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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Songhak-dong Tumuli and Dodong-seowon starting at Goseong

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
244 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 11
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

A 244 km round trip from Goseong - roughly 4 h in the saddle. It goes by way of Marisan Tumuli, Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli, Dodong-seowon and back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Songhak-dong Tumuli

    The little port town of Goseong, on the south coast of Korea, is best known to many Koreans for dinosaur footprints, but the green mounds on a ridge above the sea tell an older story. The Songhak-dong tumuli are burial mounds of the Gaya confederacy, a group of small city-states that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula alongside the better-known kingdoms of Baekje, Goguryeo and Silla, and that were gradually absorbed by Silla in the sixth century. Goseong was the centre of one of these states, usually called Sogaya, and the big round mounds here, laid out in a line above the bay, were the graves of its rulers.

    Read the complete Songhak-dong Tumuli write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Songhak-dong Tumuli is where the day begins. Next is Marisan Tumuli.

  2. 2. Marisan Tumuli

    In Haman county, in the south of Korea, a long ridge rises above the town of Gaya, and along its crest lies a line of large burial mounds, grassy domes that seem to ripple across the hills. These are the Malisan, or Marisan, tumuli, the royal tombs of Ara Gaya, one of the states of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula from roughly the first to the sixth century. In 2023, they were listed by UNESCO together with other Gaya tumuli across the region.

    Read the complete Marisan Tumuli write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Marisan Tumuli comes up 39 km in. Next is Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.

  3. 3. Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli

    The rounded grassy mounds rising behind Changnyeong look almost like natural hills until you notice how regular they are. These are the Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong tumuli, burial mounds of the rulers of Bihwa, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula between roughly the first and sixth centuries before being absorbed by Silla. In 2023 they became part of a UNESCO listing that brings together seven Gaya tomb clusters, and they are among the most atmospheric of the group.

    Read the complete Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    77 km in you reach Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli. Next is Dodong-seowon.

  4. 4. Dodong-seowon

    The ginkgo tree in front of Dodong-seowon is over four hundred years old, a massive trunk with branches spreading wide, and in early November it turns a brilliant yellow and sheds its leaves into a golden carpet that photographers come from all over Korea to see. Behind it, the academy itself climbs a gentle slope in a series of courtyards and wooden halls, with a view over the Nakdong river. Dodong-seowon was founded in the sixteenth century to honour Kim Goeng-pil, a Neo-Confucian scholar executed in a political purge, and it is one of the nine Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2019.

    Read the complete Dodong-seowon write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Dodong-seowon, about halfway. Next is back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.

  5. 5. back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli sits at 155 km, about halfway. Next is back through Marisan Tumuli.

  6. 6. back through Marisan Tumuli

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Marisan Tumuli write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Marisan Tumuli comes up 193 km in. Next is Songhak-dong Tumuli.

  7. 7. Songhak-dong Tumuli

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Songhak-dong Tumuli write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Songhak-dong Tumuli closes the day.

Leg by leg

Songhak-dong Tumuli to Marisan Tumuli

Songhak-dong Tumuli → Marisan Tumuli is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Marisan Tumuli to Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli

Marisan Tumuli → Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli to Dodong-seowon

Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli → Dodong-seowon is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Dodong-seowon to back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli

Dodong-seowon → back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli to back through Marisan Tumuli

back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli → back through Marisan Tumuli is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Marisan Tumuli to Songhak-dong Tumuli

back through Marisan Tumuli → Songhak-dong Tumuli is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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