King Sejong Station
| King Sejong Station | |
|---|---|
  | |
| General information | |
| Location |
Barton Peninsula King George Island Antarctica |
| Coordinates | 62°13′S 58°47′W / 62.217°S 58.783°WCoordinates: 62°13′S 58°47′W / 62.217°S 58.783°W |
| Named for | King Sejong the Great of Joseon |
| Construction started | 17 February 1988 |
| Owner | Korea Polar Research Institute |
| Website | |
|
King Sejong Station @ kopri | |
| King Sejong Station | |
| Hangul | 세종과학기지 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 世宗科學基地 |
| Revised Romanization | Sejong Gwahak Giji[1] |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sejong Kwahak Kiji |
The King Sejong Station is a research station for the Korea Antarctic Research Program that is named after King Sejong the Great of Joseon (1397–1450). Established on February 17, 1988, it consists of 11 facility buildings and two observatories, and it is located on the Barton Peninsula (King George Island), it is currently overseen by station chief scientist In-Young Ahn.[2][3] It experiences a fairly mild climate, and therefore draws a large number of animals for summer breeding (which, unsurprisingly, draw a lot of biologists). In the summer, the station supports up to 90 people from the Korea Polar Research Institute, and guest scientists from other institutions as well. Over winter, it accommodates only 17 engineers and scientists who maintain the station and routinely collect data (meteorological records, oceanographical parameters, etc.), but their main focus is on tracking the general change of the natural environment. Researchers from Korea continually collaborate with various other institutes in Antarctica and the rest of the world by participating in, monitoring, and contributing to the World Meteorological Organization, the Global Sea-level Observing System, the International Seismological Center, and the Intermagnet Project.
The station is usually re-supplied yearly by the RV Onnuri and more frequently by planes flying from Jubany in Argentina and the Chilean Eduardo Frei Base.[4]
The RV Araon was commissioned in 2009, and she supplies South Korea's research stations, including the Jang Bogo Station.[5]
Research
The primary research that is conducted at the King Sejong Station:[6]
- Environmental monitoring
- Geodesy/mapping
- Geomagnetic observations (since 1989)
- Glaciology - sea ice zone (since 1998)
- Ionospheric/auroral observations (since 1989)
- Lower/upper atmospheric science
- Meteorological observations
- Oceanography
- Offshore marine biology
- Onshore geology/geophysics
- Seismology
- Stratospheric ozone monitoring (since 1998)
- Terrestrial biology
- Tide measurement
In popular culture
The station is used as a basis for the major tournament map King Sejong Station LE in the game of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, a game that is popular amongst South Koreans.[7]
References
- ↑ The Korean name means Sejong Science Base literally. Its shorten name is Sejong Giji (literally, Sejong Base).
- ↑ "Antarctica - Southern Exposure - Foreign Correspondent - ABC". Retrieved 2016-06-03.
- ↑ "Annual Report" (PDF). eng.kopri.re.kr. Korea Polar Research Institute. 2015. Retrieved 2016. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "King Sejong". Newzeal.com. 2000-11-07. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
- ↑ Yonn Gong (2010-01-12). "S. Korean icebreaker begins first Antarctic voyage". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 2010-01-14.
- ↑ "Stations and Bases - King Sejong". COMNAP. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ↑ "King Sejong Station map".
External links
- Official website of the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI)
- Introduction of the King Sejong Station in the Official website of KOPRI
- COMNAP Antarctic Facilities
- COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map