot that was disputed between Korea and Japan. As of today, the Tsushima Islands is part of the Nagasaki prefecture of Japan. Geography The nearest port on the Korean coast, Busan is 49.5 km away. In clear weather, Busan and Tsushima are visible to each other. The nearest Japanese port of Fukuoka is 147 km away. It has an area of 262 km², and divided at the waist by a deep sound (Aso-wan), and the southern section has two hills, Yatachi-yama and Shira-dake, 2130 ft. and 1680 ft. high respectively, while the northern section has Ibeshi-yama and Mi-take, whose heights are 1128 ft. and 1598 ft. The chief town is Izuhara. Tsushima is the closest Japanese territory to Korea. Demographics The inhabitants of the islands are Japanese, speaking Japanese dialects. However, the local inhabitants do share some affinities with the Koreans in terms of ethnicity, language and culture, especially in the celebration of the Arirang festival. http://users.wmin.ac.uk/~w0206751/doc2.htm History Since the early 7th century, Japan has claimed Tsushima as her province under the name of the Tsushima province (対馬国). However, some of the earliest colonizers of the island are believed to be former subjects of the fallen proto-Korean kingdom Baekje during the late 7th century. The island remained sparsely populated and served as a key trading port, being influenced by both Korea and Japan. In the 13th century, the Mongols who established dominance over Goryeo in Korea, sent their armada to Tsushima, where they wrought great destruction to the island in 1274 and 1281. However, the Mongols were halted from further aggression into Japan. After the withdrawal of Mongol influence from Goryeo in Korea, the island became a haven for pirates, who took advantage of the constant trade between Korea and Japan. In 1419, King Sejong of Joseon in Korea ordered his trusted general Yi Jong Mu to clear the island of these pirates. At this time, Tsushima came under the sphere of influence of Joseon. In the late 16th century, as Toyotomi Hideyoshi united the various feudal barons under his control and looked to unite all factions with a common cause, he looked to invade Joseon. In preparation for this war, Tsushima became the main naval base for this invasion. From this point, Japan developed a strong foothold in Tsushima. After peace was re-established between the two nations--after Japan's invasion attempts failed due to Ming China's involvement in support of Joseon--the island once again became a port for merchants to dock their ships. Both Joseon and Tokugawa shogunate sent their trading representatives to Tsushima to govern trade. Japanese rule was slowly established as Joseon had no intention of colonizing the island following its policy of leaving islands uninhabited. During the late 19th century, the Meiji government of Japan officially incorporated the island into its country. During the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the famous Russian Baltic fleet under Admiral Rozhdestvensky, which made a nearly year-long trip to East Asia from the Baltic coast, was crushed by the Japanese under Admiral Togo Heihachiro at the Battle of Tsushima. After World War II, there arose a movement in South Korea to claim Tsushima, touting its historical relations to the various kingdoms of Korea. Today, Tsushima is part of Nagasaki prefecture of Japan. On March 1,2004 the 6 towns on the island including Izuhara were unified to create Tsushima city. Territorial Claims In a beginning-of-the-year press conference in 1949, President Syngman Rhee formally requested that Japan return the island to Korean rule. However, this claim was never seriously considered by the military government of General Douglas MacArthur. With the outbreak of Korean War the next year and the economic struggles that South Korea faced in the following decade, talk of any territorial dispute disappeared. In March 2005, Masan city of Korea declared June 19 as the "Daema-do day", claiming Tsushima to be part of Korean territory, but it was rejected by the Korean government. http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2005032142598 (Daema-do (대마도) was the name by which the island was historically known in Korea during the period prior to World War II.) This was provoked by the Shimane Prefecture's claim of Liancourt Rocks. A very small number of right wing South Koreans claim that the islands belong to the South Gyeongsang province of Korea. See also External link
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