Why this ride
161 km from Suwon to Suwon, about 3 h 03 of riding. On the way it passes Heolleung Cluster, Jongmyo Shrine, Donggureung Cluster and back through Donggureung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hwaseong Fortress and Jongmyo Shrine
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 161 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 03
- 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. Hwaseong Fortress
Hwaseong is a love letter from a son to his father, written in stone. In 1762, Crown Prince Sado was locked in a rice chest by his own father, King Yeongjo, and left to die, one of the darkest episodes in Korean royal history. His son, who became King Jeongjo, never forgot, and he moved his father's tomb to a site near Suwon and built a grand fortress there, completed in 1796, intended perhaps as a new capital. The engineer and scholar Jeong Yak-yong used cranes and pulleys to speed up construction, and the walls, gates, towers and bastions combine Korean, Chinese and Western ideas of fortification. UNESCO listed it in 1997.
Read the complete Hwaseong Fortress write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hwaseong Fortress is where the day begins. Next is Heolleung Cluster.
2. Heolleung Cluster
In the south of Seoul, wedged between highways, apartment towers and the Daemosan hills, a forest of oak and pine hides two royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty. Heolleung is the tomb of King Taejong, the third king of Joseon, who ruled in the early fifteenth century, and his queen Wongyeong, and nearby lies Inneung, the tomb of King Sunjo and his queen from the nineteenth century. Together they form one of the clusters of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, listed by UNESCO in 2009.
Read the complete Heolleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Heolleung Cluster comes up 22 km in. Next is Jongmyo Shrine.
3. Jongmyo Shrine
In the middle of busy central Seoul, behind a gate on Jongno street, lies a forest of trees and a long, low hall that seems to come from another world. Jongmyo is the royal ancestral shrine of the Joseon dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910, and its main hall, the Jeongjeon, houses the spirit tablets of kings and queens in a row of identical rooms behind a single facade of red pillars, stretching for more than a hundred metres. It is one of the longest wooden buildings of its kind in Asia, and its austerity is deeply impressive.
Read the complete Jongmyo Shrine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
43 km in you reach Jongmyo Shrine. Next is Donggureung Cluster.
4. Donggureung Cluster
Nine kings and ten queens of the Joseon dynasty lie at Donggureung, in the city of Guri, just north-east of Seoul. The name means the Eastern Nine Tombs, and it is the largest royal burial ground of the dynasty, which ruled Korea for over five centuries from 1392 to 1910. The tombs are spread across a wooded hillside, each a grassy mound surrounded by stone figures of officials and animals, set according to the rules of geomancy with a mountain behind and water in front.
Read the complete Donggureung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Donggureung Cluster, about halfway.
5. Jongmyo Shrine
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jongmyo Shrine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jongmyo Shrine sits at 86 km, about halfway. Next is back through Donggureung Cluster.
6. back through Donggureung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Donggureung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Donggureung Cluster comes up 108 km in. Next is back through Jongmyo Shrine.
7. back through Jongmyo Shrine
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jongmyo Shrine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
129 km in you reach back through Jongmyo Shrine. Next is back through Heolleung Cluster.
8. back through Heolleung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Heolleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Heolleung Cluster, late in the day. Next is Hwaseong Fortress.
9. Hwaseong Fortress
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hwaseong Fortress write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 161 km.
Leg by leg
Hwaseong Fortress to Heolleung Cluster
Hwaseong Fortress → Heolleung Cluster is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Heolleung Cluster to Jongmyo Shrine
Heolleung Cluster → Jongmyo Shrine is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jongmyo Shrine to Donggureung Cluster
Jongmyo Shrine → Donggureung Cluster is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Donggureung Cluster to Jongmyo Shrine
Donggureung Cluster → Jongmyo Shrine is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jongmyo Shrine to back through Donggureung Cluster
Jongmyo Shrine → back through Donggureung Cluster is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Donggureung Cluster to back through Jongmyo Shrine
back through Donggureung Cluster → back through Jongmyo Shrine is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jongmyo Shrine to back through Heolleung Cluster
back through Jongmyo Shrine → back through Heolleung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Heolleung Cluster to Hwaseong Fortress
back through Heolleung Cluster → Hwaseong Fortress is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.