What strait lies between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese islands?

The Korea Strait lies between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese islands, linking the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan. It is a broad East Asian sea passage bordered by southern Korea and southwestern Japan.

Tsushima Island divides the Korea Strait into two principal channels: a western channel and the eastern channel, commonly called Tsushima Strait. That geographic relationship explains a frequent quiz mix-up: Tsushima Strait is a named section of the larger Korea Strait, but Korea Strait is the canonical answer to the broader question.

The passage has long been important for travel, trade and military campaigns. Buddhism reached Japan from the Korean Peninsula across these waters in the sixth century, while Mongol invasion forces crossed toward Japan in 1274 and 1281. The Battle of Tsushima, fought in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War, occurred in the strait’s eastern channel. A branch of the warm Kuroshio Current also flows through it.