1932년 일본의 동해 해양조사의 숨은 배경과 과학적 의미

Abstract

This paper looks into the hydrographic survey of the East Sea conducted by the Japanese government in 1932 and explores its significance and implications, especially with regard to the Japanese policy to control the East Sea. The 1932 hydrographic survey was the largest one during the period of repressive Japanese rule of Korea. This survey was carried out by 50 survey vessels extending a wide area from Lat. 50°N near Sakhalin to Lat. 20°N near Taiwan. The total survey points amounted to 1,743 points. The survey vessels came not only from the Fisheries Experimental Stations in Japan but also from the Fisheries Experimental Stations of all the provinces in Korea. The main purpose of the survey was to explore the flow of currents and to search for the causes of the fishing fluctuations in the wide East Sea. The meaning of the 1932 hydrographic survey of the East Sea was that, unlike the partial surveys conducted before that, it was conducted in full scale with wide participation and collaboration of related government agencies. By examining the Japanese hydrographic survey of the East Sea in 1932 from a convergence perspective, we can have a better understanding regarding how much importance Japan has attached to the East Sea since the colonial period, the intention behind the Japan's unjust claim for Dokdo, and the various ways Japan mobilized to usurp the land and sea of Korea.