Jisan-dong Tumuli and Seonamsa Temple

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Jisan-dong Tumuli

   Above the small county town of Goryeong, in south-eastern Korea, a line of grassy burial mounds runs along the ridge of Jusan mountain like the knuckles of a giant hand. These are the Jisan-dong tumuli, tombs of the rulers and elite of Daegaya, the most powerful member of the Gaya confederacy, a group of small kingdoms that flourished in the south of the peninsula until they were absorbed by Silla in the sixth century. The largest mounds are huge, and excavations found not only rich grave goods, iron weapons, armour, gold crowns and pottery, but also evidence that attendants were buried with their lords. Together with other Gaya tomb groups, the site was added to the World Heritage list in 2023.

   Read the complete Jisan-dong Tumuli write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Jisan-dong Tumuli is where the day begins. Next is Namgye-seowon.

2. 2. Namgye-seowon

   Hamyang is a quiet county in the mountains of South Gyeongsang, on the eastern edge of Jirisan, the great massif in the south of the Korean peninsula, and Namgye-seowon stands on a gentle slope a few kilometres from the county town. Founded in 1552 to honour the Neo-Confucian scholar Jeong Yeo-chang, it was one of the earliest private academies in Korea and served as a model for many others. Its layout set a pattern: the lecture hall at the front, dormitories on either side, and the shrine for the rites at the top of the slope, so that the buildings climb the hill in a hierarchy of importance. Unusually, the dormitories have small raised pavilions overlooking ponds, where students could rest and contemplate the landscape. Namgye is part of the UNESCO listing of the Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies.

   Read the complete Namgye-seowon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Namgye-seowon comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Seonamsa Temple.

3. 3. Seonamsa Temple

   An old stone bridge arches over a stream in the forest on the way up to Seonamsa, and the view through its curve to a pavilion beyond is one of the best known images of Korean temple architecture. The Seungseongyo bridge dates back to the Joseon period, and the temple behind it, on the slopes of Jogyesan mountain near Suncheon, has a history going back to the ninth century. Seonamsa is one of seven Korean Buddhist mountain monasteries listed in 2018 as Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea, chosen because they have remained centres of living religious practice for over a thousand years.

   Read the complete Seonamsa Temple write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 179 km into the recorded legs you reach Seonamsa Temple. Next is back through Namgye-seowon.

4. 4. back through Namgye-seowon

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Namgye-seowon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Namgye-seowon, late in the day. Next is Jisan-dong Tumuli.

5. 5. Jisan-dong Tumuli

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Jisan-dong Tumuli write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Jisan-dong Tumuli. That is the ride.