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), commonly called South Korea (Daehan Minguk in Korean), 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 cities of Seosan and Dangjin in northern Chungcheongnam (Chungnam, or South Chungcheon) Province and the cities of Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, and Ansan in southern Gyeonggi Province on South Korea's west coast. At the provincial border the ports of Dangjin in Chungcheongnam and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi face each other across a common harbor. 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). In this area the lights of Dangjin harbor are maintained by the Daesan Regional Oceans and Fisheries Administration and the remaining lights are maintained by the Pyeongtaek Regional Oceans and Fisheries Administration. 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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Northern Chungcheongnam Province Lighthouses
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![]() Haengdamdo Light, Dangjin; unattributed photo probably by Pyeongtaek Regional Oceans and Fisheries Office |
Southern Gyeonggi Province Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: South Ongjin Islands | South: Taean
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Posted February 4, 2008. Checked and revised July 1, 2024. Lighthouses: 51. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.