Why this ride
A 263 km round trip from Gunsan - roughly 4 h 45 in the saddle. On the way it passes Jeongnimsa Temple Site, Donam-seown, Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri and Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Seocheon Getbol and Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 263 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 45
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Jeongnimsa Temple Site.
2. Jeongnimsa Temple Site
Buyeo was the last capital of Baekje, one of the three ancient kingdoms of Korea, and it feels like the sort of town that remembers it. Baekje moved its court here in 538 and held it until it fell to an alliance of Silla and Tang China in 660, and the little river town on the Geum river has been quietly proud of that heritage ever since. The temple site of Jeongnimsa is at the heart of it, and what is left is a grassy rectangle with the foundations of the halls, a stone pagoda and a Buddha figure under a roof.
Read the complete Jeongnimsa Temple Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jeongnimsa Temple Site comes up 37 km in. Next is Donam-seown.
3. 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
75 km in you reach Donam-seown. Next is Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri.
4. Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri
Seven grassy mounds rise on a hillside outside Buyeo, smooth and green, looking almost like a landscape garden. They are the royal tombs of Neungsan-ri, burial places of kings of Baekje, one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea, during the period when Buyeo, then called Sabi, was its capital, from 538 to 660. The tombs were robbed long ago, but their stone chambers survive, and one has painted walls showing the guardian animals of the four directions and lotus flowers. They are part of the UNESCO listing of the Baekje historic areas, together with sites in Gongju, Buyeo and Iksan.
Read the complete Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri, about halfway. Next is Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri.
5. 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
Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri sits at 150 km, about halfway. Next is back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri.
6. back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri comes up 187 km in. Next is back through Donam-seown.
7. back through Donam-seown
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
224 km in you reach back through Donam-seown. Next is back through Jeongnimsa Temple Site.
8. back through Jeongnimsa Temple Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jeongnimsa Temple Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Jeongnimsa Temple Site, late in the day. Next is Seocheon Getbol.
9. Seocheon Getbol
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
The route ends here after 263 km.
Leg by leg
Seocheon Getbol to Jeongnimsa Temple Site
Seocheon Getbol → Jeongnimsa Temple Site is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jeongnimsa Temple Site to Donam-seown
Jeongnimsa Temple Site → Donam-seown is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Donam-seown to Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri
Donam-seown → Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri to Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri
Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri → Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri to back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri
Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri → back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri to back through Donam-seown
back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri → back through Donam-seown is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Donam-seown to back through Jeongnimsa Temple Site
back through Donam-seown → back through Jeongnimsa Temple Site is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jeongnimsa Temple Site to Seocheon Getbol
back through Jeongnimsa Temple Site → Seocheon Getbol is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.