There are three locations in Korea designated as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites for their high concentration of dolmen, a kind of ancient grave characterized by massive stones lying on top. The UNESCO locations are in Hwasun (Jeollanam-do), Gochang (Jeollabuk-do), and Ganghwa (Incheon). The UNESCO website has this to say:

The prehistoric cemeteries at Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa contain many hundreds of examples of dolmens – tombs from the 1st millennium BC constructed of large stone slabs. They form part of the Megalithic culture, found in many parts of the world, but nowhere in such a concentrated form.

While these UNESCO sites contain high numbers of dolmen, dolmen are scattered all across Korea. Previous to this article, I have visited the Hwasun Dolmen. This article is about the Gochang dolmen.

Gochang Dolmen Site

To begin with, compared to the Hwasun dolmen, the Gochang dolmen are easier to get to. The Korea Tourism Organization claims that a city bus can take you to the Hwasun dolmen, however my experience was that there was no bus and I ended up paying a taxi driver 30,000 won to drive me around for an hour and a half. The Gochang dolmen are a mere 3,000 won cab ride away from Gochang intercity bus terminal.

Gochang Dolmen

For the most part, dolmen look like big rocks resting on the ground. Sometimes you can see a few smaller rocks on which the big rocks were placed on. If you’ve looked on the internet for photos, you may have seen pictures of some of the more dramatic looking dolmen. The kind I’m referring to is the kind which you find two large and flat slabs of rock propping up another large and flat slab of rock, a shape resembling that of a table.

Gochang Dolmen

While not as impressive in pictures, the largest dolmens, when seen in person, leave me in awe as to how people from ancient times were able to move them. If you go to the Gochang dolmen site, you can take a 6km (round-trip), relatively easy hike to see the largest dolmen in Asia (pictured below) which is estimated to weigh 300 tons! The trail to this dolmen goes up the hill from the main dolmen site.

The largest dolmen in Asia

When I finished my hike to and from Asia’s largest dolmen I called information to help me order a taxi. My plan was to ask the taxi driver to take me to a delicious grilled eel restaurant. Nobody knows the local cuisine like a taxi driver, I thought.

Fortunately for me, the taxi driver pointed in another direction and asked me if I’d seen the dolmen located there. I said no and he offered to take me. So off we went to see some more dolmen.

He parked his car in the middle of a very narrow road, completely blocking the route for other cars that might come by. He got out of the car and began to walk through the gate of an abandoned home and into the home’s back yard. I was confused, to say the least.

Unique location for a dolmen

It turns out that in the tiny back yard of this abandoned home is one of the dramatic table-like dolmens I mentioned earlier. While I was taking pictures, all I could think about is how this could have happened. I wanted to know who had lived in that home, what they thought about the big stones in their back yard, and ultimately, what happened to the people who lived there.

The most curious dolmen site ever

Since I didn’t pay attention while the cab driver was taking me to this location, I can’t explain to you how to get there. It’s not far from the main dolmen area. I suggest asking the information office at the gate of the dolmen site for help. It may be useful to put my photo on your iPod or draw a sketch on a notepad to show them, or as I did get a cab ride to the location. Either way, it’s an interesting place to find a table-shaped dolmen and worth a look.

Fire grilled eel and bokbunja liqour

Once I was done snapping photos, the taxi driver took me to a grilled eel restaurant nearby the bus terminal (pictured above). This restaurant is a little different than the one I mentioned in my article about Gochang Fortress. At this restaurant, the eel is grilled over hot coals instead of on a hot pan.

Fire grilled eel restaruant

The eel at both places was delicious, so I can’t decide which one was better. If you have a preference for one or the other, now you have a choice. It cost about 10,000 won for a serving (minimum 2 servings), and about 10,000 won for bokbunja berry wine which is a great compliment to the meal. Another 1,000 won gets you a bowl of rice and a small fermented bean soup.

Sitting at my desk and looking back, I strongly believe that Gochang is a great place to visit for several reasons, one of which is the Gochang Dolmen UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is easy to get to, offers you the chance to see Asia’s biggest dolmen, offers you the chance to eat Gochang grilled eel, and is located very close to Gochang Fortress and Seonun Mountain Provincial Park (both of which I highly recommend).

Resources
Gochang Dolmen (Korea Tourism Organization)
Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites (UNESCO)

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