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Korean couple earns praise for running Dokdo Cafe in Philippines
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By
Park Jae-hyuk
Published
May 4, 2026 12:00 pm
KST
Coffee shop in Bohol promotes Korea's sovereingty over eastern islets
Dokdo Cafe owners Eom Sang-hyun, center, and Park Jin-hwa, second from right, pose with Sungshin Women's University professor Seo Kyoung-duk, right, at the coffee shop in Bohol, Philippines, in this undated photo. Courtesy of Dokdo Love Movement Headquarters
A Korean couple running the Dokdo Cafe near Alona Beach in the Philippine province of Bohol has been credited with internationally promoting Korea’s sovereignty over the eastern islets and countering Japan’s territorial claims.
Seo Kyoung-duk, a Sungshin Women's University professor and social activist well known for introducing Korean culture and history overseas, wrote on social media Thursday that the Dokdo Love Movement Headquarters has named Eom Sang-hyun and Park Jin-hwa as “Dokdo Heroes.”
According to the nonprofit organization, the couple opened the coffee shop four years ago to help Filipinos and tourists recognize that the Dokdo islets belong to Korea. The organization added that booklets and various other materials about Dokdo have turned the store into a place to learn about Korean history and territory, not just a spot to drink coffee.
“Our sincere explanations and steady efforts have helped locals who were unfamiliar with Dokdo open their minds,” the couple told the organization.
Seo also visited the Dokdo Cafe in person, along with representatives of the organization.
“Unsung heroes who promote our Dokdo islets around the world play a very important role,” Seo wrote on social media. “I hope you will stop by the Dokdo Cafe if you visit Bohol.”
Seo Jun-beom, a Korean artist specializing in traditional ink-and-wash painting, accompanied the professor and painted the islets on an interior wall of the Dokdo Cafe.
“It was meaningful for me to meet in person the people who are promoting the Dokdo islets in a faraway country,” the artist said.
Authorized by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to promote the islets, the Dokdo Love Movement Headquarters has been working with the professor on a campaign to recognize individuals and organizations that introduce the islets outside Korea.
Other “Dokdo Heroes” include Steven Barber, a Canadian who has run an English-language website for 19 years promoting Korea’s sovereignty over the islets, and members of KID, a student group at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities that has worked to correct misinformation about the islets. KID stands for “Korea’s Island Dokdo.”
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