{
  "id": "jindo-sea-route",
  "title": "Jindo’s sea road: a temporary path through the tide",
  "country": "South Korea",
  "category": "nature",
  "date": "2026-01-01",
  "date_label": "Recurring tidal exposure; 2026 is this edition’s ordering year, not the first occurrence",
  "location": "Jindo, South Jeolla",
  "lat": 34.437,
  "lng": 126.354,
  "is_resolved": 1,
  "summary": "A strip of seabed becomes exposed near Jindo during exceptional low tides. A real recurring event developed a striking cultural and festival identity.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "J1",
      "title": "Korea Tourism Organization — Jindo sea route",
      "url": "https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/contents/contentsView.do?vcontsId=110868",
      "language": "en",
      "note": "Official destination record; not a navigation or tide-safety service.",
      "kind": "Source record · see provenance note"
    }
  ],
  "author": "Eklipsis",
  "content_languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "path": "/investigations/jindo-sea-route",
  "source_url": "https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/contents/contentsView.do?vcontsId=110868",
  "location_source_url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=34.437&mlon=126.354#map=8/34.437/126.354",
  "location_precision": "region",
  "location_note": "Approximate orientation marker for the named place or institution; not a surveyed observation point, protected excavation coordinate or recommended access route.",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-30",
  "edition": 1,
  "truth_type": "unknown",
  "verdict": "The exposed path is a documented natural feature. Tidal geometry explains why a shallow connection can appear and disappear; local narratives add cultural meaning without establishing a separate physical mechanism. No field crossing is proposed by this dossier.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "title": "Documented account",
      "text": "The Korea Tourism Organization describes Jindo’s Mysterious Sea Route as a strip of dry passage that appears between islands at certain times. Its listing establishes the named place and the recurring visitor event. A tidal path can look like a sudden division of the sea while remaining an ordinary change in water level over shallow seabed.",
      "refs": [
        "J1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Evidence and its limits",
      "text": "The marker does not define a safe walking corridor. A tourism listing is not a tide table or a current marine safety notice. Exact exposure times depend on conditions and cannot be inferred from the generic calendar descriptions used for a festival.",
      "refs": []
    },
    {
      "title": "Inspector’s assessment",
      "text": "The exposed path is a documented natural feature. Tidal geometry explains why a shallow connection can appear and disappear; local narratives add cultural meaning without establishing a separate physical mechanism. No field crossing is proposed by this dossier.",
      "refs": []
    },
    {
      "title": "A reproducible next investigation",
      "text": "Compare tide predictions, observed water levels and surveyed seabed elevation for the same date. Distinguish the public festival schedule from the interval of actual exposure. Use official observations rather than estimating a future crossing from a photograph.",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "timeline": [
    {
      "date": "Recurring low-water periods",
      "text": "The shallow connection becomes exposed.",
      "refs": [
        "J1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "Festival tradition",
      "text": "The event acquires an organised cultural celebration.",
      "refs": [
        "J1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "Current tourism documentation",
      "text": "The national listing describes the place and recurring phenomenon.",
      "refs": [
        "J1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "30 September 2026",
      "text": "Eklipsis prepares this source-linked documentary synthesis. This is editorial review, not historical fieldwork.",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "text": "A strip of seabed becomes exposed near Jindo during exceptional low tides. A real recurring event developed a striking cultural and festival identity.",
      "status": "Documented subject; interpretations qualified in the dossier",
      "refs": [
        "J1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The exposed path is a documented natural feature. Tidal geometry explains why a shallow connection can appear and disappear; local narratives add cultural meaning without establishing a separate physical mechanism. No field crossing is proposed by this dossier.",
      "status": "Documented explanation; scope remains bounded",
      "refs": [
        "J1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The map point represents the exact location of every reported event.",
      "status": "Incorrect; orientation only",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "hypotheses": [
    {
      "title": "Tidal exposure of shallow seabed",
      "status": "Supported natural explanation",
      "support": "A temporary dry path tracks changes in water level.",
      "limits": "Specific timing needs local observations.",
      "test": "Compare measured water level with seabed elevation."
    },
    {
      "title": "A supernatural division of water",
      "status": "Cultural interpretation, not established mechanism",
      "support": "The striking event supports local narrative meaning.",
      "limits": "The listing does not demonstrate an additional physical cause.",
      "test": "Require observations that ordinary tide and seabed geometry cannot account for."
    }
  ],
  "tasks": [
    {
      "title": "Audit the source record",
      "body": "Retrieve the named records for Jindo’s sea road: a temporary path through the tide. Record author, edition, page or section and access date. Treat a catalogue, mirror or translation of one document as the same evidence, not independent corroboration."
    },
    {
      "title": "Build the dated evidence ledger",
      "body": "Compare tide predictions, observed water levels and surveyed seabed elevation for the same date. Distinguish the public festival schedule from the interval of actual exposure. Use official observations rather than estimating a future crossing from a photograph."
    },
    {
      "title": "Test the interpretation",
      "body": "Compare measured water level with seabed elevation. Require observations that ordinary tide and seabed geometry cannot account for. Record what would favour or weaken each explanation; leave unperformed work marked as proposed."
    }
  ]
}