Final tally set at 40 inhabited islands and 157 uninhabited, resolving a long-standing discrepancy with central government data
GIS coordinates verified island by island, giving policymakers and tourism planners a reliable baseline for the first time
The number of islands belonging to Incheon, one of South Korea's leading maritime cities, had long been recorded inaccurately, a city-led review has found.
Incheon's own records listed 168 islands, a figure that conflicted with central government statistics and created confusion across administrative documents. A comprehensive survey has now settled the count at 197.
The city announced Tuesday that a full overhaul of its island registry confirmed a total of 197 islands — 40 inhabited and 157 uninhabited.
The revised figure adds 29 islands to the 168 the city had previously managed, which comprised 40 inhabited islands and 128 uninhabited ones.
The discrepancy stemmed in part from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, whose uninhabited-island database listed only 152 uninhabited islands in the Incheon area — a figure at odds with the city's own tally.
City officials determined that the statistical mismatch risked causing confusion in marine and island policy work, and launched a full re-verification of the island inventory.
The review went beyond simply matching names and lot numbers. Officials cross-referenced the ministry's Uninhabited Island Integrated Information System against the city's own island registry, first checking for duplicate lot numbers and inconsistencies in management records.
They then re-verified the location of each island using GIS coordinates to confirm actual conditions on the ground.
That process identified 29 uninhabited islands that appeared in the ministry's database but had been missing from the city's records.
Conversely, five uninhabited islands managed by the city — Sogapjukdo, Junggwangdaedo, Hagwangdaedo, Geodo and Mokseom — were not listed in the ministry's system, and the city has requested they be added.
After completing the cross-verification, the city established a new official count of 197 islands: 40 inhabited and 157 uninhabited.
The updated registry will serve as foundational data for a range of policy initiatives, including island conservation and management, marine resource development, and tourism promotion.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
