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Teachers to hold special lessons on Dokdo for elementary, high school students
SEOUL, April 5 (Yonhap) -- A major teachers' association said Monday it will hold special lessons for elementary and high schools students this month on South Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo, a group of islets Japan claims as its territory.
The Japanese government last month approved a set of social studies textbooks for fifth graders describing Dokdo as owned by Japan. One version of the textbooks say the islets are "illegally occupied" by South Korea.
Diplomatic tension has mounted since, with the South Korean foreign minister calling in the Japanese ambassador to Seoul to lodge an official complaint.
Dokdo, known for rich fishing and other valuable marine resources, lies 90 kilometers from South Korea's Ulleung Island in the East Sea. Seoul has maintained a Coast Guard unit on the islets since 1954 to effectively control them.
"We need to teach our students that Dokdo is South Korea's territory legally and historically," the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations said. The special lessons will begin nationwide from next week and continue until the end of the month, it said.
South Korea's ruling Grand National Party said last week it will seek to expand textbook segments on Dokdo and establish special history classes.
brk@yna.co.kr
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