ConflictJune 512(Lunar)

Isabu Conquers Usan-guk

Under King Jijeung, the general Isabu sailed with wooden lions to frighten the islanders of Usan-guk (Ulleungdo) into submission.

Ulleungdo seen from the sea — the Usan-guk that Isabu subdued in 512
Ulleungdont · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

The Samguk sagi says the islanders were fierce and their land rugged, so Isabu lined his ships with wooden lions and threatened to set them loose; Usan-guk submitted and sent tribute every year.

The Sejong sillok geography notes that Usan (Dokdo) and Mureung (Ulleungdo) can see each other on a clear day — cited by Korea as evidence that Dokdo belonged to Usan-guk.

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The map in AD 512

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States and rulers at the time: Silla · conqueror — King Jijeung
Places: Ulleungdo (Usan-guk)

People

Isabu
commander · Silla general who subdued Usan-guk with wooden lions and later conquered Daegaya
King JijeungAD 437 – AD 514
monarch · Twenty-second ruler of Silla, who fixed the names Silla and wang (king), promoted ox ploughing and annexed Usan-guk

Before and after

Earlier: AD 503 King Jijeung’s Reforms
Later: AD 520 Horse-and-Rider Shaped Vessels

Themes that include this event

Ulleungdo and DokdoAD 512 – 1905
From Isabu’s conquest of Usan-guk to Imperial Decree No. 41 — two East Sea islands recorded as Korean throughout