CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Seoul it runs 217 km to Seoul; allow about 3 h 44 of riding. On the way it passes Jangneung Cluster, Kanghwa Dolmen Sites, Kaesong Walls and back through Kanghwa Dolmen Sites. It crosses from South Korea into North Korea - carry ID and check the toll rules. The line favours views over speed.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Jongmyo Shrine is where the day begins. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Jangneung Cluster comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kanghwa Dolmen Sites.
Ganghwa Island lies in the mouth of the Han River, just north-west of Seoul and Incheon, and on a clear day you can look across a narrow channel of tidal water straight into North Korea. The town of Kaesong is barely twenty-five kilometres away. That closeness gives the island an edge, with watch posts and fences along parts of the shore, but its fame is much older. The Ganghwa dolmens, together with those at Gochang and Hwasun in the south, were listed by UNESCO in 2000, and Korea holds a remarkable share of all the dolmens known in the world.
Read the complete Kanghwa Dolmen Sites write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 74 km into the recorded legs you reach Kanghwa Dolmen Sites. Next is Kaesong Walls.
The walls of Kaesong tell you what a medieval capital thought about safety. Goryeo's rulers lived behind several rings, an inner enclosure around the palace, a middle wall and an outer wall of earth and stone running around the hills for kilometres. The outer wall was begun in the early eleventh century, partly in response to Khitan invasions from the north, and was rebuilt and extended later. Parts are still visible along the ridge lines, with gates at key points, and they are now part of the World Heritage listing of historic monuments and sites in Kaesong, inscribed in 2013.
Read the complete Kaesong Walls write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Kaesong Walls, about halfway. Next is back through Kanghwa Dolmen Sites.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kanghwa Dolmen Sites write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Kanghwa Dolmen Sites sits at 145 km, about halfway. Next is back through 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.
back through Jangneung Cluster comes up about 182 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jongmyo Shrine.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jongmyo Shrine write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Jongmyo Shrine closes the day.
Jongmyo Shrine → Jangneung Cluster is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jangneung Cluster → Kanghwa Dolmen Sites is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kanghwa Dolmen Sites → Kaesong Walls is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kaesong Walls → back through Kanghwa Dolmen Sites is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kanghwa Dolmen Sites → back through Jangneung Cluster is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jangneung Cluster → Jongmyo Shrine is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.