Taereung Cluster and Namhansanseong

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Taereung Cluster

   Korea's Joseon kings chose their tombs the way they chose a capital, with a geomancer. A good site needed a mountain behind, water in front and a gentle forest around, and the royal tombs scattered across the countryside around Seoul follow that rule, which is why many of them feel like parks. Taereung is one of the best known, on the north-east side of the city, a burial ground for Queen Munjeong and her son King Myeongjong in the sixteenth century. The forty tombs of the dynasty were listed by UNESCO in 2009, and walking among them is a calm contrast to the city outside.

   Read the complete Taereung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Taereung Cluster is where the day begins. Next is Seolleung Cluster.

2. 2. Seolleung Cluster

   You come up out of the Seolleung subway station into the glass towers of Gangnam, and a few minutes later you are standing in a pine grove with royal tombs. The Seolleung cluster holds the burial mounds of King Seongjong, who died in the fifteenth century, and his queen, together with the tomb of King Jungjong, a later ruler, at a short distance. The park, surrounded by office blocks and busy roads, has the stillness of a place that has been left alone for five hundred years, and it is one of the most surprising pieces of silence in the city.

   Read the complete Seolleung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Seolleung Cluster comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Namhansanseong.

3. 3. Namhansanseong

   Just beyond the south-eastern edge of Seoul, the city stops abruptly against wooded mountains, and on top of them runs a stone wall with gates, watchtowers and command posts. Namhansanseong was built as an emergency capital, a mountain fortress where the king and court could retreat in time of invasion, and in the winter of 1636 to 1637 it was put to the test. King Injo fled here from the invading Qing army and held out for forty-seven days before hunger and the fall of other strongholds forced him to surrender. The fortress became a World Heritage Site in 2014.

   Read the complete Namhansanseong write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 38 km into the recorded legs you reach Namhansanseong. Next is back through Seolleung Cluster.

4. 4. back through Seolleung Cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Seolleung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Seolleung Cluster, late in the day. Next is Taereung Cluster.

5. 5. Taereung Cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Taereung Cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Taereung Cluster. That is the ride.