For most of its history Korea was an independent kingdom, or at least an autonomous kingdom under Chinese influence. This came to an end in 1910 when Japan annexed all of Korea. At the end of World War II in 1945 the 38° parallel was established as the dividing line between U.S. and Soviet zones of occupation, and in 1948 separate civil administrations were established in the two halves of the country. The Korean War (1950-53) ended in a draw with the armistice line falling close to the prewar 38° line. The Republic of Korea (ROK; 대한민국, Daehan Minguk in Korean), commonly called South Korea, occupies the Korean peninsula south of the armistice line. South Korea is divided into nine provinces and eight province-level cities; the provinces are subdivided into counties and cities. This page covers lighthouses of the northern section of the island county of Wando located off South Korea's southwest coast. Wando is a county of Jeollanam Province in the region of southwestern Korea formerly known known as Jeolla or Cholla. There is another page for the southern islands of the county. Also included on this page are several lighthouses of Jangheung County and Gangjin County, counties on the mainland facing Wando. In 2000 South Korea adopted a Revised Romanization System to replace systems formerly used in the West. In the Revised System, the word for a lighthouse is deungdae (등대); dan (formerly tan) is a cape, seom (som) or do (to) is an island, am or amseog is a rock, man is a bay, and hang is a harbor. Some place names may be more familiar to Westerners in the spellings of older systems. Navigational aids in the ROK are regulated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF). Most of the lights on this page are maintained by the Mokpo Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries, but several of the lights in the southeastern part of the Wando archipelago are maintained by the Yeosu Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. KR numbers, where available, are from the Korean light list. Admiralty numbers are from volume M of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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Northeastern Wando County Lighthouses
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![]() Geumdangdo Light, Geumdang District ex-Daum.net Creative Commons photo by 고기잡는어부 |
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![]() Seopdo Light, Geomildo District Yeosu Regional Port Administration photo (no longer online) |
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![]() Detached Breakwater South (left) and South Breakwater Lights, Dojang Hang, October 2018 Google Maps photo by Hunseok Shin |
Jangheung County Lighthouses
Gangjin County Lighthouses
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Northwestern Wando County Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: West: Jindo | East: Goheung Area | South: Southern Wando Islands
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted January 9, 2008. Lighthouses: 46. Checked and revised April 10, 2024. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.