Liancourt Rocks dispute Japan. In 1954, Japan proposed a reference to the International Court of Justice, which South Korea rejected, believing that the Liancourt Rocks are irrefutably South Korean territories, and thus should not be dealt through diplomatic negotiations or judicial settlement between South Korea and Japan. There are conflicting interpretations about the historical state of sovereignty over the islets. Korean claims are partly based on references to a Korean island called "Usan-do" in various historical records, maps and encyclopedias such as the "Samguk Sagi", "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty", "Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam" (), and "Dongguk munheon bigo" (). According to the Korean
Liancourt Rocks two main islets and 35 smaller rocks; the total surface area of the islets is , with the highest elevation of found at an unnamed location on the West Islet. The Liancourt Rocks lie in rich fishing grounds that may contain large deposits of natural gas. The Liancourt Rocks consist of two main islets and numerous surrounding rocks. The two main islets, called "Ojima" (男島, "Male Island") and "Mejima" (女島, "Female Island") in Japanese, and "Seodo" (, "Western Island") and "Dongdo" (, "Eastern Island") in Korean, are apart. The Western Island is the larger of the two, with a wider