Why this ride
From Tanhyeon it runs 212 km to Tanhyeon; allow about 4 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Jangneung Cluster, Seosan Getbol, Seosamreung Cluster and Jeongneung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jangneung Cluster and Jeongneung Cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 212 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 13
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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. 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 Jangneung Cluster.
2. 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 comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Seosan Getbol.
3. 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
about 50 km into the recorded legs you reach Seosan Getbol. Next is Seosamreung Cluster.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Jeongneung Cluster.
5. Jeongneung Cluster
Jeongneung is a royal tomb in the middle of Seoul, in the wooded hills of Seongbuk district just north of the old city, and it carries one of the more spiteful stories of the early Joseon court. It belongs to Queen Sindeok, the second wife of the dynasty's founder, King Taejo. Her son was named crown prince ahead of Taejo's older sons by his first wife, and one of those older sons, Yi Bang-won, struck back violently, killing his half-brothers and eventually taking the throne as King Taejong.
Read the complete Jeongneung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jeongneung Cluster sits at 103 km, about halfway. Next is back through Seosamreung Cluster.
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 128 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Seosan Getbol.
7. 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
about 166 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Seosan Getbol. Next is back through Jangneung Cluster.
8. back through 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 through Jangneung Cluster, late in the day.
9. 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
The route ends here after 212 km.
Leg by leg
Jangneung Cluster to Jangneung Cluster
Jangneung Cluster → Jangneung Cluster is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jangneung Cluster to Seosan Getbol
Jangneung Cluster → Seosan Getbol is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seosan Getbol to Seosamreung Cluster
Seosan Getbol → Seosamreung Cluster is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seosamreung Cluster to Jeongneung Cluster
Seosamreung Cluster → Jeongneung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jeongneung Cluster to back through Seosamreung Cluster
Jeongneung Cluster → back through Seosamreung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seosamreung Cluster to back through Seosan Getbol
back through Seosamreung Cluster → back through Seosan Getbol is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seosan Getbol to back through Jangneung Cluster
back through Seosan Getbol → back through Jangneung Cluster is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jangneung Cluster to Jangneung Cluster
back through Jangneung Cluster → Jangneung Cluster is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.