Why this ride
A 205 km round trip from Seoul - roughly 4 h 45 in the saddle. The stops in between: Namhansanseong, Sareung Cluster, Area 1 and back through Sareung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jongmyo Shrine and Area 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 205 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 45
- 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. Jongmyo Shrine
In the middle of busy central Seoul, behind a gate on Jongno street, lies a forest of trees and a long, low hall that seems to come from another world. Jongmyo is the royal ancestral shrine of the Joseon dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910, and its main hall, the Jeongjeon, houses the spirit tablets of kings and queens in a row of identical rooms behind a single facade of red pillars, stretching for more than a hundred metres. It is one of the longest wooden buildings of its kind in Asia, and its austerity is deeply impressive.
Read the complete Jongmyo Shrine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jongmyo Shrine is where the day begins. Next is Namhansanseong.
2. Namhansanseong
Just beyond the south-eastern edge of Seoul, the city stops abruptly against wooded mountains, and on top of them runs a stone wall with gates, watchtowers and command posts. Namhansanseong was built as an emergency capital, a mountain fortress where the king and court could retreat in time of invasion, and in the winter of 1636 to 1637 it was put to the test. King Injo fled here from the invading Qing army and held out for forty-seven days before hunger and the fall of other strongholds forced him to surrender. The fortress became a World Heritage Site in 2014.
Read the complete Namhansanseong write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Namhansanseong comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sareung Cluster.
3. Sareung Cluster
A queen who outlived her husband by more than sixty years lies here. Sareung is the tomb of Queen Jeongsun, wife of King Danjong, the boy king of the Joseon dynasty who was deposed by his uncle in 1455 and later killed in exile. Jeongsun lived on in poverty outside the capital, and the story of her loyalty and grief became one of the most moving in Korean history. Her tomb, a grassy mound guarded by stone figures and approached along a path through pine forest, is one of the forty Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty listed together as a World Heritage Site in 2009.
Read the complete Sareung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Sareung Cluster. Next is Area 1.
4. Area 1
Seoul is a city of ten million, and a fortress sits just above its south-eastern edge. Namhansanseong is what the ride calls Area 1, and it is where the Joseon kings used to run when invaders arrived. The wall, about twelve kilometres of stone and earth following the ridge line, was built in the early seventeenth century on the foundations of older fortifications, and the whole enclosure sits on Mount Namhan, a granite hill just beyond Seongnam. It was listed by UNESCO in 2014.
Read the complete Area 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Area 1, about halfway. Next is back through Sareung Cluster.
5. back through Sareung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sareung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sareung Cluster sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Namhansanseong.
6. back through Namhansanseong
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Namhansanseong write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Namhansanseong comes up about 177 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jongmyo Shrine.
7. Jongmyo Shrine
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jongmyo Shrine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jongmyo Shrine closes the day.
Leg by leg
Jongmyo Shrine to Namhansanseong
Jongmyo Shrine → Namhansanseong is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Namhansanseong to Sareung Cluster
Namhansanseong → Sareung Cluster is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sareung Cluster to Area 1
Sareung Cluster → Area 1 is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Area 1 to back through Sareung Cluster
Area 1 → back through Sareung Cluster is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sareung Cluster to back through Namhansanseong
back through Sareung Cluster → back through Namhansanseong is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Namhansanseong to Jongmyo Shrine
back through Namhansanseong → Jongmyo Shrine is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.