Why this ride
From Puan it runs 281 km to Puan; allow about 4 h 47 of riding. It goes by way of Koch'ang Dolmen Site, Museong-seowon, Piram-seowon and back through Museong-seowon. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Getbol and Piram-seowon
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 281 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 47
- 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. Getbol
On Korea's west coast the sea goes out a very long way. The Yellow Sea has big tides, and when they drop they expose huge plains of mud, the getbol, glistening and grey and full of life. The Korean tidal flats were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2021, covering stretches from Seocheon in the north to Gochang, Shinan and Boseong-Suncheon in the south, and they are among the most important feeding grounds on Earth for migratory shorebirds travelling between Siberia and Australia. Crabs, mudskippers, worms and shellfish swarm in the mud, and people have harvested them for centuries.
Read the complete Getbol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Getbol is where the day begins. Next is Koch'ang Dolmen Site.
2. Koch'ang Dolmen Site
Korea has a remarkable concentration of the world's dolmens, and Gochang, on the southwest coast, has the largest cluster of all. Hundreds of these megalithic tombs are scattered along the foot of a range of low hills, some standing like tables on stone legs, others with a massive capstone resting almost directly on the ground. They were built during the Bronze Age by the people who farmed these lands, as tombs for the elite or as markers of territory and ritual. Together with the dolmen sites at Hwasun and on Ganghwa Island, they were listed by UNESCO in 2000.
Read the complete Koch'ang Dolmen Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Koch'ang Dolmen Site comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Museong-seowon.
3. Museong-seowon
Just outside Jeongeup, in a village of low houses and persimmon trees, stands Museong-seowon, a Confucian academy that has served its community for centuries. It honours Choe Chi-won, the great ninth-century scholar of the Silla kingdom who served as magistrate in this area and whose poems and essays made him one of Korea's most celebrated writers. Seowon were private academies where young men studied the Confucian classics and the memory of revered scholars was honoured with rites, and Museong is one of nine inscribed together by UNESCO in 2019.
Read the complete Museong-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 81 km into the recorded legs you reach Museong-seowon. Next is Piram-seowon.
4. Piram-seowon
Piram-seowon sits on flat land among rice fields in Jangseong county, in South Jeolla province, its gates opening onto a courtyard with wooden pavilions and a shrine. It was founded in the late sixteenth century to honour Kim In-hu, a Neo-Confucian scholar from the region known for his integrity and his poetry, and it is one of the nine academies inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2019 as Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies. Unlike many seowon, which were closed by the government in the nineteenth century, Piram survived, and rituals are still held there.
Read the complete Piram-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Piram-seowon, about halfway. Next is back through Museong-seowon.
5. back through Museong-seowon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Museong-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Museong-seowon sits at 176 km, about halfway. Next is back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site.
6. back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Koch'ang Dolmen Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site comes up about 248 km into the recorded legs. Next is Getbol.
7. Getbol
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Getbol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Getbol closes the day.
Leg by leg
Getbol to Koch'ang Dolmen Site
Getbol → Koch'ang Dolmen Site is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Koch'ang Dolmen Site to Museong-seowon
Koch'ang Dolmen Site → Museong-seowon is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Museong-seowon to Piram-seowon
Museong-seowon → Piram-seowon is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Piram-seowon to back through Museong-seowon
Piram-seowon → back through Museong-seowon is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Museong-seowon to back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site
back through Museong-seowon → back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site to Getbol
back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site → Getbol is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.