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 northern half of Korea became the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly called North Korea, a reclusive Communist state that bars all but a few carefully selected foreigners. As a result of this history and the current political situation there is very little information available on the lighthouses of North Korea. Fortunately lighthouses have been a favorite subject for DPRK postage stamps and these stamps provide images of some of the lighthouses. Also, satellite imagery confirms the presence of many lighthouses. North Korea is divided into nine provinces plus the capital city and one "special city." North Korea has two coastlines; the east coast faces the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and the west coast faces the West Sea (Yellow Sea) and Korea Bay. This page covers lighthouses of the west coast and there is a separate page for the lighthouses of the east coast. Namp'o is the one major port on the west coast. The romanization system used in North Korea differs from the Revised Romanization system used in South Korea. In Korean 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. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. 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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South Hwanghae Province Lighthouses
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![]() Tongsangot (Cape Tongsan) Light, West Sea Google Maps satellite view |
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![]() Seodo Light, West Sea DPRK postage stamp |
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![]() Jamaedo (Chamae Do) Light, West Sea, 2009 D.P.R. of Korea government photo |
South Pyongan Province Lighthouses
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North Pyongan Province Lighthouses
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![]() Suundo Light, West Sea DPRK news agency photo |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: South: Incheon Area | West: Eastern Liaoning
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted September 24, 2007. Checked and revised July 24, 2024. Lighthouses: 27. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.