Searching for a Shipwreck in the Gunsan Seonyudo Waters

Underwater Excavation Survey by the National Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage

The National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage announced on the 10th that it will conduct an underwater excavation survey in the waters around Seonyudo, Gunsan, Jeonbuk, until October 27 this year. The survey area had been inaccessible due to being part of a cruise ship route. It is highly likely that various artifacts, including old ships, are buried there.

According to the institute, the Seonyudo area was a mooring site for Joseon Dynasty transport ships that carried goods. It was also a busy area with many ships coming and going, as it included Gunsanjin, a naval camp, and Gunsanjeong, a guesthouse where envoys stayed. The institute explained, "It served as a stopover point on international trade routes and played a key role as a hub on the West Sea coastal route."

In the two years of underwater surveys conducted until last year, the institute recovered over 500 artifacts from various periods. These include bundles of celadon pottery loaded as cargo, oars used on old ships, and anchor stones (stones tied to wooden anchors to help them sink underwater). Since these were found scattered, it is presumed that a shipwreck is buried in the survey area.