Outgrowing the Predicament? National Identity andSeoul'sDokdo Policy

Abstract

TheDokdo/Takeshima dispute between theROKandJapan remains the single biggest obstacle to an improvement ofSouthKorean–Japanese relations. The issue forcesSouthKorean foreign policy actors to constantly maneuver between engagement withJapan out of strategic interests and confrontation because of the islets' symbolic value forKorean national identity. Still, the scholarly debate has failed to comprehensively grasp the constitution ofDokdo as a political issue, while reducing it to “irrational emotions” that unnecessarily hinder urgent bilateral cooperation. Further, there prevails a one‐dimensional and fixed understanding ofKorean identity as largely post‐colonial, without acknowledging the recent research on an increasingly internationalizedKorean self‐understanding. In taking a constructivist, discourse analytical approach,Iam able to provide a sound assessment of the various active identity narratives relevant toSeoul'sDokdo policy, while considering the odds for political change.