Liancourt Rocks - Demographics and Economy

Demographics and Economy

From March 1965 Choi Jong-duk, a resident of Ulleung-do, started to dwell on the islets to make a living from fishing. He also helped install facilities from May 1968. In 1981, Choi Jong-dok changed his administrative address to the Liancourt Rocks, making himself the first person to officially live there. He passed away there in September 1987. His son-in-law, Cho Jun-ki, and his wife also resided there from 1985 until they moved out in 1992. Meanwhile in 1991, Kim Sung-do and Kim Shin-yeol transferred to the islets as permanent residents, still continuing to live there. In addition to these residents, there are 37 South Korean national police officers on guard duty. There are also three Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries personnel, and three lighthouse keepers staying on the islets in rotation.

Since the South Korean Coast Guard was sent to the islets, civilian travel was subject to South Korean government approval; they have claimed that the reason for this is that the islet group is designated as a nature reserve.

The South Korean government gave its approval to allow 1,597 visitors to visit the islets in 2004. Since March 2005, more tourists have received approval to visit. The South Korean government lets up to 70 tourists land at any one given time; one ferry provides rides to the islets every day. En route to Liancourt Rocks, the ferry shows an animated film featuring a giant robot warding off Japanese. Tour companies charge around 350,000 Korean won per person (approx. 250 US dollars as of 2009).