Ulleung, South Korea

Ulleung, South Korea: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Ulleung is a submarine cable landing point located in South Korea, situated on Ulleungdo, a volcanic island in the East Sea. As an island location, Ulleung depends on submarine cable infrastructure to maintain connectivity with the Korean mainland. One submarine cable currently lands at Ulleung, linking the island directly to the South Korean mainland through a dedicated intra-national connection.

The single cable serving Ulleung, the Ulleung-Mainland 2, operates entirely within South Korea, establishing a domestic corridor between the island and the mainland. This intra-national link reflects the logistical necessity of connecting remote island communities to the broader national communications network through undersea infrastructure.

Cables Landing at Ulleung, South Korea

Ulleung-Mainland 2 is a domestic submarine cable with a length of 164 km, reaching ready-for-service status in 2016 with a draft designation. Both endpoints of this cable are within South Korea, connecting Ulleung to the Korean mainland. The cable's relatively short length is consistent with the geographic distance between Ulleungdo and the nearest mainland coastal points. As the sole submarine cable serving this landing point, Ulleung-Mainland 2 represents the primary undersea link sustaining connectivity for the island.

Regional Context

Within South Korea's submarine cable network, which spans 14 cables across 10 landing points, Ulleung is one of several landing points hosting a single cable. It shares this single-cable profile with Geoje, Goheung, Gunsan, and Hosan-ri, while Goseong-ri hosts three cables and Busan stands as the dominant hub in the country with eight cables. Ulleung's position in the national network reflects its role as a domestic island terminus rather than an international gateway.

Network Role

Ulleung functions as a single-cable terminus, with its sole connection—the Ulleung-Mainland 2—providing a direct intra-national link between Ulleungdo and the South Korean mainland. Unlike major landing points such as Busan, which serve as nodes for international cable systems, Ulleung's role is specifically oriented toward sustaining island-to-mainland domestic connectivity. The 164 km cable represents a targeted piece of infrastructure designed to bridge the geographic separation between an outlying island and the national communications network.

Within the broader South Korean submarine cable graph, Ulleung occupies a peripheral but distinct position as a dedicated island connection point. Its presence among South Korea's ten landing points illustrates how the country's submarine cable infrastructure addresses not only international data transit but also the domestic requirement of integrating geographically isolated island communities into the national network.