Aloha, Korea? Peninsula gradually drifting toward Hawaii

This screen capture, provided by the National Geographic Information Institute, shows the GNSS monitoring display. [NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION INSTITUTE]

The Korean Peninsula has been observed to be moving by a few centimeters each year in the direction of Hawaii.

The National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Monday that the peninsula is shifting 3.18 centimeters (1.25 inches) annually in the direction of 110 degrees.

This data was revealed to the public for the first time from a system that monitors diastrophism, or crustal movements, using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

GNSS refers to any satellite constellation, like GPS, that tracks the precise location of targets on the ground.

The institute monitors the location of the country and diastrophism by receiving satellite signals 24 hours a day from permanent observatories nationwide.

The diastrophism observation system can also swiftly assess the impact of strong earthquakes near the peninsula using its daily calculations.

This data has been used exclusively for research purposes until now, but beginning Monday, it will be available to the general public.

Cho Woo-seok, the institute's director-general, expects the observation system to support various surveys and geophysical research.

"We will continue to establish precise location standards," Cho added.

BY BAE JAE-SUNG,WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]