Why this ride
A 299 km round trip from Neietsu - roughly 6 h 19 in the saddle. On the way it passes Buseoksa Temple, Dosan-seowon, Byeongsan-seowon and back through Dosan-seowon. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty and Byeongsan-seowon starting at Neietsu
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 299 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 19
- 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. Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
In the mountains of Gangwon Province, the town of Yeongwol sits where two rivers meet among steep forested ridges, and at the edge of it, in a stand of pines, lies Jangneung, the tomb of Danjong. Danjong became king as a boy of eleven in 1452. His uncle Sejo seized the throne a few years later, and the young king was exiled to Yeongwol, a remote and isolated place chosen for that reason, and died there in 1457, still a teenager. The tomb is a simple grassy mound that is part of the UNESCO group of Joseon royal burials, and it lies far from the other royal tombs, which cluster around Seoul.
Read the complete Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty is where the day begins. Next is Buseoksa Temple.
2. Buseoksa Temple
The name Buseoksa means temple of the floating stone, and the legend behind it involves a monk, a princess and a dragon. When the monk Uisang founded the temple in 676, after returning from studies in China, a young woman named Seonmyo who had fallen in love with him there is said to have followed him in the form of a dragon, and when local bandits opposed the new temple she lifted a huge rock into the air to frighten them off. A large boulder behind the main hall is still pointed out as the floating stone, and you will be told that a thread can be passed beneath it.
Read the complete Buseoksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Buseoksa Temple comes up about 46 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dosan-seowon.
3. Dosan-seowon
If you have handled a Korean thousand-won note, you have already seen Dosan Seowon. The building on the back of the note is this Confucian academy, and the scholar on the front is Yi Hwang, known by his pen name Toegye, one of the most influential Neo-Confucian thinkers of Korea. He set up a small study hall here in the sixteenth century, on a quiet slope above the Nakdong river, and after his death in 1570 his disciples expanded it into a full academy, a seowon, where students came to study the classics and honour his memory. It is one of the nine Korean Confucian academies listed by UNESCO in 2019.
Read the complete Dosan-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 98 km into the recorded legs you reach Dosan-seowon. Next is Byeongsan-seowon.
4. Byeongsan-seowon
Byeongsan Seowon sits above a bend of the Nakdong river, a few kilometres from the village of Hahoe and about fifteen kilometres from Andong, in the rolling, rural interior of North Gyeongsang province. The river curves around a cliff face called Buyongdae, and the academy looks across the water to the opposite cliff in a way that is almost a painting. Andong, a city of about a hundred and thirty thousand people, is the nearest place of any size.
Read the complete Byeongsan-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Byeongsan-seowon, about halfway. Next is back through Dosan-seowon.
5. back through Dosan-seowon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dosan-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dosan-seowon sits at 174 km, about halfway. Next is back through Buseoksa Temple.
6. back through Buseoksa Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Buseoksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Buseoksa Temple comes up about 254 km into the recorded legs. Next is Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.
7. Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty closes the day.
Leg by leg
Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty to Buseoksa Temple
Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty → Buseoksa Temple is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Buseoksa Temple to Dosan-seowon
Buseoksa Temple → Dosan-seowon is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dosan-seowon to Byeongsan-seowon
Dosan-seowon → Byeongsan-seowon is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Byeongsan-seowon to back through Dosan-seowon
Byeongsan-seowon → back through Dosan-seowon is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dosan-seowon to back through Buseoksa Temple
back through Dosan-seowon → back through Buseoksa Temple is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Buseoksa Temple to Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
back through Buseoksa Temple → Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.