Abstract The Holocene tuff ring of Songaksan, Jeju Island, Korea, is intercalated with wave-worked deposits at the base and in the middle parts of the tuff sequence. They are interpreted to have resulted from fair-weather wave action at the beginning of the eruption and storm wave action during a storm surge event in the middle of the eruption, respectively. The tuff ring is overlain by another marine volcaniclastic formation, suggesting erosion and reworking by marine processes because of post-eruption changes in sea-level. Dramatic changes in the chemistry, accidental componentry and ash-accretion texture of the pyroclasts are also observed between the tuff beds deposited before and after the storm invasion. The ascent of a new magma batch, related to the chemical change, could not be linked with either the Earth and ocean tides or the meteorological event. However, the changes in the texture of the pyroclasts suggest a sudden change in the diatreme fill from water-undersaturated to supersaturated because of an increased supply of external water into the diatreme. Heavy rainfall associated with the storm is inferred to have changed the water saturation in the diatreme. Songaksan demonstrates that there was intimate interaction between the volcano and the environment.