South Korea
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
304km²
Area
99km
Coastline
469m
Highest point
Manisan
62,021
People
24°C
Warmest sea
August
2km
To the mainland
When to go to Ganghwa Island
Best for the beach from August to September.
The sea is warmest in August (24 °C) and coolest in February (4 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from July to September.
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 of Republic of Korea
Ganghwa Island is an island in South Korea. It covers 304 km², with 99 km of coastline. Its highest point, Manisan, rises to 469 m. About 62,021 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2 km away.
Getting there
- Incheon International Airport (ICN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 27 km in a straight lineCar hire at ICN airport (Seoul)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries2 ferry terminals on the island
- 2 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From August 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 Ganghwa Island.
- 1beachesDongmak Beach
- 14viewpointsnamsan and 13 more
- 2ferry terminals
- 29named peaksMt. Mani, Mt. Goryo and 27 more
- 4castles and fortsChamseongdan Altar, Chojijin Fort and 2 more
- 61ruins and archaeological sitesGwangseongbo Fort, Hwadodondae Fort and 59 more
- 9campsitesHamheodongcheon Camp, Gukhwari Student Camping Site and 7 more
- 111hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 109restaurants, 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
Ganghwa Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Ganghwa Island, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
30mountainsPeakyas
2lakesLakeyas
Highest point
469m
Manisan
prominence 469 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
0.20km²
Gukhwajeosuji
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
29.9°C
Ansanjeosuji
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
24.4°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
30 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Manisanprominence 469 m469m
- Goryeosan436m
- Byeollipsan
- Hyeolgusan
- Jingangsan
- Byeolakbong
- Sirumesan
- Bongcheonsan
22 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
2 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Gukhwajeosuji0.20km²
- Ansanjeosuji0.11km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 57 m above the sea. 94 % of it is below 200 m.
- 64 %0–50 m
- 30 %50–200 m
- 6 %200–500 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.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Ganghwa-gun25,535 people
- Songhaeno census figure
- Hajeomno census figure
- Yangsano census figure
- Seonwonno census figure
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 24 | 18 | 11 | 4 |
| Night low (°C) | -2 | -2 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 14 | 7 | 0 |
| Sea (°C) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 22 | 32 | 36 | 69 | 86 | 103 | 323 | 246 | 129 | 52 | 51 | 26 |
| Wet days | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| Sun h/day | 5.2 | 5.8 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 6.0 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 21 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 22 |
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +0.3 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −1.0 | +0.7 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.6 |
| 2021 | −1.6 | −0.4 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.7 | −0.4 | −0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | −0.9 | −0.8 | +0.3 | +1.5 | +2.1 | +1.0 | +2.4 | +1.8 | +0.2 | −1.1 | −0.2 | −1.2 |
| 2023 | −1.4 | −0.5 | +0.9 | +1.8 | +2.4 | +2.4 | +1.9 | +2.6 | +1.5 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.6 |
| 2024 | −0.4 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +2.7 | +3.2 | +3.4 | +2.2 | +3.9 | +4.0 | +2.4 | +1.5 | −0.4 |
| 2025 | −0.4 | −0.6 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +2.3 | +2.9 | +2.9 | +1.6 | +0.3 | −0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
North Korea
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q494786) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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