Why this ride
From Changnyeong it runs 438 km to Changnyeong; allow about 7 h 38 of riding. On the way it passes Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, Namgye-seowon, Seonamsa Temple and back through Namgye-seowon. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Okjeon Tumuli and Seonamsa Temple
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 438 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 38
- 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. Okjeon Tumuli
On a ridge above the Hwang river in Hapcheon County, a row of grassy mounds rises against the sky, each one the burial of a ruler or noble of Dara, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula between the first and sixth centuries. Gaya was famous for its iron, traded across the region and to Japan, and its tombs held armour, weapons, horse gear, pottery and gold ornaments. The Okjeon tumuli are one of seven groups listed together by UNESCO in 2023 as the Gaya Tumuli.
Read the complete Okjeon Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Okjeon Tumuli is where the day begins. Next is Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon.
2. Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon
High in the forested folds of Gayasan, in South Gyeongsang province, a temple keeps one of the great treasures of the Buddhist world. Haeinsa holds the Tripitaka Koreana, more than eighty thousand wooden printing blocks carved in the thirteenth century with the complete Buddhist scriptures, an act of devotion undertaken while the Mongols were invading Korea, in the hope that the Buddha's protection would save the country. The blocks are kept in the Janggyeong Panjeon, a pair of long, plain wooden halls built in the fifteenth century, and the halls are the real marvel. Their design uses natural ventilation, windows of different sizes on opposite walls, and a floor packed with charcoal, lime, clay and salt to regulate humidity and temperature, and they have protected the blocks for centuries without modern technology. The halls were listed by UNESCO in 1995.
Read the complete Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon comes up about 40 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 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Namgye-seowon. Next is Seonamsa Temple.
4. Seonamsa Temple
An old stone bridge arches over a stream in the forest on the way up to Seonamsa, and the view through its curve to a pavilion beyond is one of the best known images of Korean temple architecture. The Seungseongyo bridge dates back to the Joseon period, and the temple behind it, on the slopes of Jogyesan mountain near Suncheon, has a history going back to the ninth century. Seonamsa is one of seven Korean Buddhist mountain monasteries listed in 2018 as Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea, chosen because they have remained centres of living religious practice for over a thousand years.
Read the complete Seonamsa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seonamsa Temple, about halfway. Next is back through Namgye-seowon.
5. back through Namgye-seowon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Namgye-seowon sits at 258 km, about halfway. Next is back through Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon.
6. back through Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon comes up about 398 km into the recorded legs. Next is Okjeon Tumuli.
7. Okjeon Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Okjeon Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Okjeon Tumuli closes the day.
Leg by leg
Okjeon Tumuli to Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon
Okjeon Tumuli → Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon to Namgye-seowon
Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon → Namgye-seowon is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Namgye-seowon to Seonamsa Temple
Namgye-seowon → Seonamsa Temple is 116 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Seonamsa Temple to back through Namgye-seowon
Seonamsa Temple → back through Namgye-seowon is 115 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Namgye-seowon to back through Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon
back through Namgye-seowon → back through Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon to Okjeon Tumuli
back through Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon → Okjeon Tumuli is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.