Two severe famines (1809–1810, 1814–1815) in Korea during the last stage of the Little Ice Age

Abstract

Abstract. From the eruption of an unknown volcano in 1809 until that of Tambora in April 1815, large and small volcanoes erupted in succession, causing various climatic changes around the Earth. During this period, the monsoon climate zone of East Asia, including Korea, had a very dry summer, and the rice yield was very poor, which resulted in two severe famines that lasted until early summer in the following years. During the famines in 1809–1810 and 1814–1815, about 24 % of the population of Korea (approx. 14 million people) died. The severity of the drought varied widely depending on the region in Korea. Famine was more severe in the southern region, due to the higher degree of drought than in the northern region, resulting in deaths concentrated in southern Chŏlla-do and Kyŏngsang-do provinces. Based on the works of a Korean bureaucrat scholar, Chŏng Yak-yong, and official documentary data produced by the Chosŏn Dynasty, this article sheds light on the famines in southern regions of Korea, caused by the droughts in the last stages of the “Little Ice Age”.