Why this ride
95 km from Namyangju to Namyangju, about 2 h 10 of riding. On the way it passes Gwangneung Cluster\t, Olleung Cluster and back through Gwangneung Cluster\t. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sareung Cluster and Olleung Cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 95 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 10
- 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. Sareung Cluster
A queen who outlived her husband by more than sixty years lies here. Sareung is the tomb of Queen Jeongsun, wife of King Danjong, the boy king of the Joseon dynasty who was deposed by his uncle in 1455 and later killed in exile. Jeongsun lived on in poverty outside the capital, and the story of her loyalty and grief became one of the most moving in Korean history. Her tomb, a grassy mound guarded by stone figures and approached along a path through pine forest, is one of the forty Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty listed together as a World Heritage Site in 2009.
Read the complete Sareung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sareung Cluster is where the day begins. Next is Gwangneung Cluster\t.
2. 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 comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Olleung Cluster.
3. Olleung Cluster
Seoul's royal tombs are not all in the city centre, and the ones on this stretch lie in the green country just to the north-west, in a belt of forest, farmland and expanding suburbs that stretches towards the border. The cluster on our list is one of several groups of Joseon dynasty burial mounds, and the nearest sizeable town is Uijeongbu, nearly half a million people, with Goyang just beyond it.
Read the complete Olleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 48 km into the recorded legs you reach Olleung Cluster. Next is back through Gwangneung Cluster\t.
4. back through Gwangneung Cluster\t
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Gwangneung Cluster\t, late in the day. Next is Sareung Cluster.
5. Sareung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sareung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Sareung Cluster. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Sareung Cluster to Gwangneung Cluster\t
Sareung Cluster → Gwangneung Cluster\t is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gwangneung Cluster\t to Olleung Cluster
Gwangneung Cluster\t → Olleung Cluster is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Olleung Cluster to back through Gwangneung Cluster\t
Olleung Cluster → back through Gwangneung Cluster\t is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gwangneung Cluster\t to Sareung Cluster
back through Gwangneung Cluster\t → Sareung Cluster is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.