Jangneung Cluster and Jangneung Cluster

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Jangneung Cluster

   The Joseon dynasty ruled Korea for over five hundred years, and its kings and queens were buried in carefully chosen spots around the capital, in tombs designed according to Confucian ritual and the principles of geomancy, with a hill behind, water in front and mountains framing the view. In 2009, forty of these tombs were listed by UNESCO as the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Jangneung, in Gimpo, just west of Seoul, is the tomb of Wonjong, the father of King Injo, who was elevated to royal rank after his death. It is a quiet, wooded place, with a grassy burial mound, stone statues of officials and animals, and a T-shaped shrine where ancestral rites were held.

   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 Seosan Getbol.

2. 2. Seosan Getbol

   Korea's west coast has some of the largest tides on earth. Twice a day the Yellow Sea pulls back for kilometres, exposing vast shining mud flats, the getbol, laced with channels and alive with crabs, mudskippers, worms and shellfish. UNESCO has listed a series of these Korean tidal flats for their extraordinary biodiversity and for the millions of migratory shorebirds that stop here to feed on their way between Siberia and Australia.

   Read the complete Seosan Getbol write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Seosan Getbol comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jangneung Cluster.

3. 3. 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

   about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Jangneung Cluster. Next is back through Seosan Getbol.

4. 4. back through Seosan Getbol

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Seosan Getbol write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Seosan Getbol, late in the day.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Jangneung Cluster. That is the ride.