ōei 해협 峽 峡 kaikyō 대한 tsushima wokou daehan 鮮 chosŏn iki chōsen 조선 namhae 対 yamatai 朝 馬 ょ 韓 marolda 海 geoje navsource busan kyushu fukuoka 1281 paleogeography
where is the korea strait located on a map
Korea strait - wikipedia Korea strait This article 's lead section does not adequately summarize key points of its contents . Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . Please discuss this issue on the article 's talk page . ( December 2015 ) <Td_colspan="2"> Korea Strait <Td_colspan="2"> Map showing the Korea Strait . <Th_colspan="2"> Japanese name Kanji 対馬 海峡 / 朝鮮 海峡 Hiragana つ しま かい きょう / ちょう せん かい きょう <Td_colspan="2"> Revised Hepburn Tsushima Kaikyō / Chōsen kaikyō <Td_colspan="2"> <Th_colspan="2"> South Korean name / North Korean name Hangul 대한 해협 / 조선 해협 Hanja 大韓 海峽 / 朝鮮 海峽 Revised Romanization Daehan Haehyeop / Chosŏn Haehyŏp The Korea Strait is a sea passage between South Korea and Japan , connecting the East China Sea , the Yellow Sea ( West sea ) and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean . The strait is split by the Tsushima Island into the Western Channel and the Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel . Contents ( hide ) 1 Geography 2 Currents 3 Economic significance 4 Naming of the strait 5 Historic impact 5.1 Land bridge 5.2 Early history 5.3 Mongolian invasion 5.4 Wokou and Ōei Invasion 5.5 Battle of Tsushima 5.6 Battle of Korea Strait 5.7 Future 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Geography ( edit ) To the north it is bounded by the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula , and to the south by the southwestern Japanese islands of Kyūshū and Honshū . It is about 200 km ( 120 mi ) wide and averages about 90 to 100 meters ( 300 ft ) deep . Tsushima Island divides the Korea Strait into the western channel and the Tsushima Strait . The western channel is deeper ( up to 227 meters ) and narrower than the Tsushima Strait . Currents ( edit ) A branch of the Kuroshio Current passes through the strait . Its warm branch is sometimes called the Tsushima Current . Originating along the Japanese islands this current passes through the Sea of Japan then divides along either shore of Sakhalin Island , eventually flowing into the northern Pacific Ocean via the strait north of Hokkaidō and into the Sea of Okhotsk north of Sakhalin Island near Vladivostok . The water - mass characteristics vary widely because of the low - salinity waters of the southeast coasts of Korea and China . Economic significance ( edit ) Numerous international shipping lanes pass through the strait , including those carrying much of the traffic bound for the ports of southern South Korea . Both South Korea and Japan have restricted their territorial claims in the strait to 3 nautical miles ( 5.6 km ) from shore , so as to permit free passage through it . Passenger ferries travel numerous routes across the strait . Commercial ferries run from South Korean Busan , Geoje to Japanese ports including Fukuoka , Tsushima , Shimonoseki , and Hiroshima . Ferries also connect Tsushima Island with Fukuoka , and South Korea 's Jeju Island with the Korean mainland . Ferries connecting Busan and Japanese cities with ports in China also traverse the strait . Japan 's territorial waters extend to three nautical miles ( 5.6 km ) into the strait instead of the usual twelve , reportedly to allow nuclear - armed United States Navy warships and submarines to transit the strait without violating Japan 's prohibition against nuclear weapons in its territory . Naming of the strait ( edit ) Korean Peninsula - Kyushu Korean Peninsula - Tsushima Island Tsushima Island - Kyushu International name ( commonly used in English ) Korea Strait Korea Strait Western Channel Korea Strait Eastern Channel South Korean name <Td_colspan="3"> 대한 해협 - 大韓 海峡 Daehan Haehyeop `` Korea Strait '' North Korean name <Td_colspan="3"> 조선 해협 - 朝鮮 海峡 Chosŏn Haehyŏp `` Korea Strait '' Japanese name 対馬 海峡 or 朝鮮 海峽 Tsushima Kaikyō or Chōsen Kaikyō or `` Tsushima Strait '' 朝鮮 海峡 or 対馬 海峡 西 水道 Chōsen Kaikyō or Tsushima Kaikyō Nishi - suidō `` Korea Strait '' or `` Tsushima Strait Western Channel '' 対馬 海峡 or 対馬 海峡 東 水道 Tsushima Kaikyō or Tsushima Kaikyō Higashi - suidō `` Tsushima Strait '' or `` Tsushima Strait Eastern Channel '' Historic impact ( edit ) Land bridge ( edit ) See article : Land bridge During the Pleistocene glacial cycles , the Korea Strait and the Bering Straits , and the Yellow Sea ( West sea ) were often narrowed and the Japanese islands may at times have been connected to the Eurasian Continent through the Korean Peninsula or Sakhalin . At times , the Sea of Japan was said to be a frozen inner lake due to the lack of warm Tsushima Current and various plants and large animals , such as the Palaeoloxodon naumanni are believed to have spread into Japan . Early History ( edit ) Historically , these narrows served as a highway for high risk voyages . The shortest distance between Busan , South Korea , and the Tsushima Island is about 50 km , as is the shortest distance from Tsushima to Iki Island , Japan . Japan 's Yamatai periodically sent year - long embassies to Chinese dynasties , believed to have traveled through the Korean strait and the Korean peninsula , to obtain the latest culture and technologies . In the 6th century , Buddhism ( Mahāyāna Buddhism ) was transmitted by Baekje people to the easternmost Japan of the Emperor Kinmei 's era over this strait ( See also : East Asian Buddhism and Buddhism in Japan ) . Mongolian invasion ( edit ) See main article : Mongol invasions of Japan A joint Mongol - Korea fleet crossed this strait and attempted to invade Japan in 1274 and 1281 . The force severely ravaged the Tsushima Island on the way to Japan but failed to defeat Japan . The typhoon ( kamikaze , usually translated as `` divine wind '' ) is said to have saved Japan from a Mongol invasion fleet led by Kublai Khan in 1281 . Wokou and ōei invasion ( edit ) See main article : Wokou and Ōei Invasion After the Mongolian invasion ravaged Tsushima , it became a base of the Wokou ( Japanese pirates ) . The Korean Joseon Dynasty sent a fleet to Tsushima in 1419 for the suppression of Wokou activity . Korea subsequently agreed to grant the Japanese limited trading privileges . Battle of Tsushima ( edit ) See main article : Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima , fought between the Japanese and Russian navies on May 27 and May 28 , 1905 , took place in the Tsushima Strait part of the Korea Strait , east of the north part of Tsushima and due north of Iki Island . The Russian fleet was virtually destroyed by the Japanese . Battle of Korea strait ( edit ) Main article : Battle of Korea Strait The Battle of Korea Strait was a naval battle fought on the first day of the Korean War , 25 -- 26 June 1950 , between the navies of South Korea and North Korea . A North Korean troop transport carrying hundreds of soldiers attempted to land its cargo near Busan but was encountered by a South Korean patrol ship and sunk . It was one of the first surface actions of the war and resulted in an important South Korean victory . Future ( edit ) The possibility of a Japan -- Korea Undersea Tunnel or bridge , similar to the Channel Tunnel running under the English Channel between France and the United Kingdom , has been discussed for decades . See also ( edit ) Geography of Korea List of Japan - related topics Geography of Japan Russo - Japanese War Tsushima City East sea Namhae References ( edit ) Jump up ^ Kyodo News , `` Japan left key straits open for U.S. nukes '' , Japan Times , June 22 , 2009 . Jump up ^ Park , S. - C. ; Yoo , D. - G. ; Lee , C. - W. ; Lee , E. - I. ( 26 September 2000 ) . `` Last glacial sea - level changes and paleogeography of the Korea ( Tsushima ) Strait '' . Geo - Marine Letters. 20 ( 2 ) : 64 -- 71 . doi : 10.1007 / s003670000039 . Jump up ^ J. Marolda , Edward ( 26 August 2003 ) . `` Naval Battles '' . Naval History & Heritage Command . Archived from the original on 29 June 2007 . Retrieved 20 November 2010 . Jump up ^ `` Submarine Chaser Photo Archive : PC - 823 '' . NavSource . Retrieved 20 November 2010 . ^ For example , a ) `` Low - Frequency Current Observations in the Korea / Tsushima Strait '' . W.J. Teague , G.A. Jacobs , H.T. Perkins , J.W. Book , K. - I. Chang , M. - S. Suk Journal of Physical Oceanography 32 , 1621 -- 1641 ( 2001 ) . b ) `` Tsushima '' . Archived from the original on 2013 - 01 - 08 . Russo - Japanese War Research Society ^ `` Nautical Charts of SE Japan Sea '' . Archived from the original on 2007 - 05 - 13 . Japan Hydrographic Association ^ `` List of National and Quasi-national Parks , Japan # 48 Iki - Tsushima '' . Ministry of the Environment , Japan ^ `` The Republic of Korea 's Maritime Boundaries , page 18 '' . Retrieved June 23 , 2005 . ^ `` Designated Area of Japan '' . Archived from the original on 2004 - 08 - 22 . Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department , Japan Coast Guard External links ( edit ) Encyclopædia Britannica article Oceanographic Characteristics of the Korea Strait , from KORDI Coordinates : 34 ° 35 ′ 58 '' N 129 ° 47 ′ 48 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 34.59944 ° N 129.79667 ° E ﻿ / 34.59944 ; 129.79667 NARA : 10044730 NDL : 00640050 VIAF : 254475174 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Korea_Strait&oldid=849910883 '' Categories : Straits of South Korea Straits of Japan Japan -- South Korea border International straits Hidden categories : Wikipedia introduction cleanup from December 2015 All pages needing cleanup Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from December 2015 All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify Articles containing Japanese - language text Articles containing Korean - language text All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from April 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Coordinates on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with NARA identifiers Wikipedia articles with NDL identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Avañe'ẽ Azərbaycanca Башҡортса Беларуская Български Català Чӑвашла Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 客家 語 / Hak - kâ - ngî 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Kiswahili Kurdî Кыргызча Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски მარგალური Bahasa Melayu Монгол Nederlands नेपाल भाषा 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча ភាសា ខ្មែរ Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenščina Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt Winaray 粵語 中文 53 more Edit links This page was last edited on 12 July 2018 , at 07 : 30 ( UTC ) . 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