Dinosaur and Bird Tracks of Deokmyeong-ri, Goseong

The shore of Deokmyeong-ri, Hai-myeon, Goseong County in South Gyeongsang preserves Mesozoic dinosaur and bird footprints on its broad rock platforms. As a dinosaur track site it ranks among the world's most important for both number and variety, and as a Mesozoic bird track site it is regarded as the largest in the world, which earned it Natural Monument status in 1999. With Sangjogam, a rock riddled with sea caves, and dramatic cliffs alongside, it makes for a coastal walk spent hunting for fossils.

How the tracks survived

The rocks here belong to the Jindong Formation of the Gyeongsang Supergroup. Dinosaurs and birds walked across soft mud at the water's edge; the prints dried, were buried under fresh sediment and turned to stone, and much later the waves stripped away the upper layers to reveal them again. Alongside the prints you can see mud cracks and ripple marks. Together these traces help researchers understand the dinosaurs' lives, the ancient environment and the evolution of birds. Sources date the rocks to about 100 or 120 million years ago.

Discovery

The tracks were first found in January 1982 by a team led by Professor Yang Seung-young of Kyungpook National University during a survey of Korea's fossil sites. Detailed studies later recorded about 360 dinosaur footprints on 32 levels at 13 sites, left by sauropods, ornithopods and theropods. Bird tracks appear on 20 levels between Silbawi and Sangjogam, sometimes on the same surface as dinosaur prints. Along the Goseong coast as a whole, more than 1,900 footprints are known.

What to see

• Track platforms: Below the coastal boardwalk, rounded dinosaur footprints run in lines across the rock. Compare them with the drawings on the information boards and follow a trackway.
• Sangjogam: Caves wind beneath the rock like the legs of a low dining table, giving the names "Sangjok" (table legs) and "Ssangbari". Looking out to sea from inside the cave is the classic view.
• Fairy legend: It is said the Jade Emperor, struck by the scenery, sent fairies down with a loom to weave him silk robes here, and inside the caves there are rocks shaped like a loom and a bathtub.
• Layered cliffs: Cliffs of thin stacked strata, with Candle Rock and Folding-screen Rock, continue along the shore.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: From Wolheung crossroads on National Route 77 head south to the Sangjogam County Park car park, then follow the wooden boardwalk to the southwest shore. Goseong Dinosaur Museum is in the same park.
• Hours and fees: No fee for the fossil coast. Hours are listed as 09:00–18:00, so check ahead if you plan to arrive late.
• Tides: The platforms and the Sangjogam caves are most exposed when the tide is out. Check a tide table to see more footprints.
• Respect the site: The fossils are a Natural Monument, so do not step on or scratch the footprints. Wet rock is slippery.
• Time needed: 1 to 2.5 hours for the boardwalk, Sangjogam and the museum.