Why this ride
162 km from Andong to Andong, about 3 h 34 of riding. On the way it passes Byeongsan-seowon, Dosan-seowon and back through Byeongsan-seowon.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bongjeongsa Temple and Dosan-seowon
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 162 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 34
- 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. Bongjeongsa Temple
Tucked into the wooded slopes of Cheondeungsan, a modest mountain north-west of Andong in North Gyeongsang province, Bongjeongsa is a temple that wears its age quietly. Its main claim to fame is a small, plain hall called Geungnakjeon, believed to be the oldest surviving wooden building in Korea, dating back to the Goryeo dynasty. Repairs in the twentieth century turned up records suggesting the hall had been rebuilt in the thirteenth century, which makes it older than almost anything else made of timber in the country. Bongjeongsa is one of seven mountain monasteries inscribed by UNESCO in 2018 as Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea.
Read the complete Bongjeongsa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bongjeongsa Temple is where the day begins. Next is Byeongsan-seowon.
2. Byeongsan-seowon
Byeongsan Seowon sits above a bend of the Nakdong river, a few kilometres from the village of Hahoe and about fifteen kilometres from Andong, in the rolling, rural interior of North Gyeongsang province. The river curves around a cliff face called Buyongdae, and the academy looks across the water to the opposite cliff in a way that is almost a painting. Andong, a city of about a hundred and thirty thousand people, is the nearest place of any size.
Read the complete Byeongsan-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Byeongsan-seowon comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dosan-seowon.
3. Dosan-seowon
If you have handled a Korean thousand-won note, you have already seen Dosan Seowon. The building on the back of the note is this Confucian academy, and the scholar on the front is Yi Hwang, known by his pen name Toegye, one of the most influential Neo-Confucian thinkers of Korea. He set up a small study hall here in the sixteenth century, on a quiet slope above the Nakdong river, and after his death in 1570 his disciples expanded it into a full academy, a seowon, where students came to study the classics and honour his memory. It is one of the nine Korean Confucian academies listed by UNESCO in 2019.
Read the complete Dosan-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 81 km into the recorded legs you reach Dosan-seowon. Next is back through Byeongsan-seowon.
4. back through Byeongsan-seowon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Byeongsan-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Byeongsan-seowon, late in the day. Next is Bongjeongsa Temple.
5. Bongjeongsa Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bongjeongsa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Bongjeongsa Temple. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Bongjeongsa Temple to Byeongsan-seowon
Bongjeongsa Temple → Byeongsan-seowon is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Byeongsan-seowon to Dosan-seowon
Byeongsan-seowon → Dosan-seowon is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dosan-seowon to back through Byeongsan-seowon
Dosan-seowon → back through Byeongsan-seowon is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Byeongsan-seowon to Bongjeongsa Temple
back through Byeongsan-seowon → Bongjeongsa Temple is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.