Korean Peninsula
| Korean Peninsula |
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 | Location of the Korean peninsula |
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| Map of the Korean peninsula |
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The
Korean Peninsula is a
peninsula in
East Asia. It extends southwards for about 1,100 kilometres from the continental
Asian mainland into the
Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the
Sea of Japan (East Sea) on the east, the
East China Sea to the south, and the
Yellow Sea to the west, the
Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.
Since the
cessation of the
Korean War, the northern half is currently occupied by
North Korea, while the southern half is occupied by
South Korea. Therefore, the term "Korean Peninsula", or "
Korea", is sometimes used to refer to these two
states at the same time. Up until the division of the peninsula following the end of
World War II, Korea was a single political entity for many centuries whose territory roughly coincided with the Korean Peninsula.
The northern boundaries for the Korean Peninsula are commonly (and tacitly) taken to coincide with today's political borders between North Korea and her northern neighbours,
China (1,416 km) and
Russia (19 km). These borders are formed naturally by the rivers
Yalu/
Amnok and
Tumen/
Tuman/
Duman. Taking this definition, the Korean Peninsula has an area of approximately 220,000
km².
The peninsula is called
Choson bando (조선반도) in
North Korea and
Han bando (
Hangul: 한반도) in
South Korea due to the
different names for Korea.
Mountains cover 70 percent of the Korean Peninsula and arable plains are generally small and far in between the successive mountain ranges. The peninsula becomes more mountainous towards the north and the east, with the highest mountains (including
Paektu-san/Baekdu-san which stands at 2,744 m) found in the north.
The peninsula has 8,460 kilometres of coastline, and the south and west coasts are highly irregular in particular; most of the 3,579
islands off the peninsula are found along the south and the west coasts.
The climate of the Korean Peninsula differs dramatically from north to south. The southern regions experience a relatively warm and wet climate similar to that of
Japan, affected by warm ocean waters including the
East Korea Warm Current. The northern regions experience a colder and to some extent more inland climate, in common with
Manchuria. For example, the annual precipitation of the
Yalu River valley (600 mm) is less than half of that on the south coast (1500 mm).
[KOIS 2003, p. 17.] Likewise, there is a 20 °C difference in January temperature between the peninsula's southern and northern tips.
The entire peninsula, however, is affected by similar general patterns, including the East Asian
monsoon in midsummer and the frequent incidence of typhoons in autumn. The majority of rainfall takes place during the summer months, with nearly half during the monsoon alone. Winters are cold, with January temperatures typically below freezing outside of
Jeju Island. Winter precipitation is minimal, with little snow accumulation outside of mountainous areas.
Surveys of Korean flora have identified more than 3,000 species on the peninsula, of which more than 500 are
endemic. The peninsula's
floristic provinces are commonly divided between
warm-temperate,
temperate, and
cold-temperate zones. The warm-temperate zone prevails over the southern coast and islands, including
Jeju. It is typified by a larg number of
broad-leaved evergreens. The temperate zone covers the great majority of the peninsula, away from the southern coast and high mountains. It is dominated by the
Korean pine and various broad-leaved deciduous trees. Cold-temperate vegetation is found along the peninsula's northern fringe and in the high mountains, including the upper reaches of
Hallasan on Jeju. Evergreens in this area include
larch and
juniper. Much of this vegetation is shared with Manchuria.
The terrain of the Korean peninsula is rumpled, covered with low mountains. Most rocks are of
Precambrian origin, although isolated pockets of Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic rock can also be found.
There are no active volcanoes on the peninsula. However,
Baekdu Mountain in the north and
Hallasan in the south have
crater lakes, indicating that they were active not long ago. In addition,
Ulleung Island in the
Sea of Japan is believed to have been of volcanic origin. Furthermore,
hot springs indicative of low-level volcanic activity are widespread throughout the peninsula. Roughly two earthquakes are recorded per year, but few have any major impact.
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Korea*
North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)
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South Korea (Republic of Korea)
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List of Korea-related topics*
Geography of North Korea*
Geography of South Korea
