US fence-sitting on Dokdo row

NEW YORK — Korea-Japan relations are getting rockier by the day, with stories about the bilateral standoff starting to take up more space, more often in U.S. print, television and online news.

Not surprisingly, Washington is sitting on the fence over the intensifying territorial feud between its two most important allies in Northeast Asia. But what about average Americans? Is the issue stirring up any opinions?

For most, it’s pretty obvious that Korea and Japan aren’t exactly best friends, but why the two countries are battling over the isolated rocks is still a mystery to many.

“What is it with the useless rocks that gets everyone so riled up?’’ wrote a user named Annespeaks on the popular, liberal Huffington Post news site.

“Barren rocks are hardly worth getting worked up over,’’ wrote another user, Carbon Forteetoo, one of dozens who expressed confusion over Dokdo, the small group of islets known as Takeshima in Japan.

The Pacific territory, surrounded by rich fishing grounds and thought to be sitting on vast frozen natural gas deposits, has been at the center of a long-standing dispute between historical rivals Korea and Japan.

But tension has escalated to new heights in recent weeks after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to Dokdo in a bid to reassert the country’s ownership.

“There must be a whole lot of history between the two countries. But they need to work things out on their own,’’ says Ron Santos, 22, who is studying international relations at the State University of New York. “I’ve read about this in the news, but it’s not an issue I’d passionately stand for.’’

Many other Americans seem to respond with a similar sense of indifference despite the recent media attention, along with a string of Dokdo ads that spanned from Los Angeles to Manhattan.

Many individuals who’ve been interviewed in New York said they’ve seen the billboard and newspaper ads, but questioned why Korea is so much more vocal than Japan.

“I get that these islands are extremely important to Korea, but it’s interesting how we’re not seeing similar campaigns from the Japanese side,’’ said Nelson Rogin, 33, a media consultant who recalls seeing at least three different versions of Dokdo ads.

“Why is Korea doing so much more to claim the territory as theirs?’’ asked Taylor Wesson, a student at New York University. “If I were super curious and interested, I’d do research on the issue. But frankly, I just don’t care all that much.’’

Korean celebrities and Korean-American associations in the U.S. have tried to promote and raise awareness about the Dokdo dispute, but critics have warned that such efforts may end up sending the wrong message to the public.

“It’s human nature to want people to take your side, so of course it would be nice to have some backing,’’ said one person familiar with national branding, who requested to stay anonymous.

“After all, the ultimate goal of running ads in the U.S. is to get people to agree with us,’’ said the person, who is skeptical about excessive Dokdo ad campaigns in the U.S. “Now is a good time to assess if the efforts that have been made so far are worthwhile or not.’’ <The Korea Times/Jane Han>

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