Why this ride
236 km from Seoul to Seoul, about 5 h 25 of riding. On the way it passes Olleung Cluster, Namhansanseong, Area 1 and Hongyureung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Seoul afternoon · Hongyureung Cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 236 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 25
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Seoul
Seoul is a capital that sits in a bowl of granite mountains, and that is why it feels so layered. Bukhansan rises behind the old palaces to the north, Namsan stands in the middle with its tower, and the Han River slides through the south. The city has been the Korean capital since 1394, when the Joseon dynasty chose it, and the royal palace of Gyeongbokgung was built soon after. A fortress wall still climbs some of the ridges, and walking even a short section gives a fine view over the roofs. Insadong, with its tea houses and craft shops, and the hanok streets of Bukchon preserve the old style of wooden courtyard houses among the modern towers.
Read the complete Seoul write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seoul is where the day begins. Next is Olleung Cluster.
2. Olleung Cluster
Seoul's royal tombs are not all in the city centre, and the ones on this stretch lie in the green country just to the north-west, in a belt of forest, farmland and expanding suburbs that stretches towards the border. The cluster on our list is one of several groups of Joseon dynasty burial mounds, and the nearest sizeable town is Uijeongbu, nearly half a million people, with Goyang just beyond it.
Read the complete Olleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Olleung Cluster comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Namhansanseong.
3. Namhansanseong
Just beyond the south-eastern edge of Seoul, the city stops abruptly against wooded mountains, and on top of them runs a stone wall with gates, watchtowers and command posts. Namhansanseong was built as an emergency capital, a mountain fortress where the king and court could retreat in time of invasion, and in the winter of 1636 to 1637 it was put to the test. King Injo fled here from the invading Qing army and held out for forty-seven days before hunger and the fall of other strongholds forced him to surrender. The fortress became a World Heritage Site in 2014.
Read the complete Namhansanseong write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 81 km into the recorded legs you reach Namhansanseong. Next is Area 1.
4. Area 1
Seoul is a city of ten million, and a fortress sits just above its south-eastern edge. Namhansanseong is what the ride calls Area 1, and it is where the Joseon kings used to run when invaders arrived. The wall, about twelve kilometres of stone and earth following the ridge line, was built in the early seventeenth century on the foundations of older fortifications, and the whole enclosure sits on Mount Namhan, a granite hill just beyond Seongnam. It was listed by UNESCO in 2014.
Read the complete Area 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Area 1, about halfway. Next is Hongyureung Cluster.
5. Hongyureung Cluster
The Joseon dynasty lasted from 1392 until 1910, and its kings and queens were laid to rest in a scattering of forested tombs around Seoul, forty of which are on the World Heritage list. Hongyureung is the name for two of them close to Namyangju, Hongneung and Yureung, which belong to the last two rulers of Korea. Hongneung is the resting place of Gojong, who proclaimed the Korean Empire in 1897 and died in 1919, in mysterious circumstances, just before the great independence uprising of that year. Yureung holds his son Sunjong, the last emperor, who lost his throne when Japan annexed Korea.
Read the complete Hongyureung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hongyureung Cluster sits at 92 km, about halfway. Next is back through Area 1.
6. back through Area 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Area 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Area 1 comes up about 156 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Namhansanseong.
7. back through Namhansanseong
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Namhansanseong write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 157 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Namhansanseong. Next is back through Olleung Cluster.
8. back through Olleung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Olleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Olleung Cluster, late in the day. Next is Seoul.
9. Seoul
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seoul write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 236 km.
Leg by leg
Seoul to Olleung Cluster
Seoul → Olleung Cluster is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Olleung Cluster to Namhansanseong
Olleung Cluster → Namhansanseong is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Area 1 to Hongyureung Cluster
Area 1 → Hongyureung Cluster is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hongyureung Cluster to back through Area 1
Hongyureung Cluster → back through Area 1 is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Namhansanseong to back through Olleung Cluster
back through Namhansanseong → back through Olleung Cluster is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Olleung Cluster to Seoul
back through Olleung Cluster → Seoul is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.