Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon and Marisan Tumuli

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Dodong-seowon.

2. 2. 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 comes up about 56 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.

3. 3. 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

   about 85 km into the recorded legs you reach Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli. Next is Marisan Tumuli.

4. 4. Marisan Tumuli

   In Haman county, in the south of Korea, a long ridge rises above the town of Gaya, and along its crest lies a line of large burial mounds, grassy domes that seem to ripple across the hills. These are the Malisan, or Marisan, tumuli, the royal tombs of Ara Gaya, one of the states of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula from roughly the first to the sixth century. In 2023, they were listed by UNESCO together with other Gaya tumuli across the region.

   Read the complete Marisan Tumuli write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Marisan Tumuli, about halfway. Next is back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.

5. 5. 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 sits at 145 km, about halfway. Next is back through Dodong-seowon.

6. 6. back through 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

   back through Dodong-seowon comes up about 212 km into the recorded legs. Next is Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon.

7. 7. Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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 closes the day.