The shortwave aerosol direct radiative forcing (SWARF) was analyzed using the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data in the East Asian region from 2001 to 2010. In the Yellow Sea and the Korean Peninsula, located in the leeward side of China, significantly negative high SWARF at the top of atmosphere (TOA) occurs due to the long-range transport of anthropogenic (e.g. sulphate) and natural aerosols (e.g. mineral dust) from the East Asian continent. Conversely, eastern China has much higher levels of SWARF at the surface (SFC) due to anthropogenically emitted aerosol than in the Yellow Sea and the Korean Peninsula. Since the radiative forcing of aerosols in the atmosphere are different in type, aerosol types were classified into sea salt+sulphate, smoke, sulphate and dust by using satellite data. The analysis on the SWARF by the classified aerosol types indicated that sulphate occupies a predominant portion of the atmosphere in the Yellow Sea and the Korean Peninsula in the summer. In particular, the annual averages of the summer TOA SWARF increased in the Yellow Sea and the Korean Peninsula from 2001 to 2010.