The first geological map of Korea, with a scale of 1:1,000,000, was published in 1928. Geological maps with a scale of 1:250,000 covering the whole Republic were published in 1974. The Geological Survey of Korea started to publish geological quadrangles with a scale of 1:50,000 from 1961. The Geological Society of Korea was established in 1947, the Korea Institute of Mining Geology in 1968, and the Paleontological Society of Korea in 1984. The Geological Survey of Korea was renamed the Korean Institute of Geology, Mining and Materials (KIGAM) in 1991.


Geological Overview

Korea is a mountainous peninsula extending south-southeast from the northeastern part of the Chinese mainland. The north-northwest, south-southeast trend forms the Taebaek range along the east coast. The east coast shows typical features of an uplifted topography, chiefly a relatively straight shoreline, whereas the west coast has the features of a submerging shoreline. Throughout the country, mountains are not high, rarely exceeding 1,200 meters, but they are found almost everywhere. The terrain is rugged and steep and only near the west and southwest coasts are extensive flat alluvial or diluvial plains and more subdued rolling hilly lands.

Korea consists largely of the Precambrian rocks, such as granite gneisses and other metamorphic rocks. Two separate blocks of the Paleozoic strata are found in South and North Korea. The one in the South covers the Taebaek range, and the one in the North occurs near Pyongyang. The Mesozoic strata are found in the southeastern part of the peninsula and the Cenozoic strata are limited to some small areas scattered around the peninsula. The Jurassic and Cretaceous granites have intruded upon the older rocks in a northeast-southwest direction in some places, but show no specific trend in others. Unlike nearby Japan, Korea is a stable landmass with no active volcanoes and rare earthquakes, although the Ulleungdo and Jejudo are volcanic islands. Mt. Baekdusan in the North is capped with a caldera lake, and Mt. Hallasan on Jejudo island also has a small crater lake.

Geological Map of the Korean Peninsula

Earthquakes

Nearly 1,800 earthquakes are recorded in various historical documents of past dynasties from A.D. 2 to 1907 and more than 200 have been scientifically recorded since 1905 on the Korean Peninsula. Thus, the total number of recorded earthquakes in Korea is a little more than 2,000 of which only 48 were destructive. This number is far lower than those recorded in Japan but higher than in Manchuria. Japan is located on the Circum-Pacific Earthquake Belt. Korea and Manchuria are located some distance from it, but Korea is nearer to the belt. Thus, seismicity in Korea is much stronger than in Manchuria, but much weaker than in Japan.

In Korea, earthquakes occurred mainly on faults or tectonic planes, which, viewed on the surface, are river courses. However, in recent years, earthquakes took place frequently along mountain ranges. South Korea is a comparatively stronger seismic area than North Korea, and the west half of the Korean Peninsula has shown stronger seismicity than the eastern half.

Gwaneumgul cave in Gangwon-do Province

Baengnyeongdo island in the Yellow Sea

The downstream basins of the major rivers flowing into the Yellow Sea show a much denser distribution of earthquake epicenters than the middle and upper stream basins. Frequent seismicity occurs in both the lower and middle stream basins of Nakdonggang river. The southwestern edge of the Gyeonggi Massif, located in the central part of the peninsula, or the northern margin of South Korea, has shown much stronger seismicity than the inland and northeastern coastal areas. Almost the entire area of the Okcheon belt has shown frequent seismicity.

The southwestern region of the Taebaeksan Block of the Yeongnam Massif has shown a more frequent seismicity and the northeastern edge of the Jirisan Block of the Yeongnam Massif, a southwestern continuity of the Taebaeksan block have shown relatively more frequent seismicity than other areas. The entire area of the Gyeongsang Basin, occupying the southeastern edge of the Korean Peninsula, has shown greater frequency and particularly both the eastern and western edges have historically shown an intensive seismicity. The Chugaryeong Graben running through the central zone of the Gyeonggi Massif in the north-northeast to south-southwest directions, has shown a more frequent seismicity in both past and present times.



Tectonic and Geological Provinces

The Korean Peninsula lies within the Korea-China Heterogen. Generally speaking, the Precambrian basement of the Peninsula is tectonically related to that of Manchuria and China. The Pyeongbuk-Gaema Massif forms the southern part of the Liao-Gaema Massif of southern Manchuria, and the Gyeonggi and Sobaeksan massifs of the peninsula can be compared to the Shandong and Fujian Massifs of China.

The Paleozoic sediments, lying on the Precambrian Massifs in the Pyeongan and Okcheon basins, have much in common with those in the Yellow River and Yangtze basins. On the other hand, the Mesozoic rocks of the Gyeongsang Basin in the southeastern part of the peninsula can be said to extend toward the southwestern tip of Japan across the Korea Strait. The Pohang Tertiary sedimentary rocks, distributed mainly in the southeastern corner of the land, lie on Mesozoic rocks.


Precambrian Geology

The Precambrian geology of Korea is yet to be fully explored. The 1:250,000 scale geological maps published in 1974 offer a more detailed Precambrian stratigraphy of South Korea. In general, the Gyeonggi and Yeongnam Massifs belong to a low-pressure face series, and the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt to an intermediate pressure series.

Precambrian Sequence of South Korea

Gyeonggi Massif Yeongnam Massif Yeoncheon System Granite Granite Gneiss Jirisan Gneiss Other Gneisses Chuncheon System Granite Gneiss Yulli System Gyeonggi Metamorphic Rock Complex Yeongnam System

Yeoncheon System: This system, belonging to the Gyeonggi Massif, is distributed around Seoul extending to Yeoncheon-gun in a northeasterly direction. The system is divided into upper and lower parts. The lower part is composed of biotite-quartz-feldspar schist, marble, lime-silicate, quartzite, and graphite schist, and the upper part is of mica-quartz-feldspar schist, mica schist, quartzite, augen gneiss, and garnet-bearing granitic gneiss.


Precambrian Granite Gneiss

This gneiss is also known as grey granite gneiss or Goguryeo granite. Outcrops of it cover one-third of the surface of Korea, and are especially prevalent in Pyeongan-do and Hamgyeongnam-do provinces. Goguryeo granite also intruded the Yeoncheon System in the Gyeonggi Massif.

Sangwon System: This system was first observed in the northern part of Korea, Sangwon, Pyeongannam-do province and Hwanghae-do province in central Korea. Collenia fossils have been found in the limestone interbedded in the system. The presence of Collenia suggests that the system belongs to the Proterozoic Era.


Paleozoic Erathem

Paleozoic sediments in Korea are represented by the lower Paleozoic Joseon Supergroup and the upper Paleozoic Pyeongan Supergroup. The Joseon Supergroup consists of the Cambrian to Middle Ordovician sedimentary rocks, the Pyeongan Supergroup, the Middle Carboniferous to Permian, and the Unidentified Triassic sedimentary rocks. Lower Silurian limestone was found with conodonts in 1980.

The Upper Ordovician, Devonian and Lower Carboniferous systems have yet to be discovered.


Cambro-Ordovician Strata

The Cambro-Ordovician Joseon Supergroup is widely distributed in the limestone plateau in northwest Korea. There are many other localities with scattered patches of the Joseon Supergroup. The Joseon Supergroup has been divided into two parts according to its lithology, the Samcheok Group and the Sangdong Group. These groups are conformable to each other. The Samcheok Group overlies the Precambrian rocks, but they do not conform.

Samcheok Group: The Samcheok Group is divided into the Jangsan, Myobong, Pungcheon and Hwajeol formations in Gangwon-do province. The Jangsan Formation consists mainly of white quartzite that is pebbly throughout, but it starts with thin basal conglomerates. The overlying Myobong formation, which is predominated by greenish grey slates, follows Jangsan with alternating zones of quartzite and slate at its base. The average thickness of each of these two formations is about 200 meters.

Sangdong Group: The Sangdong Group, distributed in Gangwon-do province, which is located in the east central part of Korea, is a sequence of thick limestone-rich sediments, as is the case with the strata in northern Korea. The strata have been divided into four formations. The lowest stratigraphic unit of the Sangdong Group is the Dongjeom Quartzite which also overlies the Hwajeol formation. The Dumugol limestone is of a lesser worm-eaten appearance. The Makgol and Duwibong limestones consist of gray limestones. A bed of fossiliferous shale, known as the Jigunsan shale, is intercalated between the two limestones. Trilobite, cephalopod, graptolite and other fossils are found in the limestones of the Sangdong Group. Recently, a variety of conodonts have been identified in these strata.



Appendix: Geological Formations of the Korean Peninsula

Generalized Geological Sequence

Age Period Systems or supergroup Group of formation Cenozoic ?/td> Quarternary Tertiary Yeonil, Janggi Mesozoic Cretaceous Jurassic Triassic Gyeongsang Daedong Pyeong-an Bulguksa intrusions Silla Sindong Nakdong Bansong Nogam, Mt. Gobangsan Paleozoic Permian Carboniferous Devonian Silurian Odovician Cambrian Joseon Sadong Hongjeom (Absent) Hoedong-ri Great Limestone Yangdeok Proterozoic ?/td> Sangwon Guhyeon Sadanggwi(in North Korea) Jigyeon Archeozoic ?/td> Granite Gneiss Yeoncheon ?/td>

Middle Paleozoic Strata

Middle Paleozoic strata from the Upper Ordovician to the Lower Carboniferous are not known to exist. However, the existence of the Lower Silurian Hoedong-ri formation has been established by the finding of Silurian conodont fauna. Some formations in the Okcheon Supergroup are thought to be middle Paleozoic in age by some geologists, although no conclusive evidence has been found to substantiate this claim.


Carboniferous-Triassic Strata

Carboniferous-Triassic strata of the Pyeongan Supergroup, distributed exclusively overlying the Middle Ordovician unconformably, are found roughly in four locations in North Korea, and three areas in Gangwon-do and Chungcheongbuk-do provinces in South Korea.

Gomok Group: The main rocks of this group are slightly metamorphosed green, red, gray or mottled sandstone and shale with some light-colored limestone. Most of the shale are characterized by dark fine ottrelite. The limestone beds are fossiliferous with primitive fusulinids and other foraminiferas, corals, brachiopods and others. The presence of fusulinids indicates the age of the group to be Moscovian of Middle Carboniferous. The Gomok Group is about 220 meters thick on average.

Cheoram Group: The Cheoram Group is characterized by somewhat metamorphosed gray to dark-gray sandstone, shale, coaly shale, coal beds, and dark grey limestone beds. Three or more coal beds are intercalated in the upper part of the series, and are an important source of anthracite. Upper Moscovian fusulinids are found in the Samcheok and the Danyang coalfields, while Sakilometersarian fusulinids are found in the Yeongwol coalfield. The thickness of the Cheoram Group averages 150 meters.

Hwangji Group: The group locally overlies the Cheoram Group conformably, and is composed mainly of white quartzites intercalating some black shale. The age of the group is Middle to Late Permian, possibly even extending to Triassic. The thickness of the Tosagok and Gohan formations is about 880 meters. The upper part of the group (Donggo formation) is composed mainly of green arkose sandstone with some conglomerate beds. The age of the Donggo formation has not been clarified by fossils, though it has been thought to be Triassic because of its thickness. This formation is 400-2,000 meters thick.


Mesozoic Erathem

The lower Mesozoic is represented by the Donggo formation of the upper part of the Pyeongan Supergroup. The rest of the Mesozoic sediments in Korea are represented by the middle Mesozoic Daedong Supergroup and the upper Mesozoic Gyeongsang Supergroup.

The Daedong Supergroup represents the Jurassic, and the Gyeongsang the Cretaceous. In the Jurassic Period, a deformation known as Daebo Orogeny took place. This mountain forming process was the most intensive on the Korean Peninsula, which caused all earlier formations to fold, thrust and fault drastically.


Daedong Supergroup

The Daedong Supergroup is not widely distributed in Korea. Long, narrow, and patchy, it is scattered with or without distributional relationship with the Pyeongan Supergroup, though showing deformations as does the latter. It is subdivided into the Lower Nampo, Upper Nampo and Bansong groups in South Korea, which consist mainly of conglomerates, milky white pebble-bearing arkosic quartzose sandstone, black sandy shale, coaly shale, and coal. The Daedong Supergroup near Pyongyang in North Korea is subdivided into the Sunyeon and Yugyeong series, which consist of conglomerate, sandstone, and shale ranging up to 1,300 meters in thickness.

Subdivision of the Paleozoic Strata (Samcheok Coal Field)

Classic   Proposed Age   Pyeongan System Green Series   Donggo Formation Triassic Mt. Gobangsan Series(Mt. Gobangsan) Hwangji Group Gohan Formation Dosagok Formation   Sadong Series Cheoram Group Hambaek Formation Jangseong Formation Permian Hongjeom Series Gomok Group Geumcheon Formation Manhang Formation Carboniferous Hiatus: Late Ordovocian to Early Carboniferous (Except Lower Silurian) Joseon System Great Limestone Series Duwibong Formation Makgol Formation Dumugol Formation Dongjeom Quartzite Sangdong Group   Ordovician Hwajeol Formation Pungcheon (Daegi) Formation Samcheok Group     Yangdeok Series Myobong Formation Jangsan Formation Samcheok Group

Plutonism in the Jurassic Period

Most of the granite bodies, except the Cretaceous ones, intruded during the Jurassic Period. In South Korea, granite batholiths show a characteristic distribution trend north northeast-south southwest (the so-called Sinan). Most of these granite bodies are biotite granites, while some are hornblende granites.

Gyeongsang Supergroup: The Gyeongsang Supergroup is distributed across a wide area within the Gyeongsang-do province in the southeastern part of Korea. Animal fossils indicate that sediments were deposited in shallow water environments. They are of fresh to brackish water genera. No marine fossils have been found. The Gyeongsang Basin was formed subsequent to the Daebo Orogeny and can be divided into three minor basins: the Yeongyang, Uiseong, and Miryang basins. The Gyeongsang Supergroup is composed of the Sindong and Hwayang groups and the Bulguksa Intrusives.


Plutonism in Cretaceous Period

The biotite granite intruded in the Gyeongsang Supergroup is called Bulguksa Granite. The radiogenic isotope ages of intrusions are dated to be Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary. A remarkable characteristic of the Plutonism of this period is that the granites are not of an orogenic production.

Sindong Group: This group is distributed in the western part of the Gyeongsang-do province and is subdivided into three formations. It consists mainly of shales, sandstones, conglomerates, and one or two thin coal seams. The formations of the group have gentle monotonous eastward dip in contrast to the marked deformation of the Jurassic and Pre-Jurassic rocks. Ripple marks and sun cracks are found in many localities of the group, indicating that the group was formed in shallow-water environment. Animal fossils indicative of the Early Cretaceous age are prevalent. They include Viviparus, Hydrovia, Bulimus, Itometamia, Brotiopsis, Anisus, Trigonioides, Plicatounio, Nakamuranaia, Schistodesmus, and Estherites. Plant fossils include: Group 1, Cladophlebis browniana, Onychiopsis mantelli, Ruffordia goepperti, and Nilssonia schaumbur gensis; Group 2, Cladophlebis lobifolia, Coniopteris hymenophylloides, Dictyozamites falcatus, Ptilophyllum pecten, and Nilssonia compta. The Group 1 indicates Early Cretaceous and Group 2 Middle Jurassic. Because the Sindong Group overlies granite gneiss unconformably, its relationship to the Daedong System cannot be determined.

Hayang Group: This group, widely distributed throughout the Gyeongsang-do province, consists of conglomerates, sandstone, shale, and volcanic rock such as andesite, basalt, rhyolite, and tuff, especially in the upper part of the group. The thick basal conglomerates form the boundary dividing the groups from the underlying Sindong Group. The Cheokgang-ri formation in South Korea and the Daebo Series near Pyongyang in North Korea are correlated to the Hwayang Group. The former overlies the Pyeongan Supergroup, and the latter Daedong System unconformably. The Hayang Group has more ripple marks and sun cracks than the Sindong Group, but the latter is more fossiliferous. Plant fossils found in this group indicating the whole range of the Cretaceous period are Filicales, Cycadales, Coniferales, and Angiospermae. Bones, eggs and tracks of dinosaurs have also been found in the Hayang sediments.


Cenozoic Geology

Neogene Tertiary Strata are distributed across small areas along the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula. They are, from north to south, the Gilju-Myeongcheon Basin in North Korea, and the Bukpyeong, Yeonghae, Pohang and the Ulsan basins in South Korea. The rocks are poorly lithified sandstone, shale, conglomerate, lava, and sill. An alternation of land and marine deposits is characteristic of the strata.

Bongsan Series: This series is distributed throughout the Hwanghae-do and Pyeongannam-do provinces of North Korea, and consists of an alternation of shale and sandstone, conglomerate, and coal seams. Fossils indicating the late Eocene include Colodon, Caenolophus, Desmatotherium and Portianotherium (animal fossils), and Populus, Platanus and Vipurunus (plant fossils). The series is about 350 meters thick.

Yeongdong Series: This series is distributed in Hamgyeongbuk-do province, North Korea, and consists of sandstone, shale, interbedded coal seams, and alkali-basalt in the lower part of the series. Plant fossils indicating Middle to Late Oligocene include Pinus, Glyptostrobus, Sequoia and Juglans. The series is 80 meters thick.

Yangbuk Group: This group is distributed in Gyeongsangnam-do province, South Korea, and consists of conglomerates, volcanic rocks, sandstone, shale, and coal seams alternating with tuff. Plant fossils indicating the early to middle Miocene include Sequoia, Salix, Carpinus, Alnus, Populus, Betula, Fagus, Fagophyllum, Castanea, Colylus, Zenthoxyl-on, Planea, Ficus, Uities, Acer and Juglans. The series is approximately 1,400 meters thick.

Yeonil Group: This is distributed throughout Yeonil, South Korea, and consists of conglomerate (200 meters thick) and thick shale (400 meters thick). Fossils indicating the Miocene include Turborotaria, Globigerina and Globigerinoides, which are all foraminifers; Caridium, Solen, Lucina, and Potamides, which are all marine mollusks, from the sandstone; Leda, Cardium, Dosinia, Ostrea and Pecten which are from the shale; and Salix, Quercus, Cinnamomum, Sapindus and Aagus, which are all plant fossils, from the upper part of the shale.

Seogwipo Formation: This formation is distributed in Jejudo island off southwestern Korea. The formation consists of sandstone and mudstone. Fossils indicating the late Pliocene Era include marine mollusks and foraminifers.

General Tertiary Stratigraphy

Tertiary Pliocene Seogwipo Formation Miocene Yeonil Group Yangbuk Group Oligocene Yeongdong Series Eocene Bongsan Series