Recently geological surveys have been actively carried out in foreign countries by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, and the Korea Polar Research Institute. In 1990, the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute began to pursue a fullscale research project on deep ocean mineral resources, and in 1992 began efforts to acquire mining rights for manganese nodules in the deep oceans. In 1994, South Korea became the seventh country in the world to acquire mining rights for manganese nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton sea sector in the Pacific Ocean. Exploration efforts were expanded to include searches for manganese pavements, submarine hydrothermal deposits, and other deep-sea resources. South Korea further obtained exploration rights for submarine hydrothermal deposits in the EEZ areas of Tonga and Fiji and acquired mining rights for submarine hydrothermal deposits in the open sea within the Indian Ocean. In 2012, Korea expanded its research area from the eastern Pacific Ocean and southwestern Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

 

 The oceanographic research ship Onnuri (1,442 tons), which can carry out ocean exploration, has made it possible for the Korea Institute of Ocean Sciences and Technology to pursue full-scale deep sea mineral resource exploration projects. The Onnuri was launched in 1992 and played an important role in acquiring mining rights for manganese nodules in the Pacific Ocean (1994), exploration rights for submarine hydrothermal deposits in Tonga (2008) and Fiji (2011), mining rights for submarine hydrothermal deposits in the Indian Ocean (2012), and manganese pavement deposits in the northern Atlantic Ocean. In 2016, a new oceanographic research ship Isabu (5,894 tons) was launched to conduct exploration activities in the deep ocean depository.

 

 After acquiring exploration rights for a submarine hydrothermal deposit in the EEZ of Tonga in 2008, five leading domestic enterprises participated in the exploration to evaluate the reserve of deep sea mineral resources during the period of 2009 to 2012, initiating the first case of commercial exploration led by a private organization.

 

 Through efforts during the last 30 years, the total area acquired for mining and exploration in the eastern and southern Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean is 112,000 ㎢, which is 1.1 times larger than the area of South Korea.

 

 The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources carried out the project titled Geological Mapping of the Suai District in Timor-Leste over a period of two and a half years from Dec. 29, 2010 to June 30, 2013, making a geologic map of the Fohorem area in the Suai district located in southwestern Timor-Leste. This is the first regular geologic map made for a foreign country by Korean geologists. The Timor-Leste is located in the intersection point of Indo-Australian, Pacific, and Asian plates. The geology of the Fohorem Quadrangle provides valuable geologic information because of its unique location at the collision boundary between the Banda Arc and Australian plate.

 

 In 1987, the Polar Research Laboratory was established at the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute. The Antarctic King Sejong Station and the Arctic Dasan Station were inaugurated in 1988 and 2002, respectively. After that, the Korea Polar Research Institute was established in 2004 and the Antarctic Jang Bogo Station was built in 2014. At the King Sejong and Jang Bogo Stations, researches on weather, atmosphere, glaciers, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and species living under extreme conditions in Antarctica were conducted. Recently, at the Jang Bogo Station, researches on paleoclimate and glaciers have been carried out along with geochronological and geophysical studies on Antarctic inland and a route exploration toward the South Pole accompanied with seismic survey.

 

 The Jang Bogo Station is located in the Terra Nova Bay in northern Victoria Land. Northern Victoria Land consists of the Wilson Terrane, the Bowers Terrane, and the Robertson Bay Terrane, which were juxtaposed in the early Paleozoic era. The Korea Polar Research Institute conducted geological studies on the formation and evolution of these terranes and the active volcanoes in northern Victoria Land. Detailed geological maps around the Jang Bogo Station were completed in 2018. Along with these, antarctic meteorite exploration is being conducted, and based on this, research on the formation of the solar system is also being conducted.