Why this ride
From Jangseong it runs 392 km to Jangseong; allow about 6 h 24 of riding. The stops in between: Gochang Getbol, Museong-seowon, Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri and Donam-seown. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Piram-seowon and Donam-seown
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 392 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 24
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Gochang Getbol.
2. 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 comes up about 50 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 99 km into the recorded legs you reach Museong-seowon. Next is Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Donam-seown.
5. Donam-seown
Donam Seowon is a Confucian academy in the countryside near Nonsan, in South Chungcheong province, and it is one of nine seowon that UNESCO listed together in 2019. Seowon were private academies founded by scholars of the Joseon dynasty, where young men studied the Confucian classics and honoured the memory of great teachers through rituals. Donam was founded in the early seventeenth century to commemorate Kim Jang-saeng, a renowned scholar of rites, and his students, and it played an important role in the intellectual life of the period.
Read the complete Donam-seown write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Donam-seown sits at 192 km, about halfway. Next is back through Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri.
6. 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 comes up about 241 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 293 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Museong-seowon. Next is back through Gochang Getbol.
8. 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
back through Gochang Getbol, late in the day. Next is Piram-seowon.
9. 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
The route ends here after 392 km.
Leg by leg
Piram-seowon to Gochang Getbol
Piram-seowon → Gochang Getbol is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gochang Getbol to Museong-seowon
Gochang Getbol → Museong-seowon is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Museong-seowon to Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri
Museong-seowon → Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri to Donam-seown
Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri → Donam-seown is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Donam-seown to back through Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri
Donam-seown → back through Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri to back through Museong-seowon
back through Archeological Site in Wanggung-ri → back through Museong-seowon is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Museong-seowon to back through Gochang Getbol
back through Museong-seowon → back through Gochang Getbol is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gochang Getbol to Piram-seowon
back through Gochang Getbol → Piram-seowon is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.