December 27 Earthquake: Kwangju, South Korea
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Kwangju, South Korea in December 27.
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 27
- Place
- Kwangju, South Korea
- Magnitude
- 7
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.900° N, 126.500° E
- Country
- South Korea
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
houses fell (reference #14368)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 12, 1664, Chonju,chinan, 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
- December 9, 1649, Yellow Sea, South Korea
- September 12, 1700, Chungchong, South Korea
- October 7, 1978, Hongseong, South Korea
- July 3, 1936, South Korea
- July 16, 1613, Suwon, South Korea
- July 1036, Kaesong, North Korea
- August 1, 1385, Kaesong, North Korea
More
Significant earthquakes of 27Years 1 to 99Recent earthquakes near here
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 43.