Why this ride
206 km from Hyeonpung to Hyeonpung, about 4 h 00 of riding. It goes by way of Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli, Okjeon Tumuli, Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon and back through Okjeon Tumuli.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Dodong-seowon and Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 206 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 00
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Dodong-seowon
The ginkgo tree in front of Dodong-seowon is over four hundred years old, a massive trunk with branches spreading wide, and in early November it turns a brilliant yellow and sheds its leaves into a golden carpet that photographers come from all over Korea to see. Behind it, the academy itself climbs a gentle slope in a series of courtyards and wooden halls, with a view over the Nakdong river. Dodong-seowon was founded in the sixteenth century to honour Kim Goeng-pil, a Neo-Confucian scholar executed in a political purge, and it is one of the nine Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2019.
Read the complete Dodong-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dodong-seowon is where the day begins. Next is Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.
2. Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
The rounded grassy mounds rising behind Changnyeong look almost like natural hills until you notice how regular they are. These are the Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong tumuli, burial mounds of the rulers of Bihwa, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula between roughly the first and sixth centuries before being absorbed by Silla. In 2023 they became part of a UNESCO listing that brings together seven Gaya tomb clusters, and they are among the most atmospheric of the group.
Read the complete Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli comes up 32 km in. Next is Okjeon Tumuli.
3. Okjeon Tumuli
On a ridge above the Hwang river in Hapcheon County, a row of grassy mounds rises against the sky, each one the burial of a ruler or noble of Dara, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula between the first and sixth centuries. Gaya was famous for its iron, traded across the region and to Japan, and its tombs held armour, weapons, horse gear, pottery and gold ornaments. The Okjeon tumuli are one of seven groups listed together by UNESCO in 2023 as the Gaya Tumuli.
Read the complete Okjeon Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
64 km in you reach Okjeon Tumuli. Next is Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon.
4. Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon
High in the forested folds of Gayasan, in South Gyeongsang province, a temple keeps one of the great treasures of the Buddhist world. Haeinsa holds the Tripitaka Koreana, more than eighty thousand wooden printing blocks carved in the thirteenth century with the complete Buddhist scriptures, an act of devotion undertaken while the Mongols were invading Korea, in the hope that the Buddha's protection would save the country. The blocks are kept in the Janggyeong Panjeon, a pair of long, plain wooden halls built in the fifteenth century, and the halls are the real marvel. Their design uses natural ventilation, windows of different sizes on opposite walls, and a floor packed with charcoal, lime, clay and salt to regulate humidity and temperature, and they have protected the blocks for centuries without modern technology. The halls were listed by UNESCO in 1995.
Read the complete Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, about halfway. Next is back through Okjeon Tumuli.
5. back through Okjeon Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Okjeon Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Okjeon Tumuli sits at 128 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.
6. back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli comes up 160 km in. Next is Dodong-seowon.
7. Dodong-seowon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dodong-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dodong-seowon closes the day.
Leg by leg
Dodong-seowon to Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
Dodong-seowon → Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli to Okjeon Tumuli
Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli → Okjeon Tumuli is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Okjeon Tumuli to Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon
Okjeon Tumuli → Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon to back through Okjeon Tumuli
Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon → back through Okjeon Tumuli is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Okjeon Tumuli to back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
back through Okjeon Tumuli → back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli to Dodong-seowon
back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli → Dodong-seowon is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.