Palmido was Korea’s first lighthouse, and had performed the role of navigational guidance for ships coming into and out from Incheon Port for 100 years before being retired in 2003.

With the opening of Incheon Port in 1883 (20th year of King Gojong) and the ship traffic becoming frequent, the utility of the lighthouse was on the rise. The “Bureau of Maritime Customs” was established in March of 1902 in Incheon, and the Palmidoand Sowolmido lighthouses and Bukjangjaseo/Baegam light beacons were constructed in May of the same year, with operation beginning on June 1st, 1903.

At the very first time of operation, they were lit using petroleum light bulbs, but were replaced with electric lights by installing a generator in August 1954, and a solar energy generation system was also installed in September 1991. A radio beaconstation was also installed in December 1963 followed by a differential global positioning system in August 1999, which helped to develop the scientific technology in nautical marking by providing precision positioning information.