Liancourt Rocks is a group of small islets in the East Sea that is subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Korea. It is called either Dokdo and Takeshima.

Dokdo was named by Korean people who claim that the island is territory of Korea due to their records from sixth century, and Takeshima was named by Japanese people who claim that it is a part of Okinoshima, in Oki District of Japan.

The island is located in about halfway between Korea and Japan. The exact distance of the Liancourt Rocks to mainland Korea is 215kms and to mainland Japan is 250kms.

Unlleungdo which is the nearest Korean territory is 87 kms away and the nearest Japanese territory Oki Islands is 157 kms away from the island.

Dokdo-Takeshima has only two permanent residents who are a Korean fisherman and his wife, and some non-permanent residents who are Korean policemen, soldiers and lighthouse staff.

Korean telecommunication service stations were installed on the island so that the island is covered by Korean wireless telephone network.

The Dokdo-Takeshima island is barely habitable, but is a crucial part for both countries because it allows the country to have great fishing grounds, wide variety of seafood and possible reserves of natural gas.

These facts might be the reasons why both Korean and Japanese citizens are signing up their names on the list to claim that the island is theirs.

Nobody knows when this dispute between two closest neighbours in Asia will come to an end.

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