Seowon and Byeongsan-seowon

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Seowon

   Dosan Seowon is a school, and it is the school of a man who is still on the thousand-won note. Yi Hwang, better known as Toegye, was the greatest Neo-Confucian philosopher of Korea's Joseon dynasty, and after he died in 1570 his students built this academy beside the Nakdong river where he used to teach. It opened a few years afterwards and became the model for hundreds of others. The site was listed as one of nine Neo-Confucian academies of Korea on the World Heritage list in 2019.

   Read the complete Seowon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Seowon is where the day begins. Next is Bongjeongsa Temple.

2. 2. Bongjeongsa Temple

   Tucked into the wooded slopes of Cheondeungsan, a modest mountain north-west of Andong in North Gyeongsang province, Bongjeongsa is a temple that wears its age quietly. Its main claim to fame is a small, plain hall called Geungnakjeon, believed to be the oldest surviving wooden building in Korea, dating back to the Goryeo dynasty. Repairs in the twentieth century turned up records suggesting the hall had been rebuilt in the thirteenth century, which makes it older than almost anything else made of timber in the country. Bongjeongsa is one of seven mountain monasteries inscribed by UNESCO in 2018 as Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea.

   Read the complete Bongjeongsa Temple write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Bongjeongsa Temple comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Byeongsan-seowon.

3. 3. 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

   about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Byeongsan-seowon. Next is back through Bongjeongsa Temple.

4. 4. back through Bongjeongsa Temple

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Bongjeongsa Temple write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Bongjeongsa Temple, late in the day. Next is Seowon.

5. 5. Seowon

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Seowon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Seowon. That is the ride.