EOF analysis of tidal residual derived from 2003~2009 tide data was used to identify the spatio-temporal variability. The effect of sea surface air pressures and winds on the tidal residual was also investigated by the correlation analysis. The first mode accounting for 68 % of the total variance represented concurrent sea level rise or fall, and the second mode accounting for 21 % of the total variance explained alternative sea level rise and fall between West Sea coast and both South Sea and East Sea coasts. While northerly and southerly winds dominated the tidal residual in the eastern coast of Yellow Sea, the effect of sea surface air pressures on the tidal residual increased along the coastal regions from South Sea to East Sea.