Abstract The Ordovician succession of the Korean Peninsula is part of the Cambro-Ordovician Joseon Supergroup exposed in the Taebaeksan Basin of South Korea and the Pyeongnam Basin of North Korea. This review summarizes the advances made on these successions over the past two decades, focusing on the Taebaeksan Basin. The Ordovician succession in the Taebaeksan Basin comprises the Taebaek, Yeongwol, Yongtan, Pyeongchang and Mungyeong groups, of which the Taebaek and Yeongwol groups have been studied in detail. These strata are mixed carbonate–siliciclastic deposits formed in peritidal to deep-subtidal environments. Sedimentological and palaeontological studies show that the Korean Ordovician succession represents local variations of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, exemplified by reef evolution, changes in sedimentary systems and changes in invertebrate fossil assemblages. Recent studies of the Yongtan, Pyeongchang and Mungyeong groups have demonstrated that these units are important for understanding the tectonic evolution of the Taebaeksan Basin. The Ordovician strata in the Taebaek Group are generally similar to those of the Pyeongnam Basin and North China; however, the Upper Ordovician–Devonian strata between the two Korean basins show palaeontological affinities to those of South China, perhaps recording the Permo-Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean (North China) and South China blocks.

Abstract During the Late Ordovician, Cincinnatian, the epicontinental seas and continental margin of Laurentia provided habitats that were suitable for corals. Biogeographical differentiation occurred within this equatorially placed continent, when corals were introduced to areas that had fundamentally different environments. There were four biogeographical divisions, characterized by distinctive faunas that included some endemic taxa: the Red River–Stony Mountain Province, Richmond Province, Edgewood Province and the less well understood, informal ‘Continental Margin’ Area. In each division, the potential for diversification and the capacity for diversity were determined by factors such as the duration and size of the division, the amount of immigration, the extent of evolution and biogeographical differentiation, faunal responses to changes in sea-level and climate, and the complexity of the ecological structure. The development of multiple biogeographical divisions, each contributing to overall diversity, enhanced the ‘Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event’. During the latest Ordovician mass extinction, there was a reduction of diversity and loss of biogeographical divisions within Laurentia. The divisions were terminated when their characteristic taxa disappeared, in response to major environmental changes associated with glaciation in Gondwana and subsequent global warming.