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The U.S. Library of Congress has postponed a meeting planned for Wednesday to change the subject heading for Korea's Dokdo islets from "Tok Island (Korea)" to "Liancourt Rocks," an old international moniker, and file it under ¡°Islands of the Sea of Japan,¡± the body of water Koreans know as the East Sea. The postponement owes much to the efforts of a Korean librarian in Canada.
The name Liancourt Rocks originated from Le Liancourt, the French whaling ship whose crew were the first Europeans to encounter and chart the islets in 1849.
The Korean government had been in the dark about the proposed change even though the suggestion was already submitted to the Library of Congress in December last year.
In an e-mail reply to the Chosun Ilbo on Tuesday, Dr. Barbara Tillett, chief of the Library of Congress Cataloging Policy and Support Office, said she was withdrawing the suggestion to change the subject heading for Dokdo to Liancourt Rocks, which was submitted in December 2007. Tillett added the discussion will be delayed until there is an enlightened international resolution and a decision by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
The Library of Congress was originally to adopt the suggestion on Wednesday, a decision that would have had repercussions for other libraries in the U.S. and other major countries. Japan was expected to take advantage of this in its efforts to stir up an international dispute over Dokdo.
It was not the Korean government but Hana Kim (32), the Korean studies librarian at the University of Toronto, who kept close watch on the attempt. Kim, who concurrently serves as chair of the Committee on Korean Materials under the Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL), found out through an e-mail last Thursday that the Library of Congress was planning the move.
A librarian who handles books on Korea, China and Japan, she decided a quick reaction was needed and immediately informed Korean librarians in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and France of the news and collected their opposing views.
Over the weekend, Kim collected materials on Dokdo and wrote an e-mail to the Library of Congress to remind it that changing the subject heading is inappropriate.
"My one-year-old son Ari had a fever during the weekend, but I couldn't take him to the hospital and only gave him a fever remedy, because I was busy reviewing materials on Dokdo and writing the e-mail,¡± she told the Chosun Ilbo.
Kim sent the eight-page e-mail to Tillett on Monday, lodging her concerns.
She also sent e-mails and faxes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the Consulate General of Korea in Toronto, and the Korean Embassy in Washington saying the issue required a quick reaction.
Kim sent the same e-mail to Young-key Kim Renaud, chair of the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department at George Washington University, asking her to inform the press and the Korean-American community.
Alerted by Hana Kim, the Korean Embassy made urgent contact with the Library of Congress on Tuesday, conveying the Korean government's concerns. Young-key Kim, meanwhile, informed Korean correspondents. In the end, the Library of Congress decided to put off the meeting, probably because it was now aware of the enormous interest the Korean people are taking in this issue.
"For a few days, I was completely preoccupied with preventing the Library of Congress from pushing its decision,¡± Kim said. ¡°I'm glad that there has been a good result. But it's still too early to be completely reassured. The National Library of Korea or the National Assembly Library urgently have to assign librarians to watch the moves of major countries including the U.S. all year round."
After graduating from the Korea National University of Education, Kim obtained a master's degree in library and information studies from McGill University, Canada. She has been working at the library of the University of Toronto since 2003.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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