Estimation of wave height is the most important factor in the design of coastal structures such as breakwaters. In the present study, typhoon wind distribution was constructed by applying the parametric model of Holland (1980), and numerical simulations on the typhoon-generated waves were carried out using the WAM. The typhoons which affected the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula and several hypothetical typhoons were selected to construct the training sets. Design wave heights were estimated using the empirical simulation technique for various return periods and wave directions. The estimated design wave heights were compared with those by the peaks-over-threshold method and the results of KORDI(2005).