Why this ride
336 km from Naesŏ to Naesŏ, about 5 h 17 of riding. It goes by way of Dodong-seowon, Namgye-seowon and back through Dodong-seowon. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Marisan Tumuli and Namgye-seowon
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 336 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 17
- 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. Marisan Tumuli
In Haman county, in the south of Korea, a long ridge rises above the town of Gaya, and along its crest lies a line of large burial mounds, grassy domes that seem to ripple across the hills. These are the Malisan, or Marisan, tumuli, the royal tombs of Ara Gaya, one of the states of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula from roughly the first to the sixth century. In 2023, they were listed by UNESCO together with other Gaya tumuli across the region.
Read the complete Marisan Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Marisan Tumuli is where the day begins. Next is Dodong-seowon.
2. Dodong-seowon
The ginkgo tree in front of Dodong-seowon is over four hundred years old, a massive trunk with branches spreading wide, and in early November it turns a brilliant yellow and sheds its leaves into a golden carpet that photographers come from all over Korea to see. Behind it, the academy itself climbs a gentle slope in a series of courtyards and wooden halls, with a view over the Nakdong river. Dodong-seowon was founded in the sixteenth century to honour Kim Goeng-pil, a Neo-Confucian scholar executed in a political purge, and it is one of the nine Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2019.
Read the complete Dodong-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dodong-seowon comes up about 75 km into the recorded legs. Next is Namgye-seowon.
3. Namgye-seowon
Hamyang is a quiet county in the mountains of South Gyeongsang, on the eastern edge of Jirisan, the great massif in the south of the Korean peninsula, and Namgye-seowon stands on a gentle slope a few kilometres from the county town. Founded in 1552 to honour the Neo-Confucian scholar Jeong Yeo-chang, it was one of the earliest private academies in Korea and served as a model for many others. Its layout set a pattern: the lecture hall at the front, dormitories on either side, and the shrine for the rites at the top of the slope, so that the buildings climb the hill in a hierarchy of importance. Unusually, the dormitories have small raised pavilions overlooking ponds, where students could rest and contemplate the landscape. Namgye is part of the UNESCO listing of the Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies.
Read the complete Namgye-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 168 km into the recorded legs you reach Namgye-seowon. Next is back through Dodong-seowon.
4. back through Dodong-seowon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dodong-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dodong-seowon, late in the day. Next is Marisan Tumuli.
5. Marisan Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Marisan Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Marisan Tumuli. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Marisan Tumuli to Dodong-seowon
Marisan Tumuli → Dodong-seowon is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dodong-seowon to Namgye-seowon
Dodong-seowon → Namgye-seowon is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Namgye-seowon to back through Dodong-seowon
Namgye-seowon → back through Dodong-seowon is 92 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Dodong-seowon to Marisan Tumuli
back through Dodong-seowon → Marisan Tumuli is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.