Why this ride
A 252 km round trip from Chilbo - roughly 4 h 35 in the saddle. On the way it passes Getbol, Gochang Getbol, Koch'ang Dolmen Site and Piram-seowon.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Museong-seowon and Piram-seowon
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 252 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 35
- 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. 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
Museong-seowon is where the day begins. Next is Getbol.
2. 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 comes up about 44 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gochang Getbol.
3. 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
about 81 km into the recorded legs you reach Gochang Getbol. Next is Koch'ang Dolmen Site.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Piram-seowon.
5. 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 sits at 106 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 156 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Gochang Getbol.
7. back through 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
about 174 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Gochang Getbol. Next is back through Getbol.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Museong-seowon.
9. 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
The route ends here after 252 km.
Leg by leg
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 Gochang Getbol
Getbol → Gochang Getbol is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gochang Getbol to Koch'ang Dolmen Site
Gochang Getbol → Koch'ang Dolmen Site is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Koch'ang Dolmen Site to Piram-seowon
Koch'ang Dolmen Site → Piram-seowon is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Piram-seowon to back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site
Piram-seowon → back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site to back through Gochang Getbol
back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site → back through Gochang Getbol is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gochang Getbol to back through Getbol
back through Gochang Getbol → back through Getbol is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Getbol to Museong-seowon
back through Getbol → Museong-seowon is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Getbol and Museong-seowon · 284 km
- Piram-seowon and Museong-seowon · 253 km
- Gochang Getbol and Piram-seowon · 91 km