Specified islands

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Overview

Protected Islands are designated and publicly notified by the Minister of Environment among islands that are uninhabited or populated by humans in only limited areas and that feature outstanding ecosystems, topographical, geological features, or overall natural environment, such as Dokdo. An island must meet one of the following criteria to be designated as a Protected Island:

특정도서 이미지
  • An island with outstanding natural landscapes, such as volcanoes, parasitic cones, valleys, streams, lakes and marshes, waterfalls, seashores, coastlines, and lava caves
  • An island that requires designation for the conservation of water resources, fossils, rare flora and fauna, endangered species, and other endemic species
  • A habitat or stopover site for wildlife that has conservation value
  • A primary forest of ecological significance
  • An island that requires academic research or conservation for its unique topographical or geological features
  • Other islands that are recommended by a metropolitan city mayor, a provincial governor or a special self-governing provincial governor to be designated, or that the Minister of Environment deems necessary to designate, for the conservation of their natural ecosystems and other features.

Designation of Protected Islands

  • Legal basis : Article 4 of the Special Act on the Conservation of the Ecosystems in Island Areas Including Dokdo
  • Designated areas : 257 sites covering a total of 13.793㎢ (259 designations have been made, but 2 of them were withdrawn)

Designation process

  1. Nationwide environmental assessment of uninhabited islands
  2. Designation planning
  3. Collection of feedback from city mayors/provincial governors and local residents
  4. Consultation with relevant ministries
  5. Designation and notification

Designations by region

지역별 특정도서 지정현황으로 구분, 계, 경기, 경남, 경북, 부산, 인천, 전남, 전북, 제주, 충남을 포함하고 있습니다.
Classification Total Gyeonggi Gyeongnam Gyeongbuk Busan Incheon Jeonnam Jeonbuk Jeju Chungnam
Number of
Islands		 257 2 62 1 3 31 106 16 6 30
Area(㎢) 13.79 0.03 1.76 0.19 0.03 1.67 5.75 1.64 0.47 2.25

Status of the Designation Phase for Specified Islands

차수별 특정도서 지정현황으로 구분, 도서수, 면적을 포함하고 있습니다.
Classification Number of Designated Islands Area(㎢)
Phase 1 2000.09. 47 3.41
Phase 2 2002.05. 38 2.6
Phase 3 2002.08. 41 2.99
Phase 4 2003.07. 9 0.48
Phase 5 2004.01. 18 0.59
Phase 6 2007.11. 5 0.14
Phase 7 2008.01. 4 0.3
Phase 8 2009.06. 5 0.08
Phase 9 2010.03. 3 0.02
Phase 10 2011.07. 7 0.14
Phase 11 2012.01. 6 0.09
Phase 12 2013.12. 23 0.94
Phase 13 2014.12. 13 0.08
Phase 14 2015.12. 11 0.38
Phase 15 2016.12. 15 0.89
Phase 16 2017.12. 4 0.14
Phase 17 2018.12. 6 266
Phase 18 2019.12. 2 0.26
Total 257 ① 13.79 ②
  1. Number of Specified Islands: 8.9% of 2,876 uninhabited islands
  2. Area of Specified Islands: 18% of the area of uninhabited islands, 76.47 ㎢