Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Tsunami research in Korea

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Natural Hazards Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The tsunamis that have occurred in many places around the world over the past decades have taken a heavy toll on human lives and property. The eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula is not safe from tsunamis and has sustained tsunami damage in the past. The aim of this study is to review the past, present, and future of some aspects of tsunami research in Korea. A composite numerical model comprising propagation and inundation models is described. The paper also covers tsunami mitigation efforts in Korea, and a tsunami hazard map is developed and introduced.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Cho Y-S (1995) Numerical simulations of tsunami propagation and run-up. Ph.D. Thesis, Cornell University, USA

  • Cho Y-S, Yoon SB (1998) A modified leap-frog scheme for linear shallow-water equations. Coast Eng J 40(2):191–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho Y-S, Jin S-B, Lee H-J (2004) Safety analysis of Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant against the Nihonkai-Chubu Earthquake Tsunami. Nucl Eng Des 228:393–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho Y-S, Sohn D-H, Lee S-O (2007) Practical modified scheme of linear shallow-water equations for distant propagation of tsunamis. Ocean Eng 34(11–12):1769–1777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi BH, Ko JS, Chung HF, Kim EB, Oh IS, Choi JI, Sim JS, Pelinovsky E (1994) Tsunami run up survey at East Coast of Korea due to the 1993 Southwest of the Hokkaido earthquake. J Korean Soc Coastal Ocean Eng 6(1):117–125 (in Korean)

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi BH, Hong SJ, Pelinovsky E (2006) Distribution of runup heights of the December 26, 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Geophys Res Lett 33(13):L13601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi BH, Kim DC, Pelinovsky E, Woo SB (2007) Three-dimensional simulation of tsunami run-up around conical island. Coast Eng 54(8):618–629

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi BH, Pelinovsky E, Kim DC, Kim KO, Kim KH (2008) Three-dimensional simulation of the 1983 central East (Japan) Sea earthquake tsunami at the Imwon Port (Korea). Ocean Eng 35:1545–1559

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi BH, Min BI, Pelinovsky E, Tsuji Y, Kim KO (2012a) Comparable analysis of the distribution functions of runup heights of the 1896, 1933 and 2011 Japanese tsunamis in the Sanriku Area. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 12:1463–1467

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi J, Kwon KK, Yoon SB (2012b) Tsunami inundation simulation of a built-up area using equivalent resistance coefficient. Coast Eng J 54(2):1250015-1-25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ha T, Cho Y-S (2015) Tsunami propagation over varying water depths. Ocean Eng 101:67–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ha T-M, Cho Y-S, Choi B-H, Kim S-M (2007) Field survey of 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Tsunami: Andaman and Nicobar Islands. J Korean Soc Coastal Ocean Eng 19(1):97–103 (in Korean)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hokkaido Tsunami Survey Group (1993) Tsunami devastates Japanese coastal region. EOS Trans AGU 74(37):417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imamura F (1996) Review of tsunami simulation with a finite difference method. In: Yeh H, Liu P, Synolakis C (eds) Long-wave runup mathematical models. World Scientific, Singapore, pp 25–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Imamura F, Goto C (1988) Truncation error in numerical tsunami simulation by finite difference method. Coast Eng Jpn 31:245–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Imamura F, Shuto N, Goto C (1988) Numerical simulation of the transoceanic propagation of tsunamis. In: Sixth congress of the asian and pacific regional division. International Association for Hydraulic Research, Kyoto, Japan

  • Kim KO, Yuk J-H, Min BI, Choi BH (2011) Creating a high definition animation of tsunami propagation. J Korean Soc Coast Ocean Eng 23(5):327–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim DC, Kim KO, Choi BH, Kim KH, Pelinovsky E (2013a) Three-dimensional runup simulation of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at the Lhok Nga twin peaks. J Coast Res 65:272–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim DC, Kim KO, Pelinovsky E, Didenkulova I, Choi BH (2013b) Three-dimensional tsunami runup simulation for the port of Koborinai on the Sanriku coast of Japan. J Coast Res 65:266–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim KO, Choi BH, Pelinovsky E, Jung KT (2013c) Three-dimensional simulation of 2011 East Japan-off Pacific coast earthquake tsunami induced vortex flows in the Oarai port. J Coast Res 65:284–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee HJ, Kim KH, Jin SB (1999) New field survey of 1983 East Sea tsunami. In: Tsunami warning beyond 2000 theory, practice and plans. IOC-ICG/ITSU 20

  • Lim CH, Bae JS, Lee JI, Yoon SB (2008) Propagation characteristics of historical tsunamis that attacked the east coast of Korea. Nat Hazards 47:95–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansinha L, Smylie DE (1971) The displacement fields of inclined faults. Bull Seismol Soc Am 61(5):1433–1440

    Google Scholar 

  • Sohn D-H, Ha T-M, Cho Y-S (2009) Distant tsunami simulation with corrected dispersion effects. Coast Eng J 51(2):123–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsuji Y (1986) Comparison of observed and numerically calculated heights of the 1983 Japan Sea tsunami. Sci Tsunami Hazards 4(2):91–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsuji Y, Konishi T (1985) Tsunamis in the Japan Sea with numerical calculation. Res Rep 35 (in Japanese)

  • Tsuji Y et al (2011) Field surveys of tsunami heights from the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku, Japan Earthquake. Bull Earthq Res Inst Univ Tokyo 86:29–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoon SB (2002) Propagation of tsunamis over slowly varying topography. J Geophys Res 107(10):4(1)–4(11)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoon SB, Cho JH (2001) Numerical simulation of coastal inundation over discontinuous topography. Water Eng Res Korean Water Res As 2(2):75–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoon SB, Liu PL-F (1992) Numerical simulation of a distant small-scale tsunami. In: Recent advances in marine science and technology (PACON92, Pacific Congress on Marine Science and Technology, Kona, Hawaii)

  • Yoon SB, Lim CH, Choi J (2007) Dispersion-correction finite difference model for simulation of transoceanic tsunamis. Terr Atmos Ocean Sci 18(1):31–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoon SB, Lim CH, Choi J (2008) A dispersion-correction finite element model for simulation of distant tsunamis. Coastal Eng J 50(1):75–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoon SB, Kim SC, Baek U, Bae JS (2014) Effect of bathymetry on propagation of tsunamis towards the East Coast of Korea. J Coast Res 70:332–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was a part of the project titled ‘Countermeasure System against Hazards of Typhoons and Tsunamis in Harbor Zones (South Coast)—Stage 2’, funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 16419, Korea

    Byung-Ho Choi

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, 04763, Korea

    Yong-Sik Cho

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, 15588, Korea

    Sung Bum Yoon

Authors
  1. Byung-Ho Choi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yong-Sik Cho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sung Bum Yoon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sung Bum Yoon.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Choi, BH., Cho, YS. & Yoon, S.B. Tsunami research in Korea. Nat Hazards 84 (Suppl 2), 437–454 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2439-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2439-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation