Why this ride
From Gongju it runs 240 km to Gongju; allow about 4 h 11 of riding. The stops in between: Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos, Donam-seown, Mireuksa Temple Site and back through Donam-seown. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Magoksa Temple and Mireuksa Temple Site
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 240 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 11
- 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. Magoksa Temple
Magoksa sits in a fold of Taehwasan mountain in South Chungcheong, a short drive from the old Baekje capital of Gongju, and it is the sort of temple that makes a good argument for getting out of the car. A stream runs beside the approach, maples and zelkova trees close overhead, and the main buildings sit within a double compound, one for monks and one for the Buddha. Its tradition goes back to the seventh century, though most of the present wooden halls are much younger, and its five-storey stone pagoda with a metal finial on top is unusual, since the top part shows Tibetan influence, possibly from the Yuan dynasty.
Read the complete Magoksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Magoksa Temple is where the day begins. Next is Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos.
2. Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos
Buyeo was once Sabi, the last capital of the kingdom of Baekje, which flourished on the south-west of the Korean peninsula until it fell to Silla and Tang China in 660. The kingdom's kings moved here in 538, built a walled city beside the Geumgang river and made it a centre of Buddhism, craftsmanship and trade, sending monks and artisans to Japan, where Baekje taught the court the arts of temple building. At the site in Gwanbuk-ri, archaeologists have found the foundations of a palace and workshops, and near it the fortress of Busosanseong runs along the ridge above the river.
Read the complete Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is Donam-seown.
3. Donam-seown
Donam Seowon is a Confucian academy in the countryside near Nonsan, in South Chungcheong province, and it is one of nine seowon that UNESCO listed together in 2019. Seowon were private academies founded by scholars of the Joseon dynasty, where young men studied the Confucian classics and honoured the memory of great teachers through rituals. Donam was founded in the early seventeenth century to commemorate Kim Jang-saeng, a renowned scholar of rites, and his students, and it played an important role in the intellectual life of the period.
Read the complete Donam-seown write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 76 km into the recorded legs you reach Donam-seown. Next is Mireuksa Temple Site.
4. Mireuksa Temple Site
On a wide plain near Iksan, in the south-west of Korea, a large stone pagoda stands beneath a mountain, slightly incomplete and all the more striking for it. This is the west pagoda of Mireuksa, once the largest Buddhist temple of the Baekje kingdom, founded in the early seventh century by King Mu. The pagoda is the oldest and largest surviving stone pagoda in Korea, and after decades of collapse and a cement repair in the early twentieth century, it was carefully dismantled and restored in a project that took around twenty years, finishing in 2019. The temple site is part of the Baekje Historic Areas, listed by UNESCO in 2015.
Read the complete Mireuksa Temple Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mireuksa Temple Site, about halfway. Next is back through Donam-seown.
5. back through Donam-seown
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Donam-seown write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Donam-seown sits at 148 km, about halfway. Next is back through Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos.
6. back through Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos comes up about 194 km into the recorded legs. Next is Magoksa Temple.
7. Magoksa Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Magoksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Magoksa Temple closes the day.
Leg by leg
Magoksa Temple to Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos
Magoksa Temple → Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos to Donam-seown
Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos → Donam-seown is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Donam-seown to Mireuksa Temple Site
Donam-seown → Mireuksa Temple Site is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mireuksa Temple Site to back through Donam-seown
Mireuksa Temple Site → back through Donam-seown is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Donam-seown to back through Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos
back through Donam-seown → back through Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos to Magoksa Temple
back through Archeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busos → Magoksa Temple is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.