Where East Asia's night skies still shine
The Milky Way stretches over Yeongyang Firefly Eco Park, an international dark sky park in Yeongyang County, North Gyeongsang Province. Courtesy of Yeongyang County
Yeongyang, Kozushima, Hehuan and Huanglong lead East Asia stargazing
A sky dark enough to clearly view the Milky Way has become so rare in East Asia that communities now treat darkness as a natural resource worth protecting.
DarkSky International recognizes places that reduce light pollution and preserve views of starry skies. The organization evaluates the faintest stars visible to the naked eye, the brightness of the night sky and the impact of artificial lighting. In practice, the sky must usually be dark enough for visitors to clearly view the Milky Way. Its certified sites include "sanctuaries," "reserves," "parks," "communities" and "urban places."
Those places must meet sky-quality standards and provide regular public access, while communities and urban sites focus more on local efforts to reduce light pollution than on pristine viewing conditions alone.
Across East Asia, DarkSky International has designated only five sites as International Dark Sky Parks. They include one in Korea, two in Japan, one in Taiwan and one in mainland China. The list shows that darkness now depends not only on geography, but also on dark sky-friendly fixtures, lighting rules, public cooperation and, in some cases, limits on access.
Korea has only one International Dark Sky Park, Yeongyang Firefly Eco Park in Yeongyang County, North Gyeongsang Province. DarkSky International designated the park in 2015, recognizing an area with low light pollution and exceptional stargazing.
A night view of Yeongyang International Dark Sky Park in Subi-myeon, Yeongyang County, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of North Gyeongsang Province
Japan’s Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park, in Okinawa prefecture’s Yaeyama Islands, became the country’s first International Dark Sky Park in 2018. Iriomote Island sits in Japan’s southernmost national park and preserves the country’s only tropical rainforest. With little human disturbance, dense mangrove forests remain intact, creating clear conditions for visitors to see the Milky Way and 84 constellations with the naked eye.
The Yaeyama Islands have more than 50,000 residents, yet local communities accepted the trade-offs to reduce light pollution. Local governments lowered streetlight brightness and installed shields to curb upward light pollution. Those changes helped the park secure certification, showing that a dark sky can depend as much on civic choices as on remoteness.
Japan added a second site in 2020, when Kozushima Island in Tokyo’s Izu Islands became an International Dark Sky Park. The remote Pacific island lies about 180 kilometers south of central Tokyo and is a four-hour ferry ride away. It covers about 18 square kilometers, has roughly 1,800 residents and belongs entirely to Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
Ahead of its designation, Kozushima replaced more than 400 outdoor streetlights with dark sky-friendly fixtures using softer tones and shielding that limits upward glow. Lights with lower brightness and softer color tones reduce light pollution because they scatter less in the atmosphere. The effort turned one of Tokyo’s outlying islands into a stargazing destination whose darkness depends on deliberate lighting design.
Stars shine over the night sky of Kozushima Island in Tokyo, Japan. Courtesy of Japan National Tourism Organization
In Taiwan, Hehuan Mountain became Taiwan's first International Dark Sky Park in 2019. The site lies in Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range, along the western boundary of Taroko National Park in Nantou County. Its protected area sits between 2,750 meters and 3,400 meters above sea level. The altitude gives the mountain clear air, while its position above cloud layers makes stargazing possible throughout the year.
Artificial lighting from nearby farms and highways once interfered with stargazing there, but astronomers and civic groups worked together for four years to improve conditions. Local officials later upgraded lighting and facilities to meet DarkSky standards, turning the mountain into a model for cooperation between local communities and public authorities.
Hehuan Mountain at Taroko National Park in Nantou County, Taiwan / Captured from DarkSky International's YouTube channel
Mainland China’s first International Dark Sky Park lies at Huanglong National Scenic Area, part of the Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sichuan province. DarkSky International certified the site in 2025. Huanglong sits where the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin meet, in Songpan County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture.
The certified area centers on Xueshanliang, a secluded high-elevation zone about 3,900 to 4,000 meters above sea level. It lies far from light pollution from nearby residential areas. China reduced light pollution there through strict lighting controls, including rules that keep the core dark-sky zone free of permanent artificial lighting.
The core area normally bars public entry, but authorities allow limited tourism from June to October, the peak stargazing season. That model protects darkness by limiting access as well as regulating light.
The Milky Way appears over Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, China. Courtesy of Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.