South Korean schools to teach about Dokdo islands dispute

South Korean schoolchildren will receive mandatory classes explaining the nation's claims to ownership of a set of islands that are also claimed by Japan, the education ministry says.

Beginning this year, all schools will be required to provide a minimum of 10 hours of classes annually on "the importance of Dokdo", a ministry spokesman said.

The South Korea-controlled islets in the Sea of Japan, known to Koreans as the East Sea, are called Takeshima in Japan and are the subject of a decades-old territorial dispute.

Japan held an annual rally last week to promote its claim to the island chain. Hundreds of people attended, including the highest-ranking Japanese government official ever sent to the event.

South Korea, which had urged Tokyo to cancel Friday's rally, reacted angrily and hundreds of activists staged a protest outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul.

An association of South Korean shop owners has urged millions of its members to boycott Japanese goods, including cigarettes and beer.