Why this ride
From Goseong it runs 338 km to Goseong; allow about 5 h 54 of riding. The stops in between: Marisan Tumuli, Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli, Okjeon Tumuli and Dodong-seowon. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Songhak-dong Tumuli and Dodong-seowon
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 338 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 54
- 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. 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. 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 34 km in. Next is Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.
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
69 km in you reach Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli. Next is Okjeon Tumuli.
4. Okjeon Tumuli
On a ridge above the Hwang river in Hapcheon County, a row of grassy mounds rises against the sky, each one the burial of a ruler or noble of Dara, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula between the first and sixth centuries. Gaya was famous for its iron, traded across the region and to Japan, and its tombs held armour, weapons, horse gear, pottery and gold ornaments. The Okjeon tumuli are one of seven groups listed together by UNESCO in 2023 as the Gaya Tumuli.
Read the complete Okjeon Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Okjeon Tumuli, about halfway. Next is Dodong-seowon.
5. 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 sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through Okjeon Tumuli.
6. back through Okjeon Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Okjeon Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Okjeon Tumuli comes up 171 km in. Next is back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.
7. 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
206 km in you reach back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli. Next is back through Marisan Tumuli.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Songhak-dong Tumuli.
9. 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
The route ends here after 338 km.
Leg by leg
Songhak-dong Tumuli to Marisan Tumuli
Songhak-dong Tumuli → Marisan Tumuli is 45 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 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli to Okjeon Tumuli
Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli → Okjeon Tumuli is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Okjeon Tumuli to Dodong-seowon
Okjeon Tumuli → Dodong-seowon is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dodong-seowon to back through Okjeon Tumuli
Dodong-seowon → back through Okjeon Tumuli is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Okjeon Tumuli to back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
back through Okjeon Tumuli → 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 44 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 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.