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.
A 217 km round trip from Kaesŏng - roughly 3 h 44 in the saddle. It goes by way of Kanghwa Dolmen Sites, Jangneung Cluster, Changdeokgung Palace Complex and back through Jangneung Cluster. It crosses from North Korea into South Korea - carry ID and check the toll rules. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
This part of the ride is 34 km of Jangneung Cluster → Changdeokgung Palace Complex.
On the slope of Songak mountain, a terrace of stone foundations and steps marks where the Koryo kings had their palace, known as Manwoldae, the moon-full terrace. The name suggests the beauty of the setting rather than the architecture, and the complex was largely destroyed by Red Turban invaders in 1361, so what survives is the platform and the stone staircases that climbed it. A few hundred metres away stands the Chomsongdae, a stone platform with stone supports that is traditionally described as an astronomical observatory, built in the Koryo period and used to watch the sky, though like many such claims, its exact use is a matter of scholarly discussion.
Read the complete Manwoldae & Kaesong Chomsongdae write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Manwoldae & Kaesong Chomsongdae is where the day begins. 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.
Kanghwa Dolmen Sites comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. 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.
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Jangneung Cluster. Next is Changdeokgung Palace Complex.
Changdeokgung was built in 1405 as a secondary palace for the Joseon kings, and it ended up being the one they actually liked living in. Where the main palace, Gyeongbokgung, was laid out on a strict axis, Changdeokgung was fitted into the foot of the hills, following the folds of the ground, and its halls, gates and courtyards feel more relaxed and more human as a result. After the Japanese invasions of the 1590s burned all of Seoul's palaces, this was the first to be rebuilt, and it served as the main royal residence for some two and a half centuries.
Read the complete Changdeokgung Palace Complex write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Changdeokgung Palace Complex, 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 sits at 145 km, 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 comes up about 184 km into the recorded legs. Next is Manwoldae & Kaesong Chomsongdae.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Manwoldae & Kaesong Chomsongdae write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Manwoldae & Kaesong Chomsongdae closes the day.
Manwoldae & Kaesong Chomsongdae → Kanghwa Dolmen Sites is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kanghwa Dolmen Sites → Jangneung Cluster is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jangneung Cluster → Changdeokgung Palace Complex is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Changdeokgung Palace Complex → back through Jangneung Cluster is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jangneung Cluster → back through Kanghwa Dolmen Sites is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kanghwa Dolmen Sites → Manwoldae & Kaesong Chomsongdae is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.