Understanding Typhoon Season태풍 시즌 이해하기

If you are in Korea in late summer, there is a fair chance a typhoon will pass through during your stay. According to Korea Meteorological Administration statistics (1991–2020 normals), about 25 typhoons form in the western North Pacific each year, and on average 3.4 of them affect the Korean Peninsula. The season concentrates sharply: July, August, and September together account for roughly 88% of Korea's typhoon impacts, with August the peak month.

Why does Korea get them at all? Typhoons are born over warm tropical waters far to the south, then curve northward along the edge of the North Pacific high-pressure system. In late summer that steering pattern often points them at Japan, Korea's southern coast, or the Korea Strait. By the time they arrive they are usually weakening, but they still bring damaging wind and intense rain, especially to Jeju and the south coast.

Korea handles typhoons with practiced calm. Forecasts track storms days in advance, ferries and flights are cancelled early, and every phone in the country buzzes with official emergency alerts. Schools may close; convenience stores tape their windows. For a visitor the drill is simple: keep an eye on the KMA forecast, expect Jeju and southern routes to be disrupted first, build a buffer day into island trips, and treat a typhoon day as an indoor day — the storm typically clears within 24 hours, often leaving spectacularly clean blue skies.