What is the history of Ulleungdo? (Ch. 12)

Memorial Service for Dead Sailors

On August 8, 1425, Kim In-u was sent to "Muleungdo" to bring back people who had moved there illegally. After his return, on October 20, it was reported that one ship carrying 46 men was lost during the voyage. One month after that report was made, the following record mentions that the king ordered memorial services for the dead sailors.

Source: 『世宗實錄』 卷 三十, 世宗 七年 十一月 乙卯條

November 20, 1425

傳旨禮曹戶曹 茂陵入歸時敗船物故江原道船軍招魂致祭致賻 金麟雨云漂向日本 上以謂敗船 故有是命

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예조와 호조에 전지(傳旨)하여, 무릉도(茂陵島)에 들어갈 때 배가 파손하여 사망한 강원도 선군(船軍)의 초혼제(招魂祭)를 지내어 치제(致祭)하고 치부(致賻)하게 하였다. 김인우(金麟雨)가 일본으로 표류(漂流)하였다고 말하였는데, 임금이 난파한 것이라 생각하였기 때문에 이러한 명령이 있은 것이다.

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The king ordered the Ministry of Protocol and the Ministry of Finance to hold memorial services and pay condolences to honor the Kangwon Province sailors who died when their ship was destroyed while trying to land on Muleungdo. Kim In-u said that they had drifted to Japan, but the King gave the order because he thought they had been shipwrecked.

Muleungdo is the only island mentioned in the above record, but the record refers to Kim In-u, who was known as the Inspector for the Usan-Muleung Area, which suggests it was referring to his recent trip to the island.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind people that, so far, nothing has been mentioned in the records to suggest that either Usando or Muleungdo was a reference to present-day Dokdo/Takeshima. In fact, some records have said that both names referred to Ulleungdo, and other records have said that they are neighboring islands.

The fact that Kim In-u is referred to as the inspector for the Usan-Muleung "Area" instead of the Usan-Muleung "Island" suggests that the two are neighboring islands and not two names for one island. The fact that Usan is mentioned first implies that it is the larger island, but Muleungdo seems to be used more often when referring to the area, which makes things confusing. However, that confusion only reenforces the idea that the islands are near enough to each other to cause it.

What is the history of Ulleungdo? (Ch. 11)

Kim Brings Back 20 People from Muleungdo

On August 8, 1425, Kim In-u was given fifty men, military equipment, and a ship and sent to Muleungdo to bring back people reported to be living there. Almost two and a half months after Kim In-u's departure, the following record reports on his return and the results of his mission.

Source: :『世宗實錄』 卷 三十, 世宗七年 十月 乙酉條

October 20, 1425

于山茂陵等處安撫使金麟雨 搜捕本島避役男婦二十人來復命 初麟雨領兵船二艘 入茂陵島 船軍四十六名所坐一艘 飄風不知去向 上謂諸卿曰麟雨捕還二十餘人 而失四十餘人 何益哉 此島別無異産 所以逃入者 專以窺免賦役 禮曹叅判金自知啓曰 今此捕還逃民 請論如律 上曰 此人非潛從他國 且赦前所犯 不可加罪 仍命兵曹 置于忠淸道深遠山郡 使勿復逃 限三年復戶

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우산(于山) 무릉(茂陵) 등처(等處) 안무사(安撫使) 김인우(金麟雨)가 본도(本島)에 피역(避役)한 남녀 20인을 수색하여 잡아와 복명(復命)하였다. 처음 인우가 병선(兵船) 두 척을 거느리고 무릉도에 들어갔는데 선군(船軍) 46명이 탄 배 한 척은 바람을 만나 간 곳을 알지 못하게 되었다. 임금이 여러 대신들에게 이르기를, 인우가 20여 인을 잡아왔으나 40여 인을 잃었으니 무엇이 유익하냐, 이 섬에는 별로 다른 산물도 없으니, 도망해 들어간 이유는 단순히 부역(賦役)을 모면하려 한 것이로구나, 라고 하였다. 예조 참판 김자지(金自知)가 계하기를, 지금 잡아온 도망한 백성을 법대로 논죄하기를 청합니다, 라고 하니, 임금이 말하기를, 이 사람들은 몰래 타국을 따른 것이 아니요, 또 전에 범한 바를 사면(赦免)해 준 일도 있으니 새로 죄주는 것은 불가하다 하고, 곧 병조에 명하여 충청도의 깊고 먼 산중 고을로 보내어 다시 도망하지 못하게 하고 3년 동안 복호(復戶)하게 하였다.

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Usan-Muleung Area Inspector Kim In-u reported that he searched out and captured twenty men and women who went to "the island" (either "the island" or "main island") to escape government service. In the beginning, In-u commanded two military transport ships, but one ship, with forty-six sailors on board, disappeared after encountering winds on the way to Muleungdo.

The king said to his ministers, "What do we gain by capturing twenty people when we lose more than forty? There are no special products on the island, so the reason people go there is simply to avoid government service."

When Kim Ja-ji, the Minister of Rites, Protocol, Culture, and Education, requested that those captured on the island be judged according to the law, the king said, "These people did not secretly follow someone to a foreign country. Moreover, such transgressions were pardoned in the past, so giving out new punishment would be wrong."

The king ordered the Ministry of Military Affairs to send the people to a village far away and deep in the mountains of Chungcheong Province so that they cannot run away again. He also ordered that they be exempt from government service and taxes for three years.

The above record describes Kim In-u as being the Inspector for the Usan-Muleung Area, and then says that he brought back people who had be living on "the island," which grammatically is a little strange since no island had previously been mentioned. I assume "the island" is referring to the "Usan-Muleung" reference in Kim In-u's title, which would imply that Usan and Muleung are one island. However, besides meaning "the island," the Chinese characters, 本島, can also mean "main island," so it is possible that the phrase could be translated as "people who had been living on the main island," though I do not think this is what was meant. Later in the passage, Muleungdo is specifically referred to, so we can assume that the people had been living on Muleungdo. However, Muleungdo sometimes seems to refer to the island group as a whole, which might have been the intended meaning.

I do not think the above passage is clear enough to proclaim that the people were living on the main island of Ulleungdo or a neighboring island, but two and a half months earlier in this report, seven people had reported that they had left their wives and children on Muleungdo, which means the twenty people mentioned above were probably captured on Muleungdo. So the question is, "Was Muleungdo referring to the main island of Ulleungdo or a neighboring island?"

By the way, the seven people mentioned above said that twenty-eight of them had gone to Muleungdo in 1423. If you add the seven people caught on the main to the twenty people brought back from Muleungdo, it totals only twenty-seven, but twenty-eight were reported to have gone to the island in 1423. That means that one person is missing from the original group. Maybe the person died or was able to hide from the soldiers searching the island.

What is the history of Ulleungdo? (Ch. 10)

Evicted Residents Return to the Muleungdo

In 1416, Kim In-u was appointed "Inspector of the Muleung Region" and sent to "Muleungdo" to bring back to the mainland people living there. However, when he returned in 1417, it was reported that he returned from "Usando," not Muleungdo, suggesting that the people he met on the island referred to their island as Usando instead of Muleungdo. After receiving Kim In-u's report, ministers started referring to the island group as "Usan-Muleung," suggesting that Usan and Muleung were neighboring islands and that Usan was the larger of the two.

In the following 1425 report, Kim In-u is sent back to the region, but instead of being referred to as "Inspector for the Muleung Region," he is referred to as "Inspector of the Usan-Muleung Region."

Source: 『世宗實錄』 卷 二十九, 世宗 七年 八月 甲戌條

August 8, 1425

甲戌以前判長鬐縣事金麟雨 爲于山武陵等處按撫 初江原道平海人金乙之李萬金亐乙金等 曾逃居武陵島 歲丙申 國家遣麟雨 盡行刷還 癸卯 乙之等男婦共二十八名 復逃入本島 今年五月 乙之等七人 留其妻子於本島 乘小船潛到平海郡仇彌浦 發覺 監司囚之 本郡馳報於是復爲刷還 麟雨率軍人五十名 備軍器齎三月粮 浮海而去 島在東海中 麟雨三陟人也

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전 판장기현사(判長鬐縣事) 김인우(金麟雨)를 우산도(于山島)·무릉도(武陵島) 등지의 안무사(安撫使)로 삼았다. 당초에 강원도 평해(平海) 고을 사람 김을지(金乙之)·이만(李萬)·김울금[金亐乙金] 등이 무릉도에 도망가 살던 것을, 병신년에 국가에서 인우를 보내어 다 데리고 나왔는데, 계묘년에 을지 등 남녀 28명이 다시 본디 섬에 도망가서 살면서, 금년 5월에 을지 등 7인이 아내와 자식은 섬에 두고 작은 배를 타고 몰래 평해군 구미포(仇彌浦)에 왔다가 발각되었다. 감사가 잡아 가두고 본군(本郡)에서 급보(急報)하여 곧 도로 데려 내오기로 하고서, 인우가 군인 50명을 거느리고 군기와 3개월 양식을 갖춘 다음 배를 타고 나섰다. 섬은 동해 가운데 있고, 인우는 삼척(三陟) 사람이었다.

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Kim In-u, a former panjanggihyeonsa, was made inspector for the Usan/Muleung region. In 1416, the government sent In-u to Muleungdo to bring back former Pyonghae residents Kim Ul-ji, Lee Man, Kim Ul-geum, and others who had run away to live on Muleungdo. In 1423, twenty-three men and women, including Ul-ji, ran away back to the island. In May this year, seven people, including Ul-ji, left their wives and children on the island and came secretly in a small boat to Kumi-po in Pyeonghae County, where they were discovered. The governor arrested them, and sent an urgent message from his village to bring back immediately the people still on the island. With fifty men, military equipment, and 3-months of rations, In-u got on a ship and left. The island is in the middle of the East Sea. In-u was from Samcheok.

The report says that people were living on Muleungdo, but was Muleungdo referring to Ulleungdo or to one of its neighboring islands? We cannot be sure, but Kim In-u was referred to as the "Inspector of the Usan-Muleung Region," suggesting that Usan and Muleung are neighboring islands and that Usan is the larger. Also, in 1417, it was reported that Kim In-u returned from Usando with three residents and tribute that included bamboo and other plant and wood products, however, he had been sent to Muleungdo, not Usando. Again, this suggests that Usando and Muleungdo are neighboring islands that are close enough together to cause name confusion.

So far, records have told us that there are two islands: Usan and Muleung. Records have also suggested that people have lived on both islands at one time or another, and that Usan was the larger of the two. However, if Usan was Ulleungdo and Muleung was a neighboring island, then one might wonder why the people mentioned in the above record chose to live on the smaller of the two islands? Was Muleung a specific reference to the smaller island or a general reference to the area? Or did the people prefer to live on the smaller island for security reasons or some other reason? It is unclear, but what is clear is that Muleungdo and Usando were either right next to each other or two names for the same island. Another thing that seems clear is that neither Muleungdo nor Usando was referring to Dokdo/Takeshima, which was too insignificant and too far away to cause the kind of name confusion that existed between Muleungdo and Usando.