Jangneung Cluster and Byeongsan-seowon starting at Neietsu

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Jangneung Cluster

   Danjong was a boy of twelve when he became king, fourteen when he was forced off the throne, and sixteen when he died in exile, and the place where they buried him is Jangneung. In 1455 his uncle, later King Sejo, seized power, and two years later the boy was sent to Yeongwol, a remote valley in the mountains of Gangwon province, surrounded on three sides by river and on the fourth by cliffs. He died there in 1457, reportedly by poison and local tradition says a village official buried him secretly at night. His tomb was only restored to royal rank in 1698, centuries later, when a later king gave him the name Danjong.

   Read the complete Jangneung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Jangneung Cluster is where the day begins. Next is Buseoksa Temple.

2. 2. Buseoksa Temple

   The name Buseoksa means temple of the floating stone, and the legend behind it involves a monk, a princess and a dragon. When the monk Uisang founded the temple in 676, after returning from studies in China, a young woman named Seonmyo who had fallen in love with him there is said to have followed him in the form of a dragon, and when local bandits opposed the new temple she lifted a huge rock into the air to frighten them off. A large boulder behind the main hall is still pointed out as the floating stone, and you will be told that a thread can be passed beneath it.

   Read the complete Buseoksa Temple write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Buseoksa Temple comes up about 46 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dosan-seowon.

3. 3. Dosan-seowon

   If you have handled a Korean thousand-won note, you have already seen Dosan Seowon. The building on the back of the note is this Confucian academy, and the scholar on the front is Yi Hwang, known by his pen name Toegye, one of the most influential Neo-Confucian thinkers of Korea. He set up a small study hall here in the sixteenth century, on a quiet slope above the Nakdong river, and after his death in 1570 his disciples expanded it into a full academy, a seowon, where students came to study the classics and honour his memory. It is one of the nine Korean Confucian academies listed by UNESCO in 2019.

   Read the complete Dosan-seowon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 98 km into the recorded legs you reach Dosan-seowon. Next is Byeongsan-seowon.

4. 4. Byeongsan-seowon

   Byeongsan Seowon sits above a bend of the Nakdong river, a few kilometres from the village of Hahoe and about fifteen kilometres from Andong, in the rolling, rural interior of North Gyeongsang province. The river curves around a cliff face called Buyongdae, and the academy looks across the water to the opposite cliff in a way that is almost a painting. Andong, a city of about a hundred and thirty thousand people, is the nearest place of any size.

   Read the complete Byeongsan-seowon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Byeongsan-seowon, about halfway. Next is back through Dosan-seowon.

5. 5. back through Dosan-seowon

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Dosan-seowon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Dosan-seowon sits at 174 km, about halfway. Next is back through Buseoksa Temple.

6. 6. back through Buseoksa Temple

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Buseoksa Temple write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Buseoksa Temple comes up about 254 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jangneung Cluster.

7. 7. Jangneung Cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Jangneung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Jangneung Cluster closes the day.