December 9, 1649 Earthquake: Yellow Sea, South Korea
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Yellow Sea, South Korea on December 9, 1649. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- December 9, 1649
- Place
- Yellow Sea, South Korea
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 35.500° N, 126.000° E
- Country
- South Korea
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #414:
1649, December 9. In Korea, there was an earthquake in the Wonsan region. A tsunami was observed on the coast of the Yellow Sea in the province of Cholla. Six villages suffered damage.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 12, 1664, Chonju,chinan, South Korea
- December 27, Kwangju, South Korea
- July 89, Kwangju, South Korea
- January 24, 1455, Kwangju, South Korea
- October 30, 1670, Kwangju,sunchang,unkyo,kosan, South Korea
- June 11, 2024, Jeonbuk, South Korea
- September 12, 1700, Chungchong, South Korea
- October 7, 1978, Hongseong, South Korea
- July 3, 1936, South Korea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1649The 1600sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 5972.