Why this ride
A 287 km round trip from Gyeongju - roughly 5 h 01 in the saddle. On the way it passes Hwangnyongsa Belt, Oksan-seowon, Tongdosa Temple and back through Oksan-seowon. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple and Tongdosa Temple
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 287 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 01
- 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. Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Bulguksa sits on the lower slopes of Tohamsan, a forested mountain above Gyeongju, and it is the most famous Buddhist temple in Korea. It was largely built in the eighth century under the Silla kingdom, at a time when Gyeongju was its capital and one of the largest cities in Asia, and tradition credits the work to the minister Kim Dae-seong. Stone staircases and terraces from that time still carry the wooden halls, which have been rebuilt after fires and wars, most destructively during the Japanese invasions of the 1590s.
Read the complete Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple is where the day begins. Next is Hwangnyongsa Belt.
2. Hwangnyongsa Belt
Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom for nearly a thousand years, and it is often called a museum without walls, because the tombs, temple sites and palace ruins lie scattered through a modern provincial city. Hwangnyongsa was once the greatest temple in the kingdom, begun in 553, and its nine-storey wooden pagoda, built in the seventh century after the monk Jajang came back from China, was one of the tallest wooden buildings in East Asia. The temple was burned down when the Mongols invaded in 1238, and what is left is a wide field of foundation stones, where the outline of the great hall and the pagoda base can still be made out.
Read the complete Hwangnyongsa Belt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hwangnyongsa Belt comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Oksan-seowon.
3. Oksan-seowon
Oksan-seowon sits in a quiet valley northwest of Gyeongju, beside a clear stream that tumbles over smooth granite slabs. It was founded in 1572 to honour Yi Eon-jeok, one of the great Neo-Confucian scholars of the Joseon dynasty, who lived in retreat nearby, and it served as a private academy where young men studied the Confucian classics, prepared for the state examinations, and performed rites in honour of the master. The buildings are arranged according to the strict logic of Confucian architecture: a lecture hall, dormitories for students, a library and, at the back, a shrine for the rites. The architecture is restrained, with wooden halls, tiled roofs and open courtyards, designed to harmonise with the landscape. Oksan is part of the UNESCO listing of the Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies, inscribed in 2019.
Read the complete Oksan-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Oksan-seowon. Next is Tongdosa Temple.
4. Tongdosa Temple
Most Korean Buddhist temples have a statue of the Buddha in their main hall. Tongdosa does not. Instead, a window behind the altar looks out onto a stone stupa that is said to contain relics of the historical Buddha, brought back from China by the monk Jajang, who founded the temple in 646. That makes Tongdosa one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea, representing the Buddha himself, alongside Haeinsa, representing the teaching, and Songgwangsa, the community of monks. It is part of the UNESCO-listed Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea, inscribed in 2018.
Read the complete Tongdosa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tongdosa Temple, about halfway. Next is back through Oksan-seowon.
5. back through Oksan-seowon
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Oksan-seowon write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Oksan-seowon sits at 177 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hwangnyongsa Belt.
6. back through Hwangnyongsa Belt
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hwangnyongsa Belt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hwangnyongsa Belt comes up about 250 km into the recorded legs. Next is Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple.
7. Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple closes the day.
Leg by leg
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple to Hwangnyongsa Belt
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple → Hwangnyongsa Belt is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hwangnyongsa Belt to Oksan-seowon
Hwangnyongsa Belt → Oksan-seowon is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Oksan-seowon to Tongdosa Temple
Oksan-seowon → Tongdosa Temple is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Tongdosa Temple to back through Oksan-seowon
Tongdosa Temple → back through Oksan-seowon is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Oksan-seowon to back through Hwangnyongsa Belt
back through Oksan-seowon → back through Hwangnyongsa Belt is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hwangnyongsa Belt to Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
back through Hwangnyongsa Belt → Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.