- KIGAM finishes all 357 sheets of 1:50,000 national geologic map

- Map serves as key infrastructure for resource exploration, disaster response, underground space use

A national geologic map published by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.
A national geologic map published by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.

South Korea has completed its national geologic map, a project capturing hundreds of millions of years of the peninsula's geological history, after more than a century of work.

The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources will hold an international academic forum on the completion of the national geologic map at its headquarters in Daejeon on Thursday. It will officially declare the completion of all 357 sheets covering South Korea at a scale of 1:50,000.

The national geologic map is the country's standard geological dataset, compiled through surveys of rock types, formation periods, strata distribution and geological structures such as faults and folds. Unlike ordinary maps that show surface locations and terrain, it also captures how the land was formed over hundreds of millions of years, earning it the nickname "history book of the land."

Producing a single geologic map sheet is no simple task. Geologists travel to mountains, fields, rivers and coastlines to directly observe rocks, strata and geological structures. After collecting samples, they analyze mineral composition, microstructure and geochemical characteristics in the laboratory, and use isotope analysis to determine the absolute age of the rocks.

South Korea's national geological survey began with the establishment of the Geological Survey in 1918, and gained momentum after the first 1:50,000 geologic map was published in 1924. Generations of geologists crisscrossed the country's mountains, fields, rivers and coastlines to survey rocks and strata. This year, researchers filled in the last blank spots in mountainous, border and island areas, completing all 357 sheets covering the entire South Korea.

The national geologic map serves as key national infrastructure, used in mineral resource exploration, road and tunnel construction, groundwater and underground space use, as well as in responding to geological hazards such as landslides and earthquakes and in carbon dioxide geological storage.

The institute plans to standardize and digitize the accumulated geological data to upgrade it into a "boundary-integrated geologic map" that removes the borders between individual sheets. It also plans to build a three-dimensional national geological information system that combines AI and digital twin technology to provide a comprehensive view of underground resources and risks from faults and geological hazards.

"We will fuse geological data with AI and digital twin technology to create new value that supports the nation's resource security and public safety," said Kwon Yi-kyun, president of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. "The national geologic map will become a trustworthy treasure map guiding South Korea's resource security, carbon neutrality and safe use of underground space."


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com