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
Embassy of Japan, Seoul renovation work begun on the embassy's current building, built in 1976. The embassy is known as the site of numerous South Korean anti-Japanese demonstrations. In 1974 the embassy was ransacked by angry protesters, during a time of heightened tensions between Japan and South Korea. In 2005 two South Koreans sliced off their fingers during a protest related to the Liancourt Rocks dispute, outside the embassy. In 2012 a South Korean driver rammed his truck against the gate of the embassy, claiming it was done to highlight the Liancourt Rocks dispute. Since 1992 the embassy has been a site of weekly