Coastal sand dunes are dynamic and fragile buffer zones of sand and vegetation where the following three characteristics can be found: large quantities of sand, persistent wind capable of moving sand, and suitable locations for sand to accumulate. The functional properties of coastal sand dunes include the roles in sand storage, underground freshwater storage, coastal defense, and ecological environment space, among others. Recently, however, the integrity of coastal dune systems has been threatened by development, including sand extraction for the construction industry, military usage, conversion to golf courses, the building of seawalls and breakwaters, and recreational facility development. In this paper, we examined the development mechanisms and structural/format types of coastal sand dunes, as well as their functions and value from the perspective of coastal engineering based on reviews of previous researches and a case study of a small coastal sand dune in the Nakdong river estuary. Existing data indicate that there are a total of 133 coastal sand dunes in South Korea, 43 distributed on the East Sea coast (32 in the Gangwon area, and 11 in Gyeongsangbuk-do), 60 on the West Sea coast (4 in Incheon and Gyeonggi-do, 42 in Ghungcheongnam-do, 9 in Jellabuk-do, and 5 in Jellanam-do), and 30 on the South Sea coast (16 in Jellanam-do, 2 in Gyeongsangnam-do, and 12 in Jeju).