Why this ride
From Gwangtan it runs 164 km to Gwangtan; allow about 3 h 46 of riding. On the way it passes Seooreung Cluster, Uireung Cluster, Hongyureung Cluster and Gwangneung Cluster\t.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pajusamreung Cluster and Gwangneung Cluster\t
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 164 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 46
- 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. Pajusamreung Cluster
Close to the most heavily fortified border in the world, three royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty lie in a quiet pine forest in Paju, north of Seoul. Pajusamreung, the three tombs of Paju, include the resting places of Queen Jangsun and Queen Gonghye, both married to kings and both of whom died young, and of King Jinjong, honoured after his early death. Like all the Joseon royal tombs, they follow a precise layout of spirit gates, stone paths, shrines and grass mounds guarded by stone officials and animals, and they are part of the World Heritage listing of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.
Read the complete Pajusamreung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pajusamreung Cluster is where the day begins. Next is Seooreung Cluster.
2. Seooreung Cluster
Joseon kings chose their final resting places with the same care they gave to their palaces, and the Seooreung cluster in Goyang, just north-west of Seoul, shows how. The name means the five tombs of the west, and the forested grounds contain the burial mounds of several Joseon kings and queens from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Each tomb follows the principles of pungsu, the Korean form of geomancy: a mountain behind for protection, open land in front, ideally with water flowing past. The mound sits on a terrace, surrounded by stone figures of officials, warriors and animals standing guard, and below is a T-shaped shrine where rites were held. The forty Joseon royal tombs were added to the World Heritage list together in 2009.
Read the complete Seooreung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seooreung Cluster comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Uireung Cluster.
3. Uireung Cluster
Seoul is a city of ten million people, and it still has forested royal burial grounds on its edge. The Joseon dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910, buried its kings and queens in forty tombs scattered around the capital, each placed according to the rules of geomancy, with a hill behind, water in front, and a quiet clearing for ancestral rites. Nearly all of them survive, and in 2009 they were inscribed together as a World Heritage site. The cluster on this stretch of the map, east of the city towards Guri, belongs to that family of graves.
Read the complete Uireung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 40 km into the recorded legs you reach Uireung Cluster. Next is Hongyureung Cluster.
4. Hongyureung Cluster
The Joseon dynasty lasted from 1392 until 1910, and its kings and queens were laid to rest in a scattering of forested tombs around Seoul, forty of which are on the World Heritage list. Hongyureung is the name for two of them close to Namyangju, Hongneung and Yureung, which belong to the last two rulers of Korea. Hongneung is the resting place of Gojong, who proclaimed the Korean Empire in 1897 and died in 1919, in mysterious circumstances, just before the great independence uprising of that year. Yureung holds his son Sunjong, the last emperor, who lost his throne when Japan annexed Korea.
Read the complete Hongyureung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hongyureung Cluster, about halfway. Next is Gwangneung Cluster\t.
5. Gwangneung Cluster\t
Gwangneung is the tomb of King Sejo of Joseon and his queen, Jeonghui, and it sits inside one of the best-preserved forests in Korea, north-east of Seoul between Namyangju and Pocheon. Sejo seized the throne in 1455 from his young nephew Danjong, who was later exiled and killed, and he spent much of his reign strengthening royal power. In death, though, he asked for modesty: he ordered that his tomb be built without the usual stone burial chamber and without some of the stone ornaments, to save the people labour and expense. The two mounds lie on separate ridges, with a shrine between them.
Read the complete Gwangneung Cluster\t write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gwangneung Cluster\t sits at 76 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hongyureung Cluster.
6. back through Hongyureung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hongyureung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hongyureung Cluster comes up about 106 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Uireung Cluster.
7. back through Uireung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Uireung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 124 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Uireung Cluster. Next is back through Seooreung Cluster.
8. back through Seooreung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seooreung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Seooreung Cluster, late in the day. Next is Pajusamreung Cluster.
9. Pajusamreung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pajusamreung Cluster 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 164 km.
Leg by leg
Pajusamreung Cluster to Seooreung Cluster
Pajusamreung Cluster → Seooreung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seooreung Cluster to Uireung Cluster
Seooreung Cluster → Uireung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Uireung Cluster to Hongyureung Cluster
Uireung Cluster → Hongyureung Cluster is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hongyureung Cluster to Gwangneung Cluster\t
Hongyureung Cluster → Gwangneung Cluster\t is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gwangneung Cluster\t to back through Hongyureung Cluster
Gwangneung Cluster\t → back through Hongyureung Cluster is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hongyureung Cluster to back through Uireung Cluster
back through Hongyureung Cluster → back through Uireung Cluster is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Uireung Cluster to back through Seooreung Cluster
back through Uireung Cluster → back through Seooreung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seooreung Cluster to Pajusamreung Cluster
back through Seooreung Cluster → Pajusamreung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.