Gwangneung is the tomb of King Sejo of Joseon and his queen, Jeonghui, and it sits inside one of the best-preserved forests in Korea, north-east of Seoul between Namyangju and Pocheon. Sejo seized the throne in 1455 from his young nephew Danjong, who was later exiled and killed, and he spent much of his reign strengthening royal power. In death, though, he asked for modesty: he ordered that his tomb be built without the usual stone burial chamber and without some of the stone ornaments, to save the people labour and expense. The two mounds lie on separate ridges, with a shrine between them.
The royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty were listed together by UNESCO in 2009, and each follows a careful layout based on geomancy, with mountains behind, water in front and an approach that moves from the everyday world to the sacred. Walking up the path at Gwangneung, under tall trees, you feel that transition quite physically: the noise of the road fades, the air cools, and the grassy mounds appear above you on their slope.
The forest is the other reason to come. Because the land around the tomb was protected as royal property for centuries, cutting trees was forbidden, and the result is a mature woodland of oaks, firs and pines that is now home to the Korea National Arboretum. It is a sanctuary for birds, insects and plants that have vanished from much of the rest of the country, including a famous woodpecker that is a national natural monument. Visits to the arboretum usually need booking in advance, and it is closed on certain days.
The roads through this area are a welcome escape from the city. Small routes run through the wooded valleys between Uijeongbu, Pocheon and Namyangju, with gentle curves and short climbs over low passes, and on weekday mornings they are pleasant and calm. Weekends are a different story, when half of Seoul seems to be heading out to the hills. Remember that motorcycles are banned from Korean expressways, so plan your route on national and local roads.
Uijeongbu and Namyangju are large cities with fuel and food everywhere. Uijeongbu is known across Korea for budae-jjigae, the army stew of sausages, ham, noodles and kimchi that grew out of the post-war years around the American bases, and it makes a hearty lunch after a morning among the kings.