Abstract

In the Joseon period, the maritime ban policy gradually became a means of controlling the people when a reorganization of the military defense system and the preparation of countermeasures against the appearance of unidentified vessels were required. In the process, a maritime boundary consciousness was formed, and a defense system centered on the inner sea was established. As a result, islands located in the West and South Seas were transformed into garrison areas, receiving increased attention from the central government. By contrast, the change in the island policy toward Ulleungdo was relatively uncomplicated. In the early Joseon period, the governance of evacuating residents of Ulleungdo and the so-called island vacancy policy were carried out as a way of preventing damage from Japanese pirates. And the sutoje of Ulleungdo was formalized when the territorial dispute over Ulleungdo with Japan began in earnest at the end of the 17th century. The character of Ulleungdo was the same as that of the islands located on the West and South Seas in that it revealed the government’s determination to properly control domestic territory. The development of the sutoje of Ulleungdo was also related to changes in maritime territorial consciousness and island policies.