The island was probably originally settled about 1500 years ago by fishermen, but its existence has first been officially recorded by the Chinese only as late as about 1500 AD, in ancient maps from the Ming dynasty. Apparently Samui Island had trade connections with China (at least Chinese ceramics were found in ship wrecks from that period that has sunken near the coast of Samui). The probably most dramatic episode in the history of the island was the short Japanese occupation during World War II. Today Ko Samui belongs to Thailand but due to the long isolation from the rest of the world (little was known about Koh Samui until the early 1970s) the islanders (Samui has about 35.000 inhabitants) still think of themselves as really different from the rest of the country and are proud of their island culture.