Gochang's 7 treasures: Visit Korea’s renowned UNESCO county

GOCHANG COUNTY, North Jeolla Province — Gochang, a quiet county on Korea’s southwest coast that is the size of Seoul, calls itself a “UNESCO destination with seven crowns.”

From World Heritage sites and a biosphere reserve to an Intangible Cultural Heritage and a Global Geopark, the county holds seven internationally recognized designations that serve as Gochang’s main attractions and anchor the county government’s push for sustainable tourism.

It makes for an ideal weekend getaway for travelers seeking heritage-rich destinations in Korea.

Gochang dolmen site in Gochang County, North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of Gochang County

Prehistoric stone city: Gochang dolmen site

Gochang’s UNESCO story begins in the Bronze Age landscape around Maesan village, home to the largest and most diverse cluster of dolmens in Korea.

Of the 1,748 dolmens recorded across the county, more than 440 were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000 for vividly illustrating the global “megalithic culture” of the second and first millennia B.C. These table-like stone tombs, alongside quarry remains that show how they were carved and raised, offer a rare insight into prehistoric technology, social hierarchies and burial customs.

Gochang has turned this ancient cemetery into an open-air classroom and walking destination, laying out multiple 1.7-kilometer trails that link different dolmen types and viewpoints. On site, a dedicated dolmen museum and guided tours help visitors read the landscape, while festivals and night tours reframe the stones as a backdrop for performances.

Crabs are seen on Gochang tidal flats in Gochang County, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 21, 2021. Korea Times photo by Choi Heung-soo

Gochang tidal flats

Gochang “getbol,” or tidal flats, are among the Korean tidal flats inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2021.

Here, the sediment changes from sandy to silty mud inward, creating a full spectrum of tidal habitats that support some of the world’s richest communities of benthic diatoms, crabs and shellfish, as well as critically endangered migratory birds like the black-faced spoonbill and stork.

Gochang promotes its tidal flats as both a laboratory and a living pantry, offering guided “getbol walks,” bird-watching programs and hands-on shellfish gathering activities timed to the tides. Interpretation centers highlight how local residents’ traditional “get-sallim,” or a livelihood culture of using and stewarding the mudflats, underpins the site’s UNESCO value, reinforcing the community’s eco-tourism message to visitors.

Artists perform "pansori," Korea's traditional musical storytelling, in Gochang County, North Jeolla Province in this undated photo. Courtesy of Gochang County

Home of Pansori

“Pansori,” Korea’s epic narrative singing listed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003, has deep roots in Gochang.

Gochang is the birthplace of scholar-patron Shin Jae-hyo, often called the “father of pansori,” and of several master singers, including the first famed female performer Jin Chae-seon. From his house near Gochang Eupseong, a fortress, Shin systematized the six major pansori repertoires, elevating what had been commoners’ entertainment to a refined art form.

Today, the Gochang Pansori Museum, built on Shin’s former residence site, anchors the county’s efforts to keep the genre accessible. Exhibitions and listening rooms sit alongside singing workshops, youth training programs and regular performances that invite visitors to try the art themselves, while annual pansori festivals and competitions draw visitors from across the country.

A band of traditional musicians performs "nongak," Korea's community band music, dance and ritual in Gochang County, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 28, 2023. Courtesy of Gochang County

Drums that bind community: Nongak

Another of Gochang’s UNESCO titles is “nongak,” which was inscribed in 2014 as an Intangible Cultural Heritage for its role in weaving social bonds through music, dance and ritual. Gochang nongak is part of the Honam Udo style, one of the two main regional styles of Jeolla nongak marked by powerful percussion, colorful costumes and especially its distinctive “kokkal sogo” performances, where dancers in colorful cone hats whirl drums in time with driving rhythms.

The county supports nongak preservation troupes and incorporates performances into major local events, from harvest rites to tourist festivals at major landmarks like Gochang Eupseong. Workshops and parades encourage visitors to join the line, not just watch from the sidelines, reinforcing nongak’s original identity as a participatory village art that energizes streets and markets.

Villagers dressed in white traditional peasant costumes take part in a reenactment of the Donghak Peasant Revolution at Gochang Eupseong Fortress during the Mujang Uprising commemorative festival, in this undated photo. Courtesy of Gochang County

Revolution on paper: Donghak Peasant Revolution Records

Gochang’s UNESCO honors are not confined to landscape and performances. In 2023, the archives of the Donghak Peasant Revolution — 185 documents that trace an 1894 grassroots uprising against corruption and foreign encroachment — were inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

Among them, key materials connected to Gochang include the Mujang Proclamation, which sets out the peasant activists' “people first” message and demands for justice and equality. It is regarded as a foundational text in Korea’s democratic history.

Those who want to learn more about the revolution can visit Donghak Peasant Revolution Museum, which features exhibitions and a guided tour through former battlefields and administrative centers tied to the movement, framing Gochang not just as a place of scenic beauty but as a landscape of ideas.

Ungok Ramsar wetland in Gochang County, North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of Gochang County

County-wide biosphere reserve

Since 2013, the county’s entire administrative area has been designated as the Gochang Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme. It is unique in that the recognition covered the entire county.

The reserve knits together core zones such as Seonunsan Provincial Park, the Ungok and Gochang tidal flats Ramsar sites, Donglim Reservoir’s wildlife sanctuary and the dolmen fields, buffered by forests, rivers and wetlands and surrounded by farmland and villages.

At the Gochang Biosphere Reserve Center, visitors can explore the county’s mosaic of forest, freshwater and coastal ecosystems through dioramas, virtual reality experiences and themed exhibitions.

Byeongbawi rock, a volcanic rock formation rising about 35 meters above the flat riverplain in Gochang County, North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of Gochang County

Global Geopark

The newest layer of recognition came in 2023, when the west coast area of North Jeolla Province, including 13 geosites in Gochang, was certified as a UNESCO Global Geopark, carrying 2.5 billion years of history in cliffs, domes and beaches.

In Gochang, the geopark links features such as Mount Seonun’s Cheonmabong peak, lava domes at Mount Soyo, the iconic Byeongbawi rock, ancient gneiss at Songgye village and the Gochang getbol and dolmen fields, illustrating how geology underpins both biodiversity and human settlement.

The county uses the geopark network to develop themed trekking routes, guided “geo-tours” and signs that connect rock formations to cultural stories, from Buddhist carvings at Dosolam Hermitage to fishing villages on macrotidal shores.