Observations were made to validate ocean color algorithms in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea in May 2000. Small scale and meso-scale surveys were conducted for the validation of ocean color products (nLw: normalized water-leaving radiance and chlorophyll concentration). There were discrepancies between SeaWiFS and in situ nLw showing the current aerosol models of standard SeaWiFS processing software are less than adequate (Gordon and Wang, 1994). Applying the standard SeaWiFS in-water algorithm resulted in an overestimation of chlorophyll concentration. This is because that CDOM absorption was higher than the estimated chlorophyll absorption. TSS concentration was also high. Therefore, the study region deviated from Case 1 waters. The source of these materials seems to be the entrainment of coastal water by the Tsushima Warm Current. Study of the bio-optical properties in other season is desirable.