To analyze the surface elevation data of Typhoon Bolaven, simple analytical models are employed to investigate major causes of the storm surges in the west coast of Korea. Although the simple models cannot reproduce the storm surges by Typhoon Bolaven accurately, they are able to provide sufficient evidence of physical processes involved in the storm surges. Surges in islands located at deeper water were mainly driven by typhoon low pressure rather than associated winds. In contrast, bigger storm surge heights more than 1m were recorded in shallow coastal areas during low tide, which were dominantly produced by typhoon winds.