[Anchor]

The waters off Mado in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, were major shipping routes used to transport goods from the southern provinces to the capital during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties, but they were also notorious for frequent shipwrecks due to treacherous currents. Recent underwater excavation surveys in this area have successively revealed important clues shedding light on Goryeo's maritime transportation network from 800 years ago.

Reporter Ryu Ran has the details.

[Reporter]

Elongated pieces of wood emerge from the sand beneath the sea.

They are mokgan, wooden tags recording Goryeo-era cargo details.

Inscriptions indicate regional names corresponding to present-day Sacheon and Jinju areas in South Gyeongsang Province.

With Goryeo-period artifacts such as celadon ceramics, earthenware, and rice bales continually unearthed, researchers presume that a sixth shipwreck, named "Mado No. 6," is buried in this area.

Although the hull has not yet been identified, this marks the first time traces of a Goryeo vessel departing from Gyeongsang Province have been discovered.

[Shin Jong-kook, Head of the Underwater Archaeology Division at the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage: This is an area where a warehouse called 'Tongyangchang' used to store tax grains was located, and it is the first time a vessel from the Gyeongsang region has been confirmed.]

Mado No. 5, where celadon and hull fragments were found last year, has also secured clues to estimate its navigation period and route following the excavation of mokgan this year.

It is estimated to have headed toward Gaegyeong, the Goryeo capital, carrying cargo from the Yeongam area in South Jeolla Province in the spring of 1208.

What draws attention is that Mado No. 1, discovered earlier in 2009, was also a ship traveling from the southwestern part of Jeolla Province to Gaegyeong during the same period.

Some of the mokgan recovered from both ships are presumed to have been written by the same person, and the shipwreck sites are only 250 meters apart.

Researchers believe that the two ships encountered severe weather and sank together while heading toward Gaegyeong.

[Moon Kyung-ho, Professor of History Education at Kongju National University: Not just one, but at least two or more ships departed. We can now precisely understand in what manner taxes were loaded and transported to specific individuals.]

With traces of vessels departing from Jeolla Province now followed by those from Gyeongsang Province, the Mado waters are gaining attention as a key underwater heritage site for restoring Goryeo's maritime logistics network.

(Video by Yang Ji-hoon | Video Editing by Park Na-young | Design by Seo Seung-hyun and Kim Ye-ji | Photo courtesy of National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage)