AI to guard beaches as rip current monitoring expands nationwide

Beachgoers this summer will be able to check rip current risk levels and marine leisure conditions in real time on their smartphones.

The Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said Tuesday it would operate real-time rip current monitoring and marine leisure index services at major beaches nationwide to prevent water safety accidents during the summer season.

Rip currents occur when water that has washed ashore rushes back out to sea through a narrow channel. Because the currents can move with enough force to drag swimmers far offshore in an instant, they are considered one of the leading causes of beach accidents.

The agency will run the real-time rip current monitoring service from June through September — the official beach season — at 10 beaches across the country: Haeundae, Songjeong and Ilmang in Busan; Gyeongpo, Naksan, Sokcho and Mangsan in Gangwon Province; Daecheon in South Chungcheong Province; Jungmun in Jeju; and Goraebul in North Gyeongsang Province.

The likelihood of a rip current will be communicated through a four-tier rip current index — Attention, Caution, Alert and Danger. On-site rescue teams and local governments will receive live closed-circuit television footage alongside ocean observation data, and will be notified immediately by text message if risk levels rise.

Starting this year, the agency has also introduced AI-based real-time rip current detection technology. The system analyzes beach CCTV footage in real time to identify suspected rip current zones and instantly alerts on-site safety personnel.

The agency said it expects the AI system to compensate for the limitations of visual monitoring and enable faster responses from the earliest stages of rip current formation.

The agency will also provide a marine leisure index service, which draws on ocean forecast data — including wave height, wind speed and water temperature — to rate conditions for swimming, surfing and scuba diving on a five-point scale. The service covers 50 swimming sites, 16 surfing sites and 18 scuba diving sites.

Both the rip current index and the marine leisure index are available through the mobile app "Anjeunhae" and on the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency's website.

"This year, with the addition of AI technology, we have built an even more robust safety net for beaches," agency director Jeong Gyu-sam said. "We hope the public will check the rip current information and marine leisure index in advance and enjoy a safe summer in the water."