Kim, C. and Bae, S., 2019. Spatial-temporal distribution of coastal drowning and geographical characteristics of accident spots, on the east coast of Korea. In: Lee, J.L.; Yoon, J.-S.; Cho, W.C.; Muin, M., and Lee, J. (eds.), The 3rd International Water Safety Symposium. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 91, pp. 326-330. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

This article aims to determine the temporal and spatial features of accidental drowning spots on the east coast of Gangwon-do, which is famous for tourism in Korea, and to consider the geographical features of areas where drowning accidents frequently occur. For this research, the spots where the drowning accidents happen were listed based on 119 data points, the spatial database was set up, and a GIS-based spatial analysis was conducted. The first step was analyzing the temporal and spatial features of these drowning accidents in order to identify the characteristics of the spots where drowning accidents took place. The second step was figuring out the adjacency between the accident spots and 119 emergency facilities or hospitals. As a result, in terms of seasons, the highest drowning accident rate occurred in summer (June to August), accounting for 60% of all drowning accidents. Then, 12% of all drowning accidents occurred in winter (December to January) and another 12% in spring (March to May). Time wise, 60% of all drowning accidents occurred from 11am to 6pm. In terms of geographical characteristics, the highest drowning accident rate occurred on sandy shores, accounting for 36% of all drowning accidents, followed by shore facilities, such as ports and breakwater, with a 33% rate. The rate of drowning accidents on rocky coast was 14%, followed by estuary with 11%.