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South Korea South KoreaIsland

Ulleungdo

73.5 km² rising to 984 m out of the Sea of Japan.

When to go

Ulleungdo seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
Dodong-ri
N 2 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

73.5km²

Area

61km

Coastline

984m

Highest point

Seonginbong

9,114

People

25°C

Warmest sea

August

129km

To the mainland

When to go to Ulleungdo

Best for the beach from July to September.

The sea is warmest in August (25 °C) and coolest in March (11 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from July to September.

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island

Ulleungdo is an island in South Korea. It covers 73.5 km², with 61 km of coastline. Its highest point, Seonginbong, rises to 984 m. About 9,114 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 129 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Yangyang International Airport (YNY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 202 km in a straight lineCar hire at IZO airport (Izumo)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • FerriesDonghae (Mukho) - Ulleung, Ulleung Island(Sadong port) - Dokdo Island(Dongdo), Uljin (Hupo) - Ulleung (Jeodong), Gangneung - Ulleung Island (Jeodong Port)
  • 129 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Ulleungdo.

  • 2beaches
  • 15viewpointsView for Rocks, Best View, Dokdo Observatory and 12 more
  • 5lighthousesHaengnamdeungdae and 4 more
  • 4ferry terminalsUlleung Cruise Terminal, Ulleung Ferry Port Terminal and 2 more
  • 1marinas
  • 39named peaksSeonginbong (Mt.), Al-bong, Bipa-san and 36 more
  • 10campsites
  • 14hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 4restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Ulleungdo in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Ulleungdo, each with its own numbers.

  • 9mountainsPeakyas
  • Highest point

    984m

    Seonginbong

    prominence 984 m · according to Peakyas

9 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

  1. Seonginbongprominence 984 m984m
  2. Al-bong
  3. Ch'ondu-san
  4. Ch'o-bong
  5. Nari-bong
  6. Miruk-san
  7. Kwanch'ang-bong
  8. Turu-bong

1 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 343 m above the sea. 31 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 6 %0–50 m
  • 24 %50–200 m
  • 46 %200–500 m
  • 23 %500–1,000 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Ulleungdo74 km²
Santorini76 km²
Manhattan54 km²

5 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • Dodong-ri9,169 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)771013162023262319149
Night low (°C)45711151922242217127
Sea (°C)121111121519222523201815
Rain (mm)5560598084105205172152806766
Wet days1311109911151513101213
Sun h/day2.84.25.96.97.06.55.36.35.55.53.92.7
Wind (km/h)282624221916171819222529

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.9+0.7+0.2+0.2±0.0+0.9−0.6−0.8−0.9+0.5+0.8+1.1
2021+0.4+0.8+1.6+2.8+0.8+1.1+3.4+1.8+0.4+1.1+0.1+0.7
2022+0.4+0.3+0.2+1.0+1.4+0.9+2.1+1.1+0.6+1.2+1.2+1.4
2023+1.0+1.2+1.9+2.5+1.3+1.7+1.2+1.8+2.4+1.1+2.5+2.0
2024+1.4+0.9+1.4+2.6+1.0+1.4+0.7+3.6+4.5+3.0+2.9+1.6
2025+0.5+0.1−0.5−0.5−0.7+0.3+3.2+3.0+2.9+2.3+1.6+1.2

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q41172) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsPeakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit