'Natural Heritage of Korea, Dokdo' published by the Cultural Heritage Administration ROK

The inside flap of this book explains the calligraphy used on the cover came from a word written in blood on the national flag of Korea in March 1909 during the struggle for independence from Japanese colonial ruling.

Dokdo is a tiny, rugged island in the East Sea between Korea and Japan, and a much disputed territory. The photos in the book show it as green in spring and summer, sunny in autumn and with a light dusting of snow in winter. But the dominant landscape is simply an unwelcoming mass of jagged black rock rising from the sea. It is in fact made up of Dongdo and Seodo and 89 other rocks, formed over 250 million years ago by oceanic lava eruption, a rare example of a seamount rising to the surface according to this incredibly technical and detailed tome.

200 kilometres from the mainland, it has a rare ecosystem with many migrating birds, and is now being studied and protected, with natural reserve status for over a decade. As well as the gulls, herons, wagtails and so on there’s the peregrine falcon, cattle egret, white-bellied green pigeon, blue rock thrush, Narcissus flycatcher. The photos also show some of the sea creatures around the island, including interesting starfish; I didn’t realise that starfish with long arms are from deep sea, and those with short arms such as the sea star stay in shallow water.

This book is, as I say, a gathering of some pretty technical scientific information, perhaps as proof of how much Korea cares about this forbidding piece of land. According to my Lonely Planet, there is good diving for experienced divers on the nearby island of Ulleungdo, and visitors to Ulleungdo looking for something a little more rugged can take a ferry to Dokdo during the summer months. It looks like a place for photographers, birdwatchers and nature lovers in general. I’d certainly be tempted to take a trip.