Magoksa Temple and Naseong City Wall

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri.

2. 2. Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri

   In 1971, workers digging drainage near a group of ancient burial mounds above the Geum river at Gongju broke into a brick tomb that had never been looted. Inside lay the remains and treasures of King Muryeong of Baekje, who died in 523, and his queen: gold crowns, ornaments, a stone tablet naming the king, and thousands of objects. It was one of the greatest archaeological finds in Korean history, and it is the centrepiece of the Royal Tombs at Songsan-ri, part of the Baekje Historic Areas World Heritage Site listed in 2015.

   Read the complete Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri.

3. 3. Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri

   Seven grassy mounds rise on a hillside outside Buyeo, smooth and green, looking almost like a landscape garden. They are the royal tombs of Neungsan-ri, burial places of kings of Baekje, one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea, during the period when Buyeo, then called Sabi, was its capital, from 538 to 660. The tombs were robbed long ago, but their stone chambers survive, and one has painted walls showing the guardian animals of the four directions and lotus flowers. They are part of the UNESCO listing of the Baekje historic areas, together with sites in Gongju, Buyeo and Iksan.

   Read the complete Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri. Next is Donam-seown.

4. 4. 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

   Donam-seown, about halfway. Next is Naseong City Wall.

5. 5. Naseong City Wall

   Buyeo was once called Sabi, and for more than a century in the sixth and seventh centuries it was the capital of Baekje, one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea. Baekje was a seafaring, artistic state that traded with China, sent scholars and craftsmen to Japan, and shaped Japanese Buddhist art. The kingdom fell in 660 when a joint army of Silla and Tang China overran the capital. Naseong, the outer city wall, is what remains of Sabi's defences: a long earthen rampart that once enclosed the town, running along the hills to the north and east and meeting the Geum River, which formed a natural moat on the other side. You can walk sections of it under old pines, and the grassy mounds are quiet and unassuming.

   Read the complete Naseong City Wall write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Naseong City Wall sits at 115 km, about halfway. Next is back through Donam-seown.

6. 6. 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 comes up about 132 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri.

7. 7. back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 157 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri. Next is back through Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri.

8. 8. back through Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Royal Tombs in Songsan-ri, late in the day. Next is Magoksa Temple.

9. 9. 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

   The route ends here after 213 km.