Getbol and Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri.

2. 2. Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri

   The Honam plain in south-western Korea is a wide, flat land of rice fields, and its northern edge near Iksan is the oldest rice country on the peninsula, where the kingdom of Baekje once had a second capital. Wanggung-ri is the site of a royal palace, about ten kilometres from the middle of Iksan, in fields gently rising to low hills. UNESCO recognised it in 2015 as one of the historic areas of Baekje, the old kingdom that ruled the south-west from the first to the seventh century.

   Read the complete Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri comes up about 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri.

3. 3. Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri

   In 1971, workers digging drainage near a group of ancient burial mounds above the Geum river at Gongju broke into a brick tomb that had never been looted. Inside lay the remains and treasures of King Muryeong of Baekje, who died in 523, and his queen: gold crowns, ornaments, a stone tablet naming the king, and thousands of objects. It was one of the greatest archaeological finds in Korean history, and it is the centrepiece of the Royal Tombs at Songsan-ri, part of the Baekje Historic Areas World Heritage Site listed in 2015.

   Read the complete Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 128 km into the recorded legs you reach Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri. Next is back through Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri.

4. 4. back through Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri, late in the day. Next is Getbol.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Getbol. That is the ride.