Long-Term Trend of Summer Rainfall at Selected Stations in the Republic of Korea

The Republic of Korea (or South Korea) is located in the extreme northeastern region of the East Asian Monsoon climatic zone. Summer (June–September) is the rainy season in the country, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the annual precipitation. Using 50 years of summer (June–September) rainfall data (1951–2000) at 23 stations, this paper presents the geographic distribution of summer rainfall and its coefficient of variation in South Korea; and the long-term trend of summer rainfall at four selected stations. Summer rainfall in South Korea varies from less than 700 mm in the northeast to 800–900 mm or more in the south and southwest. The coefficient of variation of summer rainfall ranges from less than 25 percent in the northeastern part of the country to 35 percent or more in the northwest, west and south. The long-term trend of summer rainfall at the four selected stations shows year-to-year fluctuations with negligibly small positive trend.