Students to Promote Dokdo as Korean Territory Abroad

A team of Korean motorcyclists are in San Francisco on the first leg of a global tour aimed at promoting Korean sovereignty over the Dokdo islets.

The “Dokdo Racers” is the second class of the “Dokdo Riders,” a group of motorcyclists who promoted Dokdo as Korean territory in 2006 via a global motorbike tour.

Most of the Racers this year are students at Seoul National University, including Han Sang-yeop, 25, a senior Chinese language and literature major; Jeong Jin-won, 23, a senior machinery and aircraft engineering major; Choi Ka-yeong, 22, a junior economics major; Lee Han-na, 22, a senior Western painting major; and Yoon Ji-yeong, 19, a sophomore geo environment and science major).

Accompanying the team is Bae Seong-hwan, 26, a former physical education teacher.

Beginning with San Francisco, the students will travel to more than 30 countries in North America, Europe, Africa and Oceania over the next year. They will participate in events with college students, including seminars, civilian runs and marathons.

The Racers Thursday attended a seminar at Stanford University attended by more than 30 full-time Stanford students hailing from Japan and Taiwan. They held a heated debate over the sovereignty over Dokdo at the seminar.

Han said, “The trip is going to be a long, tough journey extending for a year, but we’re fully committed to promoting Dokdo to the world,” adding, “We’ll do our best to ensure our events produce good results in the coming months.”

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