Mausoleum of King Wang Kon and Area 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Mausoleum of King Wang Kon

   Wang Kon, the founder of Goryeo, was a merchant's son from the coast who became a warlord and then a king, and he took the throne in 918 after the collapse of the earlier Silla order. The kingdom he built gave the modern word Korea its name. When he died in 943, he was buried on the hillside west of his capital at Kaesong, and the tomb has been rebuilt more than once. The present mausoleum, called Hyonjongnung, with its stone figures and a mound looking over the hills, was extensively restored in the 1990s, a fact that guides sometimes mention and sometimes do not.

   Read the complete Mausoleum of King Wang Kon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Mausoleum of King Wang Kon is where the day begins. Next is Jangneung Cluster.

2. 2. 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.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Jangneung Cluster comes up about 61 km into the recorded legs. Next is Area 2.

3. 3. Area 2

   Built and expanded as an emergency capital in the early seventeenth century, its walls run for kilometres along the ridges, with gates, command posts and temples inside, and it became a World Heritage site in 2014. The fortress is remembered for a bitter episode: in the winter of 1636 to 1637, King Injo fled here as the armies of the Qing invaded, and after a siege of more than forty days in the cold, he came down and submitted, kneeling before the Qing emperor. Koreans still regard it as a moment of national humiliation and resilience at the same time.

   Read the complete Area 2 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 122 km into the recorded legs you reach Area 2. Next is back through Jangneung Cluster.

4. 4. back through Jangneung Cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Jangneung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Jangneung Cluster, late in the day. Next is Mausoleum of King Wang Kon.

5. 5. Mausoleum of King Wang Kon

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mausoleum of King Wang Kon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Mausoleum of King Wang Kon. That is the ride.