Why this ride
From Goyang-si it runs 217 km to Goyang-si; allow about 4 h 29 of riding. It goes by way of Seosan Getbol, Seosamreung Cluster, Jeongneung Cluster and Olleung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
From Goyang-si it runs 217 km to Goyang-si; allow about 4 h 29 of riding. It goes by way of Seosan Getbol, Seosamreung Cluster, Jeongneung Cluster and Olleung 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Jangneung Cluster is where the day begins. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Seosan Getbol comes up 24 km in. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
49 km in you reach Seosamreung Cluster. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Jeongneung Cluster, about halfway. Next is Olleung Cluster.
Seoul's royal tombs are not all in the city centre, and the ones on this stretch lie in the green country just to the north-west, in a belt of forest, farmland and expanding suburbs that stretches towards the border. The cluster on our list is one of several groups of Joseon dynasty burial mounds, and the nearest sizeable town is Uijeongbu, nearly half a million people, with Goyang just beyond it.
Read the complete Olleung Cluster write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Olleung Cluster sits at 98 km, about halfway. Next is back through Jeongneung Cluster.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jeongneung Cluster write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Jeongneung Cluster comes up 122 km in. Next is back through Seosamreung Cluster.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seosamreung Cluster write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
146 km in you reach back through Seosamreung Cluster. Next is back through Seosan Getbol.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seosan Getbol write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Seosan Getbol, late in the day. Next is Jangneung Cluster.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jangneung Cluster write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 217 km.
Jangneung Cluster → Seosan Getbol is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seosan Getbol → Seosamreung Cluster is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seosamreung Cluster → Jeongneung Cluster is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jeongneung Cluster → Olleung Cluster is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Olleung Cluster → back through Jeongneung Cluster is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jeongneung Cluster → back through Seosamreung Cluster is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seosamreung Cluster → back through Seosan Getbol is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seosan Getbol → Jangneung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.