The National Institute of Meteorological Research says South Korea has experienced more than 400 earthquakes of magnitude five or greater according to available records.

The institute under the Korea Meteorological Administration analyzed records of earthquakes between 2 A.D. and 1904 on Monday and reported that out of two-thousand-161 quakes in the region, 440 were magnitude five or greater.

The institute added that quakes of magnitude eight or greater, which usually cause casualties, totaled 15.

In particular, the records found that in 779 A.D., a magnitude eight quake rattled Gyeongju, killing more than 100 and destroying homes. There is also a record that in the 1600s, Ulsan saw a tsunami.

Records showed that quakes often occurred in the Chungcheong provinces and southern regions as well as the western parts of Pyeongan Province.

By analyzing the history of quakes, the weather agency is expected to assess the risks that the Korean Peninsula faces from earthquakes.