Why this ride
A 183 km round trip from Incheon - roughly 4 h 03 in the saddle. The stops in between: Jangneung Cluster, Seosamreung Cluster, Jeongneung Cluster and Olleung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Seosan Getbol and Olleung Cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 183 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 03
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Seosan Getbol
Korea's west coast has some of the largest tides on earth. Twice a day the Yellow Sea pulls back for kilometres, exposing vast shining mud flats, the getbol, laced with channels and alive with crabs, mudskippers, worms and shellfish. UNESCO has listed a series of these Korean tidal flats for their extraordinary biodiversity and for the millions of migratory shorebirds that stop here to feed on their way between Siberia and Australia.
Read the complete Seosan Getbol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seosan Getbol is where the day begins. Next is Jangneung Cluster.
2. Jangneung Cluster
The Joseon dynasty ruled Korea for over five hundred years, and its kings and queens were buried in carefully chosen spots around the capital, in tombs designed according to Confucian ritual and the principles of geomancy, with a hill behind, water in front and mountains framing the view. In 2009, forty of these tombs were listed by UNESCO as the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Jangneung, in Gimpo, just west of Seoul, is the tomb of Wonjong, the father of King Injo, who was elevated to royal rank after his death. It is a quiet, wooded place, with a grassy burial mound, stone statues of officials and animals, and a T-shaped shrine where ancestral rites were held.
Read the complete Jangneung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jangneung Cluster comes up 20 km in. Next is Seosamreung Cluster.
3. Seosamreung Cluster
The kings and queens of the Joseon dynasty, who ruled Korea for more than five hundred years until 1910, chose their graves with enormous care. Geomancers studied hills, water and wind to find sites with the right energy, and the royal tombs were laid out with burial mounds, stone guardians, ceremonial halls and long processional paths. Forty of these tombs are listed together by UNESCO as the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, and Seosamreung, the three western tombs in Goyang just north-west of Seoul, is one of the clusters.
Read the complete Seosamreung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
39 km in you reach Seosamreung Cluster. Next is Jeongneung Cluster.
4. Jeongneung Cluster
Jeongneung is a royal tomb in the middle of Seoul, in the wooded hills of Seongbuk district just north of the old city, and it carries one of the more spiteful stories of the early Joseon court. It belongs to Queen Sindeok, the second wife of the dynasty's founder, King Taejo. Her son was named crown prince ahead of Taejo's older sons by his first wife, and one of those older sons, Yi Bang-won, struck back violently, killing his half-brothers and eventually taking the throne as King Taejong.
Read the complete Jeongneung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jeongneung Cluster, about halfway. Next is Olleung Cluster.
5. 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
Olleung Cluster sits at 78 km, about halfway. Next is back through Jeongneung Cluster.
6. back through Jeongneung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jeongneung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Jeongneung Cluster comes up 98 km in. Next is back through Seosamreung Cluster.
7. back through Seosamreung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seosamreung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
117 km in you reach back through Seosamreung Cluster. Next is back through Jangneung Cluster.
8. back through Jangneung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jangneung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Jangneung Cluster, late in the day. Next is Seosan Getbol.
9. Seosan Getbol
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seosan Getbol 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 183 km.
Leg by leg
Seosan Getbol to Jangneung Cluster
Seosan Getbol → Jangneung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jangneung Cluster to Seosamreung Cluster
Jangneung Cluster → Seosamreung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seosamreung Cluster to Jeongneung Cluster
Seosamreung Cluster → Jeongneung Cluster is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jeongneung Cluster to Olleung Cluster
Jeongneung Cluster → Olleung Cluster is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Olleung Cluster to back through Jeongneung Cluster
Olleung Cluster → back through Jeongneung Cluster is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jeongneung Cluster to back through Seosamreung Cluster
back through Jeongneung Cluster → back through Seosamreung Cluster is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seosamreung Cluster to back through Jangneung Cluster
back through Seosamreung Cluster → back through Jangneung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jangneung Cluster to Seosan Getbol
back through Jangneung Cluster → Seosan Getbol is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.