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 dispute as follows: The Korean government says that Usando was the Liancourt Rocks. Although it is impossible for one to survive at Liancourt Rocks without outside assistance, a distinction to be noted is that Usanguk refers to a state based on Ulleng-do, whereas Usando refers to an island. Japanese scholars argue that Usando refers to either Ulleung-do or Jukdo while Korean scholars argue that it refers to Liancourt Rocks. The "Sejong-Sillok" (세종실록, "Chronicle of King Sejong", 1432) mentions Usando, but interpretation of the context is disputed. The text is interpreted as follows: "Usando (우산도 于山島) and Mureungdo (무릉도 武陵島, a former