Why this ride
From Muan it runs 306 km to Muan; allow about 5 h 15 of riding. It goes by way of Piram-seowon, Koch'ang Dolmen Site, Gochang Getbol and Getbol. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Shinan-Muan Getbol and Getbol
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 306 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 15
- 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. Shinan-Muan Getbol
At low tide the sea retreats a long way from the coast of Shinan, leaving behind a vast grey plain of mud, glittering with water and printed with the tracks of crabs and birds. Koreans call this getbol, and the south-west coast has some of the broadest tidal flats in the world, a landscape that is neither land nor sea. The Shinan-Muan group, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021, is a stretch of this system, with channels, salt marshes and sandbars, and it shelters hundreds of species, many of them rare, including migratory shorebirds that stop here on their long flights between Siberia, Alaska and Australia.
Read the complete Shinan-Muan Getbol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Shinan-Muan 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 34 km in. Next is Koch'ang Dolmen Site.
3. 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
68 km in you reach Koch'ang Dolmen Site. Next is Gochang Getbol.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Getbol.
5. 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 sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gochang Getbol.
6. 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 comes up 171 km in. Next is back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site.
7. 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
205 km in you reach back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site. 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 Shinan-Muan Getbol.
9. Shinan-Muan Getbol
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Shinan-Muan 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 306 km.
Leg by leg
Shinan-Muan Getbol to Piram-seowon
Shinan-Muan Getbol → Piram-seowon is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Piram-seowon to Koch'ang Dolmen Site
Piram-seowon → Koch'ang Dolmen Site is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Koch'ang Dolmen Site to Gochang Getbol
Koch'ang Dolmen Site → Gochang Getbol is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gochang Getbol to Getbol
Gochang Getbol → Getbol is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Getbol to back through Gochang Getbol
Getbol → back through Gochang Getbol is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gochang Getbol to back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site
back through Gochang Getbol → back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site to back through Piram-seowon
back through Koch'ang Dolmen Site → back through Piram-seowon is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Piram-seowon to Shinan-Muan Getbol
back through Piram-seowon → Shinan-Muan Getbol is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
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