Jangneung Cluster and Heolleung Cluster

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Jangneung Cluster

   North-west of Seoul, close to where the Imjin river flows into the Han and the demilitarised zone cuts the Korean peninsula in two, lies a royal tomb: Jangneung, the resting place of King Injo, who ruled Joseon in the seventeenth century, and his queen. Injo's reign was marked by invasions from the Manchu, and he was forced to humiliate himself before the Qing emperor in 1637, a defeat that still resonates in Korean memory. His tomb, like the other Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2009, is a grassy mound on a hillside, guarded by stone figures of officials, warriors and animals, with a T-shaped shrine below.

   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 Seosamreung Cluster.

2. 2. Seosamreung Cluster

   The kings and queens of the Joseon dynasty, who ruled Korea for more than five hundred years until 1910, chose their graves with enormous care. Geomancers studied hills, water and wind to find sites with the right energy, and the royal tombs were laid out with burial mounds, stone guardians, ceremonial halls and long processional paths. Forty of these tombs are listed together by UNESCO as the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, and Seosamreung, the three western tombs in Goyang just north-west of Seoul, is one of the clusters.

   Read the complete Seosamreung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Seosamreung Cluster comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Taereung Cluster.

3. 3. Taereung Cluster

   Korea's Joseon kings chose their tombs the way they chose a capital, with a geomancer. A good site needed a mountain behind, water in front and a gentle forest around, and the royal tombs scattered across the countryside around Seoul follow that rule, which is why many of them feel like parks. Taereung is one of the best known, on the north-east side of the city, a burial ground for Queen Munjeong and her son King Myeongjong in the sixteenth century. The forty tombs of the dynasty were listed by UNESCO in 2009, and walking among them is a calm contrast to the city outside.

   Read the complete Taereung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Taereung Cluster. Next is Heolleung Cluster.

4. 4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Taereung Cluster.

5. 5. back through Taereung Cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Taereung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Taereung Cluster sits at 104 km, about halfway. Next is back through Seosamreung Cluster.

6. 6. back through Seosamreung Cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Seosamreung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Seosamreung Cluster comes up about 143 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.