August 2011
On The Radar: South Korea
Those who regularly read our newsletter know that we like to devote some
space to showcasing the unique activities or research interests of
SeaSonde users. This time, it occurred to us to showcase the activities of
not just one particular customer, but those of an entire country. South Korea is
nearly urrounded by water with the Yellow Sea (West Sea) to the West, the Sea
of Japan (East Sea) to the East and the East China Sea and Korea Strait to the
South. These bodies of water are shared with North Korea, China, Japan and
Russia with the economies of each heavily reliant on them for shipping,
aquaculture and tourism, among others. It makes sense, then, that South Korea
has emerged as one of the most active countries in the world in building a
national surface current monitoring program. By the end of 2011, South Korea
will have more SeaSondes than any country outside of the U.S. and will lead
the world in HF radars per length of coastline. South Korea’s introduction to
HF radar current mapping came in 1992 when some of the first SeaSonde
production units were used in a short term demonstration near Kunsan for the Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute
(KORDI). Several years later, the first units were purchased by Dr. Jae-Chul Lee of Pukyoung University in Busan. Since then, SeaSondes
have been providing real-time current maps and wave parameters for a variety of customers and purposes all around this country.
SeaSonde Networks in Korea Today
Dr. Sang Ho Lee of Kunsan National University owns and operates a SeaSonde network
that is mapping surface currents outside of the Saemangeum Sea Wall, the longest seawall
in the world, located on South Korea’s west coast. The sea wall was built between the
Yellow Sea and the Saemangeum estuary as one of the largest land reclamation projects in
history at 410 km2. Dr. Lee’s research has shed light on the effect the new seawall has on
the circulation outside of the estuary. Since 2007, Dr. Kyung Tae Jung of KORDI and his
team have studied the structure of changed flow after Saemanguem Sea Wall construction
with Kunsan National University. Moreover, they introduced another SeaSonde network
and finished studies to observe the current structure inside the
Straits of Jeju.
The Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration (KHOA) is engaged in more
operational pursuits, providing real-time data to a wide variety of end-users. Since KHOA
installed SeaSondes near Incheon for the first time in 2002, they have continued to add
new SeaSonde sites. Presently, KHOA owns and operates 4 SeaSonde sites in Yeosu Bay
and 2 sites in Busan New Port. Yeosu Port is one of the major harbors having heavy traffic
and Busan New Port, recently opening big container terminals, is emerging as a main logistics hub port.
This year KHOA plans to install four additional SeaSonde sites for the purpose of monitoring Tsushima current running between Busan
and Tsushima Island. In 2012, they plan to establish and manage a portal hub linking to the HF radar sites of several universities and
institutes, expecting an efficient and united national radar data product display service.
National Dialogue
While today’s HF radar community in South Korea is spread across university and government entities
engaged in both academic and operational pursuits, the diverse community members still effectively
manage to exchange information and share experiences. Currently, Ocean Radar Forum, composed of 20
people, holds a workshop for experts every year to discuss each institution’s plan and newly developed
technology. Oceantech -- the long-standing local sales and service partner of CODAR -- is sharing
information through this kind of regular meeting and providing technical support for many research
institutes and universities allowing efficient SeaSonde operation. Furthermore, Oceantech plans to
assume the O&M responsibility for 10 SeaSonde stations from KHOA later in 2011.
International Collaboration
The South Korea HF radar community has not only been focused on their own research
interests and development but have also been forming collaborative partnerships globally. This
has most recently resulted in a Korean delegation participating in the April 2011 Radiowave
Operators Working Group (ROWG) workshop and building relationships with other
participants from the U.S., Italy and Taiwan. As part of their efforts to build out a national HF
radar network, KHOA has also
entered into a Joint Project Agreement with NOAA’s U.S. IOOS
program to exchange information on the use of HF radar data in the context of an ocean
observing system.
Now, marking nearly 10 years since the first Korean SeaSonde installation, plans are now actively
underway to populate the Korean coast with SeaSondes, with the firm belief that this national
network will offer significant benefits to their society for coastal monitoring in Korea.
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CODAR engineer, Hardik Parikh talking with
members
of South Korea delegation at
2011 ROWG workshop
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For further information, contact Laura Pederson of CODAR Ocean Sensors, at  or
phone (408) 773-8240 x15.
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