Why this ride
From Seoul it runs 208 km to Seoul; allow about 4 h 59 of riding. On the way it passes Namhansanseong, Sareung Cluster, Area 1 and back through Sareung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Changdeokgung Palace Complex and Area 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 208 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 59
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Changdeokgung Palace Complex → Namhansanseong
31 km on Changdeokgung Palace Complex → Namhansanseong.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 31 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Changdeokgung Palace Complex
Changdeokgung was built in 1405 as a secondary palace for the Joseon kings, and it ended up being the one they actually liked living in. Where the main palace, Gyeongbokgung, was laid out on a strict axis, Changdeokgung was fitted into the foot of the hills, following the folds of the ground, and its halls, gates and courtyards feel more relaxed and more human as a result. After the Japanese invasions of the 1590s burned all of Seoul's palaces, this was the first to be rebuilt, and it served as the main royal residence for some two and a half centuries.
Read the complete Changdeokgung Palace Complex write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Changdeokgung Palace Complex is where the day begins. Next is Namhansanseong.
2. 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
Namhansanseong comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sareung Cluster.
3. Sareung Cluster
A queen who outlived her husband by more than sixty years lies here. Sareung is the tomb of Queen Jeongsun, wife of King Danjong, the boy king of the Joseon dynasty who was deposed by his uncle in 1455 and later killed in exile. Jeongsun lived on in poverty outside the capital, and the story of her loyalty and grief became one of the most moving in Korean history. Her tomb, a grassy mound guarded by stone figures and approached along a path through pine forest, is one of the forty Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty listed together as a World Heritage Site in 2009.
Read the complete Sareung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 68 km into the recorded legs you reach Sareung Cluster. 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 back through Sareung Cluster.
5. back through Sareung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sareung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sareung Cluster sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Namhansanseong.
6. 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
back through Namhansanseong comes up about 179 km into the recorded legs. Next is Changdeokgung Palace Complex.
7. Changdeokgung Palace Complex
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Changdeokgung Palace Complex write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Changdeokgung Palace Complex closes the day.
Leg by leg
Changdeokgung Palace Complex to Namhansanseong
Changdeokgung Palace Complex → Namhansanseong is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Namhansanseong to Sareung Cluster
Namhansanseong → Sareung Cluster is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sareung Cluster to Area 1
Sareung Cluster → Area 1 is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Area 1 to back through Sareung Cluster
Area 1 → back through Sareung Cluster is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sareung Cluster to back through Namhansanseong
back through Sareung Cluster → back through Namhansanseong is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Namhansanseong to Changdeokgung Palace Complex
back through Namhansanseong → Changdeokgung Palace Complex is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Jongmyo Shrine and Area 1 · 205 km
- Gwangneung Cluster\t and Yeongneung Cluster · 280 km