Computer simulation of buildings and solar energy systems are being used increasingly in energy assessments and design. This paper discusses the possibility of using sunshine duration data instead of global hourly solar irradiation (GHSI) data for localities with abundant data on sunshine duration. For six locations in South Korea where global radiation is currently measured, the global radiation was calculated using Sunshine Duration Radiation Model (SDRM), compared and analyzed. Results of SDRM has been compared with the measured data on the coefficients of determination (R2), root-mean-square error (RMSE) and mean bias error (MBE). This study recommends the use of sunshine duration based irradiation models if measured solar radiation data is not available.