Geography of South Korea


is located in East Asia, on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula located out from the far east of the Asian landmass. The only country that shares a land border with South Korea is North Korea, lying to the north with of the border running along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. South Korea is mostly surrounded by water and has of coastline along three seas: to the west is the Yellow Sea, to the south is the East China Sea, and to the east is the Sea of Japan. Geographically, South Korea's landmass is approximately. of South Korea are occupied by water. The approximate coordinates are 37° North, 128° East.

Land area and borders

The Korean Peninsula extends southward from the northeast part of the Asian continental landmass. The Japanese islands of Honshū and Kyūshū are located some 200 kilometers to the southeast across the Korea Strait, and the Shandong Peninsula of China lies 190 kilometers to the west. The west coast of the peninsula is bordered by the Korea Bay to the north and the Yellow Sea and Korea Strait to the south; the east coast is bordered by the East Sea. The 8,640-kilometer coastline is highly indented. Some 3,579 islands lie adjacent to the peninsula, most found along the south and west coasts.
After World War II and before 25 June 1950, the line between the two Korean states was the thirty-eighth parallel of latitude. After the Korean War, the Korean Demilitarized Zone formed the boundary between the two. The DMZ is a heavily guarded, 4,000-meter-wide strip of land that runs along the demarcation line established by the Korean Armistice Agreement from the east to the west coasts for a distance of 241 kilometers.
The total land area of the peninsula, including the islands, is 223,170 square kilometers. Some 44.8 percent of this total, excluding the area within the DMZ, constitutes the territory of the Republic of Korea. The combined territories of North Korea and South Korea are about the same size as the United Kingdom. South Korea alone is about the size of Portugal or Hungary, or the U.S. state of Indiana.
The largest island, Jeju Province, lies off the southwest corner of the peninsula and has a land area of 1,825 square kilometers. Other important islands include Ulleung and Liancourt Rocks in the East Sea and Ganghwa Island at the mouth of the Han River. Although the eastern coastline of South Korea is generally unindented, the southern and western coasts are jagged and irregular. The difference is caused by the eastern coast gradually rising while the southern and western coasts are subsiding.

Topography and drainage

South Korea is largely mountainous, with three-fourths of its landmass consisting of mountains. Early European visitors to Korea remarked that the land resembled "a sea in a heavy gale" because of the large number of successive mountain ranges. Many mountains exceeding, which are concentrated in the north and the east, form the "topological backbone" of the country. There are two major mountain ranges within South Korea: the Taebaek Mountains, and the Sobaek Mountains. The highest mountain peak in South Korea is Hallasan, which is the cone of a volcanic formation constituting Jeju Island. Geologically, Precambrian rocks such as granite make up the landmass.
Approximately 30 percent of the area of South Korea consists of lowlands, with the rest consisting of uplands and mountains. The great majority of the lowland area lies along the coasts, particularly the west coast, and along the major rivers. The most important lowlands are the Han River plain around Seoul, the Pyeongtaek coastal plain southwest of Seoul, the Geum River basin, the Nakdong River basin, and the Yeongsan River and the Honam plains in the southwest. A narrow littoral plain extends along the east coast. A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 1,833 kilometers2 of tidal flats in South Korea, making it the 17th ranking country in terms of how much tidal flat occurs there.
The Nakdong is South Korea's longest river. The Han River, which flows through Seoul, is long, and the Geum River is long. These three rivers have their sources in the Taebaek Mountains. Other major rivers include the Imjin, which flows through both North Korea and South Korea and forms an estuary with the Han River; the Bukhan, a tributary of the Han that also flows out of North Korea; and the Somjin. The major rivers flow north to south or east to west and empty into the Yellow Sea or the Korea Strait. They tend to be broad and shallow and to have wide seasonal variations in water flow.
In the early part of the 20th century and especially the period during and after World War II and the Korean War, much of the existing Korean forests were cut down, which led to problems with flooding and soil erosion. Combination of reforestation efforts and policies designed to reduce the use of firewood as a source of energy helped to spark a recovery in the 1950s. Comprehensive reforestation programs starting in the 1970s and continuing into the late 1990s aided in an acceleration of forest volume increase. The forest cover reached a peak of 65% of national land area in 1980 as opposed to a low of 35% in 1955.
News that North Korea was constructing a huge multipurpose dam at the base of Geumgangsan north of the DMZ caused considerable consternation in South Korea during the mid-1980s. In 1987, the Geumgangsan Dam was a major issue that Seoul sought to raise in talks with Pyongyang. Though Seoul completed a "Peace Dam" on the Pukhan River to counteract the potential threat of Pyongyang's dam project before the 1988 Olympics, the North Korean project still was in its initial stages of construction in 1990.
Maritime claims:

territorial sea:
; between and in the Korea Strait

contiguous zone:

exclusive economic zone:

continental shelf:
not specified
Elevation extremes:

lowest point:
Sea level 0 m

highest point:
Hallasan

Climate

Part of the East Asian Monsoon region, South Korea has humid continental and humid subtropical climates with four distinct seasons. The movement of air masses from the Asian continent exerts a greater influence on South Korea's weather than air movement from the Pacific Ocean. Winters are usually long, cold, and dry, whereas summers are short, hot, and humid. Spring and autumn are pleasant but short in duration. Seoul's mean temperature in January is ; in July the mean temperature is about. Because of its southern and seagirt location, Jeju Island has warmer and milder weather than other parts of South Korea. Mean temperatures on Jeju range from in January to in July.
The country generally has sufficient rainfall to sustain its agriculture. Rarely does less than of rainfall fall in any given year; for the most part, rainfall is over. Amounts of precipitation, however, can vary from year to year. Serious droughts occur about once every eight years, especially in the rice-producing southwestern part of the country. About two-thirds of the annual precipitation occurs between June and September.
South Korea is less vulnerable to typhoons than Japan, Taiwan, the east coast of China, or the Philippines. Typically one to three typhoons can be expected per year. Typhoons usually pass over South Korea in late summer, especially in August, and bring torrential rains. Flooding occasionally causes considerable damage, as do landslides, given the country's generally mountainous terrain.
In September 1984, record floods caused the deaths of 190 people and left 200,000 homeless. This disaster prompted the North Korean government to offer unprecedented humanitarian aid in the form of rice, medicine, clothes, and building materials. South Korea accepted these items and distributed them to flood victims.
MonthTemperatureDateLocation
January7 January 2020Jeju City, Jeju Province
February21 February 2021Pohang, North Gyeongsang
March26 March 2025Jeonju, North Jeolla Province
April28 April 2005Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang
May31 May 2014Daegu City, Daegu Province
June26 June 1958Daegu City, Daegu Province
July27 July 2018Uiseong, North Gyeongsang
August1 August 2018Hongcheon, Gangwon Province
September19 September 2024Yangsan City, South Gyeongsang Province
October1 October 2022Gangneung, Gangwon Province
November2 November 2023Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province
December17 December 1936Jeju City, Jeju Province

MonthTemperatureDateLocation
January5 January 1981Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province
February6 February 1969Chun Cheon, Gangwon Province
March8 March 1983Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
April2 April 1972Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
May16 May 1977Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
June1 June 2010Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
July5 July 1976Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
August27 August 1977Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
September23 September 1980Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
October25 October 1982Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
November22 November 1973Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang Province
December24 December 1973Wonju, Gangwon Province