Plate Tectonic Boundaries of South Korea

 

Post 2

South Korea is located in the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula and the Eurasian continent and is near the west Pacific mobile belt. According to Natural Hazards: Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes, Figure 2.4b 

shows that South Korea will be affected by more earthquakes than volcanoes. 

There are a total of three volcanoes in the Korean Peninsula: 

Mt. Baekdu, Mt. Halla, and Ulleung Island. 

Mt. Baekdu is the tallest volcano in the peninsula and last erupted in 1903. Mt. Halla was created over

1.8 million years ago. Finally, Ulleung Island "formed from erupted magma in the East Sea" (Kim, 2019).

According to Dr. Chun-Soo Kim, the Korea-China platform is connected to a shield area, " stable land of 

cratonic nature."

In the images below, it shows that South Korea is a part of the Amurian plate and it is near a divergent 

boundary. 

Sources

Kim, Chun-Soo. Overview of the Tectonic Environment in Korea with Reference to HLW Disposal. Oct. 1997, inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/29/009/29009933.pdf.

Keller, Edward A., et al. Natural Hazards: Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016.

Kim, Jong-Seok. “Volcanic Eruptions in Korea.” Volcano > Current State > Earthquake/Tsunami/Volcano, 2009, www.kma.go.kr/eng/weather/current_state/volcano.jsp#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20volcanoes%20in,The%20second%20volcano%20is%20Mt.

The Natural Disasters of South Korea

Post 1

When it comes to defining the difference of a hazard, a disaster, and a catastrophe, it is very beneficial to know that a hazard (no matter big or small) is able to cause some sort of harm. A disaster can occur unexpectedly and can have much damage on a specific area. A catastrophe is a disaster that nobody is able to handle; it creates damage that could take months or years to fix around an affected area. 

The country I have chosen is South Korea. In that area, they are at risk for the following:

• Typhoons
• Landslides
• Tsunamis 
• Floods

A scientist that I identify with would be Marie Curie. A quote that I admire by her would be "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."