The Liancourt Rocks, also known as Dokdo or Tokto (Korean pronunciation: [tokt͈o]; Hangul: 독도; hanja: 獨島, literally solitary island) in Korean, and Takeshima (竹島/たけしま, literally bamboo island) in Japanese, are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan. While South Korea controls the islets, its sovereignty over them is contested by Japan. South Korea classifies the islets as Dokdo-ri, Ulleung-eup, Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang Province.