Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon and Okjeon 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 Jisan-dong Tumuli.

2. 2. Jisan-dong Tumuli

   Above the small county town of Goryeong, in south-eastern Korea, a line of grassy burial mounds runs along the ridge of Jusan mountain like the knuckles of a giant hand. These are the Jisan-dong tumuli, tombs of the rulers and elite of Daegaya, the most powerful member of the Gaya confederacy, a group of small kingdoms that flourished in the south of the peninsula until they were absorbed by Silla in the sixth century. The largest mounds are huge, and excavations found not only rich grave goods, iron weapons, armour, gold crowns and pottery, but also evidence that attendants were buried with their lords. Together with other Gaya tomb groups, the site was added to the World Heritage list in 2023.

   Read the complete Jisan-dong Tumuli write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Jisan-dong Tumuli comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Okjeon Tumuli.

3. 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

   about 48 km into the recorded legs you reach Okjeon Tumuli. Next is back through Jisan-dong Tumuli.

4. 4. back through Jisan-dong Tumuli

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Jisan-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 Jisan-dong Tumuli, late in the day. Next is Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon. That is the ride.