• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 1975

South Korea is divided tectonically into four segments. The Kyonggi-Ryongnam massif is composed of Precambrian schists and gneisses and consititutes a base for the succeeding formations. The Okcheon geosynclinal zone in the Kyonggi-Ryongnam massif strectches from southwest to northeast diagonally across the peninsula in a direction known as the Sinian direction. Its northeastern part is composed primarily of Paleozoic to early Mesozoic sedimentary formations and the southwestern part of the late Precambrian Okcheon metamorphic series. The Kyongsang basin occupies the southeast and southwest of the peninsula and is made up of a thick series of Cretaceous terrestrial sedimentary and andesitic rocks. A few small Tertiary basins are scattered in the eastern coastal area and in Cheju Island, and are composed of marine sedimentary and basaltic rocks. Jurassic Daebo granites intrude the Kyonggi-Ryongnam massif and the Okcheon zone in the Sinian direction, whereas late Cretaceous Bulkuksa granites are scattered randomly in the Kyongsang basin.