Why this ride
From Haeje it runs 428 km to Haeje; allow about 7 h 02 of riding. It goes by way of Piram-seowon, Gochang Getbol, Museong-seowon and Getbol. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Haeje it runs 428 km to Haeje; allow about 7 h 02 of riding. It goes by way of Piram-seowon, Gochang Getbol, Museong-seowon and Getbol. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
The southwest coast of Korea is a maze of bays, peninsulas and islands, and when the tide goes out, it reveals immense mudflats, the getbol, stretching to the horizon. Hamhae Bay, in Muan county, is one of the finest examples, a sheltered bay where the tides deposit fine mud rich in nutrients, supporting an extraordinary variety of life: crabs, shellfish, worms, mudskippers and octopus, and the birds that feed on them. The Korean tidal flats were listed by UNESCO in 2021, recognising their importance for migratory birds on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, including endangered species like the spoon-billed sandpiper and the black-faced spoonbill.
Read the complete Muan Hamhaeman Getbol write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Muan Hamhaeman Getbol is where the day begins. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Piram-seowon comes up 49 km in. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
97 km in you reach Gochang Getbol. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Museong-seowon, about halfway. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Getbol sits at 194 km, about halfway. Next is back through Museong-seowon.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Museong-seowon write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Museong-seowon comes up 243 km in. Next is back through Gochang Getbol.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gochang Getbol write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
291 km in you reach back through Gochang Getbol. Next is back through Piram-seowon.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Piram-seowon write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Piram-seowon, late in the day. Next is Muan Hamhaeman Getbol.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Muan Hamhaeman Getbol write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 428 km.
Muan Hamhaeman Getbol → Piram-seowon is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Piram-seowon → Gochang Getbol is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gochang Getbol → Museong-seowon is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Museong-seowon → Getbol is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Getbol → back through Museong-seowon is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Museong-seowon → back through Gochang Getbol is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gochang Getbol → back through Piram-seowon is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Piram-seowon → Muan Hamhaeman Getbol is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.