About 150,000 sessions of validated marine debris records collected by 7,000 citizen scientists across Korean coasts since 2021. Free download under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Sessions
~150K
Contributors
~7K
Coverage
5 yrs
License
CC BY-NC 4.0
Each row represents one cleanup session by a citizen volunteer. Coordinates, weight, and 19-category ICC classification are recorded.
32 CSV columns
Session ID · timestamp · Korean address · region · GPS (lat/lng) · item count · distance traveled · total/plastic/non-plastic weights (gram) · 19 ICC categories (each in gram).
★ All weight columns are in raw grams. Divide by 1000 for kg.
Quality validation
Photo EXIF cross-check · GPS boundary verification · statistical outlier detection — three layers applied before a row enters the dataset.
Geographic & temporal coverage
Korean coastline (~2,400 km), all 9 coastal provinces including Jeju Island. Continuous since 2021, denser sampling from 2024 (mobile app v1.0 launch).
Full column dictionary with units, missing-value handling, and Python pandas snippets is available in Korean only at this stage: Data Dictionary (Korean) → English translation is in progress (E4).
~150K rows · email + name only (no review) · for attribution.
Register & DownloadRegistration form is in Korean. Email/name fields and free-text social-return field accept English.
JSON API
opening soonProgrammatic access to beach list, activity records, time-series statistics, and ICC classification. API keys are free for research, policy, and educational use.
When citing this dataset, please credit ITA Seoul and the citizen scientists whose contributions shaped each row.
APA 7th
BibTeX
Detailed case-by-case usage guidance (government reports, NGO campaigns, academic papers, ESG, commercial reuse) — see CC BY-NC Citation Guide (Korean).
DOI (CrossRef / DataCite)
pendingRegistration in progress. Once issued, citations will follow https://doi.org/10.xxxxx/caresea-opendata.
GBIF / SeaDataNet
pendingListing in global biodiversity / marine data networks under review.
data.go.kr (Korean Government Open Data)
pendingListing on the official Korean public-data portal.
For partnership / dataset listing inquiries: itaseoul@naver.com
Citizen science, not ISO-certified standard
We follow the ICC (International Coastal Cleanup) 19-category framework but the dataset itself is operated by ITA Seoul. It is not certified by UNEP, NOAA, or ISO.
Mixed measurement methods
Some weight values are scale-measured; others are estimated from body-analogy size (e.g. “palm-sized buoy”). A weight_method column indicates which is which. Filter for measured only when precision is required.
Volunteer sampling bias
Beaches with active host groups are over-sampled. Remote or inaccessible coasts may be under-represented. See the geographic coverage map for density distribution.
We believe honesty matters more than precision. We document every limitation rather than overstating accuracy.
We are open to NGO partnerships interested in replicating the citizen-science marine debris model in their own country. Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand — coastlines we’d love to learn from.
What we share
ICC 19-category schema, mobile app design, host onboarding playbook (parkrun-style), data validation pipeline, and our full English documentation. CC BY-NC license — adapt freely for non-commercial use.
What we ask
Maintain attribution to ITA Seoul as the original framework source. Share your aggregated, anonymized data back to the global open dataset (no personal information). Use the same ICC schema so cross-country comparison stays meaningful.
How to start
Email us with: your organization, country focus, current beach cleanup activity, and what you’d need from us. A first call within 2 weeks. No fees, no contracts — just a shared commitment to the data and the citizens behind it.
Contact: itaseoul@naver.com
English page draft — copy review pending. For corrections / suggestions, email itaseoul@naver.com
