Jeju Island has the mildest weather in Korea, allowing
tourists to visit all-year-long. Jeju Island resides 33.6’North and 126.5’ East
on the Earth. By being near the equator, Jeju has a subtropical oceanic climate
and temperate climate. According to Wladimir
Koppen’s classification of climate, Jeju Island maintains a mild
winter with consistent precipitation.
Ocean Currents
The climate is also due in part to the Kuroshio
(north-flowing ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean) and
Tshushima (warm branch of the Kuroshio current) current; they have a direct
effect on the island. The translation of Kuroshio is The Black Current and is a reference to the deep blue of its
water.
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The ocean currents surrounding Japan and Korea: 1.
Kuroshio Current 2. Kuroshio extension 3. Kuroshio countercurrent 4. Tsushima
Current 5. Tsugaru Current 6. Sōya Current 7. Oyashio 8.
Liman Current
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Both of these currents are a part of the North Pacific Ocean
gyre (giant, circular ocean currents that are driven by subtropical high
pressure). By being surrounded by the ocean, the temperature range is quite
small, yet Jeju Island displays four distinct season.
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| The four distinct seasons displayed on Jeju Island. |
Jeju Island in April
Springtime occurs in mid-February to April leading into
the summer typhoon season in late June to early July. The figure below is a graph
illustrating annual climate in Jeju Island. The left y-axis represents temperature
(in Celsius), the right y-axis shows precipitation (mm) and x-axis represents
months of the year.
As you can see from the figure above, the warmest and rainiest
months on Jeju Island are June-September. Throughout April, the most common
forms of precipitation are moderate rain and light rain. In April, the average
high is 17.5 degrees Celsius (63.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with the average low being 10.2 degrees Celsius (50.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
References
http://weatherspark.com/averages/33274/Jeju-Jeju-do-South-Korea
http://weatherspark.com/averages/33274/4/Jeju-Jeju-do-South-Korea
http://english.jeju.go.kr/index.php/contents/AboutJeju/intro/weather
http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/play/10-things-do-jeju-island-045157
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/Jeju_Island
http://english.jeju.go.kr/index.php/contents/culture-nature/nature/geographical/climate
