Why this ride
243 km from Buyeo to Buyeo, about 4 h 23 of riding. The stops in between: Donam-seown, Mireuksa Temple Site, Seocheon Getbol and back through Mireuksa Temple Site. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos and Seocheon Getbol
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 243 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 23
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos
Buyeo was once Sabi, the last capital of the kingdom of Baekje, which flourished on the south-west of the Korean peninsula until it fell to Silla and Tang China in 660. The kingdom's kings moved here in 538, built a walled city beside the Geumgang river and made it a centre of Buddhism, craftsmanship and trade, sending monks and artisans to Japan, where Baekje taught the court the arts of temple building. At the site in Gwanbuk-ri, archaeologists have found the foundations of a palace and workshops, and near it the fortress of Busosanseong runs along the ridge above the river.
Read the complete Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos is where the day begins. Next is Donam-seown.
2. Donam-seown
Donam Seowon is a Confucian academy in the countryside near Nonsan, in South Chungcheong province, and it is one of nine seowon that UNESCO listed together in 2019. Seowon were private academies founded by scholars of the Joseon dynasty, where young men studied the Confucian classics and honoured the memory of great teachers through rituals. Donam was founded in the early seventeenth century to commemorate Kim Jang-saeng, a renowned scholar of rites, and his students, and it played an important role in the intellectual life of the period.
Read the complete Donam-seown write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Donam-seown comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mireuksa Temple Site.
3. Mireuksa Temple Site
On a wide plain near Iksan, in the south-west of Korea, a large stone pagoda stands beneath a mountain, slightly incomplete and all the more striking for it. This is the west pagoda of Mireuksa, once the largest Buddhist temple of the Baekje kingdom, founded in the early seventh century by King Mu. The pagoda is the oldest and largest surviving stone pagoda in Korea, and after decades of collapse and a cement repair in the early twentieth century, it was carefully dismantled and restored in a project that took around twenty years, finishing in 2019. The temple site is part of the Baekje Historic Areas, listed by UNESCO in 2015.
Read the complete Mireuksa Temple Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Mireuksa Temple Site. Next is Seocheon Getbol.
4. Seocheon Getbol
The tide here goes out so far that the sea simply disappears. The Seocheon getbol, a vast sweep of tidal flats on the west coast of Korea where the Geum river meets the Yellow Sea, is one of four areas listed by UNESCO in 2021 as the Korean Tidal Flats. Twice a day the water withdraws over kilometres of glistening mud and sand, leaving channels, pools and a hum of life: crabs, worms, shellfish and mudskippers, and above all birds.
Read the complete Seocheon Getbol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seocheon Getbol, about halfway. Next is back through Mireuksa Temple Site.
5. back through Mireuksa Temple Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mireuksa Temple Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mireuksa Temple Site sits at 160 km, about halfway. Next is back through Donam-seown.
6. back through Donam-seown
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Donam-seown write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Donam-seown comes up about 214 km into the recorded legs. Next is Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos.
7. Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos closes the day.
Leg by leg
Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos to Donam-seown
Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos → Donam-seown is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Donam-seown to Mireuksa Temple Site
Donam-seown → Mireuksa Temple Site is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mireuksa Temple Site to Seocheon Getbol
Mireuksa Temple Site → Seocheon Getbol is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seocheon Getbol to back through Mireuksa Temple Site
Seocheon Getbol → back through Mireuksa Temple Site is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mireuksa Temple Site to back through Donam-seown
back through Mireuksa Temple Site → back through Donam-seown is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Donam-seown to Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos
back through Donam-seown → Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.