Joseon kings chose their final resting places with the same care they gave to their palaces, and the Seooreung cluster in Goyang, just north-west of Seoul, shows how. The name means the five tombs of the west, and the forested grounds contain the burial mounds of several Joseon kings and queens from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Each tomb follows the principles of pungsu, the Korean form of geomancy: a mountain behind for protection, open land in front, ideally with water flowing past. The mound sits on a terrace, surrounded by stone figures of officials, warriors and animals standing guard, and below is a T-shaped shrine where rites were held. The forty Joseon royal tombs were added to the World Heritage list together in 2009.
Walking through Seooreung on a weekday feels like stepping out of the city entirely. Paths lead through old pine and oak forest, the noise of traffic fades, and the stone figures watch over the hillside as they have for centuries. The royal rites are still performed at the tombs on certain days by descendants of the Yi family. In autumn the colours are spectacular, and in spring the forest floor fills with wildflowers.
Riding here means riding in the Seoul metropolitan area, which is to say traffic, traffic lights and very dense city streets. Remember that motorcycles are banned from expressways throughout Korea, so you will use ordinary roads, which in the city means a lot of stopping and starting. The real reward lies a short way out of town. Bukhansan National Park rises immediately north-east, granite peaks visible from much of the city, and beyond Goyang the roads into Paju and Yangju lead into hills and farmland towards the demilitarised zone, a strange and sobering landscape of military posts and fences along the Imjin River.
Goyang is a city of over a million people, so fuel, food and accommodation are no problem at all. There are small restaurants near the tomb entrance serving traditional dishes, and Ilsan, the newer part of Goyang, has a large lake park. If you have time, combine the visit with a trip to the Joseon palaces in central Seoul, like Gyeongbokgung, to see where the kings buried here actually lived.