November saw more applications to be stationed on Dokdo as a police officer than any other single month since recruitment began.

The North Gyeongsang provincial police agency said Thursday that 198 people applied for seven openings in the Dokdo Guard in November, a ratio of 28.3:1.

The ratio is a record high since the agency started hiring police officers to guard the easternmost islets in September 2011.

The agency recruits 7 to 12 guards each month who will serve their military duty as police. The previous high was 21.6:1, set in March last year.

“Only a select few who pass difficult physical tests and interviews can be members of the Dokdo Guard,” an agency official said. “Recent provocative remarks by the Abe government of Japan about Dokdo and other historical issues may have had an impact on applications.”

The competition for a position in the unit has hovered at around 15:1 from the beginning.

Dokdo is under the effective control of Korea, but Japan also claims sovereinty over the islets, calling them Takeshima.

A married couple has resided on Dokdo since Nov. 17, 1991. Two employees dispatched by the government of Ulleungdo Island near Dokdo also work at the fishing couple’s lodgings.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)