Why this ride
A 180 km round trip from Seongnam-si - roughly 3 h 06 in the saddle. On the way it passes Donggureung Cluster, Heolleung Cluster, Taereung Cluster and back through Heolleung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Area 2 and Taereung Cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 180 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 06
- 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. Area 2
Built and expanded as an emergency capital in the early seventeenth century, its walls run for kilometres along the ridges, with gates, command posts and temples inside, and it became a World Heritage site in 2014. The fortress is remembered for a bitter episode: in the winter of 1636 to 1637, King Injo fled here as the armies of the Qing invaded, and after a siege of more than forty days in the cold, he came down and submitted, kneeling before the Qing emperor. Koreans still regard it as a moment of national humiliation and resilience at the same time.
Read the complete Area 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Area 2 is where the day begins. Next is Donggureung Cluster.
2. Donggureung Cluster
Nine kings and ten queens of the Joseon dynasty lie at Donggureung, in the city of Guri, just north-east of Seoul. The name means the Eastern Nine Tombs, and it is the largest royal burial ground of the dynasty, which ruled Korea for over five centuries from 1392 to 1910. The tombs are spread across a wooded hillside, each a grassy mound surrounded by stone figures of officials and animals, set according to the rules of geomancy with a mountain behind and water in front.
Read the complete Donggureung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Donggureung Cluster comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Heolleung Cluster.
3. Heolleung Cluster
In the south of Seoul, wedged between highways, apartment towers and the Daemosan hills, a forest of oak and pine hides two royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty. Heolleung is the tomb of King Taejong, the third king of Joseon, who ruled in the early fifteenth century, and his queen Wongyeong, and nearby lies Inneung, the tomb of King Sunjo and his queen from the nineteenth century. Together they form one of the clusters of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, listed by UNESCO in 2009.
Read the complete Heolleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Heolleung Cluster. Next is Taereung Cluster.
4. Taereung Cluster
Korea's Joseon kings chose their tombs the way they chose a capital, with a geomancer. A good site needed a mountain behind, water in front and a gentle forest around, and the royal tombs scattered across the countryside around Seoul follow that rule, which is why many of them feel like parks. Taereung is one of the best known, on the north-east side of the city, a burial ground for Queen Munjeong and her son King Myeongjong in the sixteenth century. The forty tombs of the dynasty were listed by UNESCO in 2009, and walking among them is a calm contrast to the city outside.
Read the complete Taereung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Taereung Cluster, about halfway. Next is back through Heolleung Cluster.
5. back through Heolleung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Heolleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Heolleung Cluster sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Donggureung Cluster.
6. back through Donggureung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Donggureung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Donggureung Cluster comes up about 136 km into the recorded legs. Next is Area 2.
7. Area 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Area 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Area 2 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Area 2 to Donggureung Cluster
Area 2 → Donggureung Cluster is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Donggureung Cluster to Heolleung Cluster
Donggureung Cluster → Heolleung Cluster is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Heolleung Cluster to Taereung Cluster
Heolleung Cluster → Taereung Cluster is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Taereung Cluster to back through Heolleung Cluster
Taereung Cluster → back through Heolleung Cluster is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Heolleung Cluster to back through Donggureung Cluster
back through Heolleung Cluster → back through Donggureung Cluster is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Donggureung Cluster to Area 2
back through Donggureung Cluster → Area 2 is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.