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, occupies the Korean peninsula south of the armistice line. The name Korea, used internationally, is a Western version of Goryeo or Koryŏ (고려), the name of a kingdom that unified the country in the tenth century. From 1392 to 1897 the kingdom was known instead as Joseon or Chosŏn (조선). Today South Koreans usually call their country Hanguk (한국, literally "one country") and the official name of the Republic of Korea is Daehan Minguk (대한민국). South Korea is divided into nine provinces and eight province-level cities. This page covers lighthouses of Hansan, a township (myeon) of the city of Tongyeong in southwestern Gyeongsangnam (South Gyeongsang) province on South Korea's south coast. Tongyeong (formerly called Chungmu) is a seaport at the end of the blunt Goseong Peninsula, separated from the island of Geojedo to the east by the island-strewn waters of Goeje Bay and from the island of Namhaedo to the west by the island-strewn waters of Goseong Bay. Hansan includes a series of islands extending southeast of Tongyeong into the Korea Strait south of Geoje. Hansan Island (Hansando) is the principal island of the township. It is famous in Korea as the site of Battle of Hansan Island, in which Korean Admiral Yi-Sun Sin defeated a much larger fleet of Japanese ships in August 1592. Navigational aids in the ROK are regulated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF). Management of lighthouses in Tongyeong is the responsibility of the Masan Regional Maritime Affairs and Port Office. 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. Special thanks to Kim Cheol Bong for permission to present his photos on this page. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. KR numbers, where available, are from the Korean light list published by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency. 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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Information available on lost lighthouses: Notable faux lighthouses: |
Adjoining pages: North: Geoje | Northwest: Tongyeong
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Posted December 4, 2007. Checked and revised April 24, 2025. Lighthouses: 22. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.