Why this ride
432 km from Simwon to Simwon, about 7 h 00 of riding. It goes by way of Piram-seowon, Museong-seowon, Getbol and Seocheon Getbol. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gochang Getbol and Seocheon Getbol
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 432 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 00
- 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. Gochang Getbol
At low tide on the coast of Gochang, the sea pulls back so far that it seems to disappear, leaving a vast plain of mud, sand and shell banks glistening in the light. These tidal flats, called getbol in Korean, are among the richest on earth, teeming with crabs, shellfish, worms and the birds that feed on them, including rare migrating shorebirds that stop here on their journeys between Siberia and Australia. Gochang's flats are part of the Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats, listed by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Gochang Getbol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gochang Getbol is where the day begins. Next is Piram-seowon.
2. 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 comes up about 49 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 110 km into the recorded legs you reach Museong-seowon. Next is Getbol.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Seocheon Getbol.
5. 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 sits at 193 km, about halfway. Next is back through Getbol.
6. back through 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 through Getbol comes up about 282 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Museong-seowon.
7. 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
about 325 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Museong-seowon. Next is back through Piram-seowon.
8. back through Piram-seowon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Piram-seowon, late in the day. Next is Gochang Getbol.
9. Gochang Getbol
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gochang Getbol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 432 km.
Leg by leg
Gochang Getbol to Piram-seowon
Gochang Getbol → Piram-seowon is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Piram-seowon to Museong-seowon
Piram-seowon → Museong-seowon is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Museong-seowon to Getbol
Museong-seowon → Getbol is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Getbol to Seocheon Getbol
Getbol → Seocheon Getbol is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seocheon Getbol to back through Getbol
Seocheon Getbol → back through Getbol is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Getbol to back through Museong-seowon
back through Getbol → back through Museong-seowon is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Museong-seowon to back through Piram-seowon
back through Museong-seowon → back through Piram-seowon is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Piram-seowon to Gochang Getbol
back through Piram-seowon → Gochang Getbol is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.