Spatio-temporal Distribution of Surges and Tsunamis in the Korean Peninsula from 1392 to 1910

조선시대(1392-1910) 해일 발생의 시공간적 분포 특성

Analysis and prediction of storm surges are very important because the global warming has raised sea levels and increased the frequency of massive typhoons, accelerating damage of coastal flooding. However, the data for storm surge prediction is lacking due to the short history of observation in South Korea. The purpose of this study is to investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of the previous surges and tsunamis based on the historical documents published during the Joseon Dynasty. In addition, we tried to evaluate the damage and spatial extent of such disasters, using the expressions about surge records including heights and number of administrative divisions. As a result, a total of 175 records of surges and tsunamis were compiled from 1392 to 1910: 145 events were extracted through the analysis of the ancient documents, and 30 events were from the previous research. Most of the strorm surges occurred along the west coast during summer season. More than half of the total surges were concentrated for 120 years from the mid 1600s to the mid 1700s, which was estimated to be highly relevant to the climate conditions in East Asia during the Little Ice Age. Hazardous areas by storm and tidal surges were also extracted, including Asan, Ganghwa, and Siheung during the Joseon Dyanisity period.