Why this ride
A 493 km round trip from Yonggang-ŭp - roughly 7 h 08 in the saddle. On the way it passes Anak Tomb No. 3, Mausoleum of King Kongmin and back through Anak Tomb No. 3. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Twin-Column Tomb and Mausoleum of King Kongmin
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 493 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 08
- 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. Twin-Column Tomb
Before anything else, an honest note: independent travel in North Korea is not possible, and visitors can only go on organised tours with official guides, so a ride here is a matter of reading about a place rather than taking a route. With that said, the Twin-Column Tomb sits near Yonggang, a town of about thirteen thousand on the plain near the coast, not far from the larger city of Nampo, and it belongs to the Koguryo kingdom, one of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea.
Read the complete Twin-Column Tomb write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Twin-Column Tomb is where the day begins. Next is Anak Tomb No. 3, 99 km on.
2. Anak Tomb No. 3
Some tombs hold their dead, and others hold a whole world. Anak Tomb No. 3 in South Hwanghae Province is one of the great painted tombs of the Goguryeo kingdom, which ruled much of Korea and Manchuria from the first century BC to 668 AD. The chamber, built of stone slabs and covered with plaster, is decorated with murals showing a kitchen, a stable, a smokehouse, musicians and a long procession of soldiers, officials and attendants, some two hundred and fifty figures by the usual count. An inscription dated to 357 AD names a man called Dong Shou, a refugee from the Chinese states, and for years that was taken to be the tomb's owner, though some scholars argue it may have belonged to a Goguryeo king.
Read the complete Anak Tomb No. 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Anak Tomb No. 3 comes up about 95 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mausoleum of King Kongmin.
3. Mausoleum of King Kongmin
Of all the places on the list of world heritage, the Mausoleum of King Kongmin must be one of the hardest to reach on two wheels, because it lies in North Korea, in the hills west of the old city of Kaesong.
Read the complete Mausoleum of King Kongmin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 246 km into the recorded legs you reach Mausoleum of King Kongmin. Next is back through Anak Tomb No. 3, 98 km on.
4. back through Anak Tomb No. 3
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Anak Tomb No. 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Anak Tomb No. 3, late in the day. Next is Twin-Column Tomb.
5. Twin-Column Tomb
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Twin-Column Tomb write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Twin-Column Tomb. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Twin-Column Tomb to Anak Tomb No. 3
Twin-Column Tomb → Anak Tomb No. 3 is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Anak Tomb No. 3 to Mausoleum of King Kongmin
Anak Tomb No. 3 → Mausoleum of King Kongmin is 151 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Mausoleum of King Kongmin to back through Anak Tomb No. 3
Mausoleum of King Kongmin → back through Anak Tomb No. 3 is 151 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Anak Tomb No. 3 to Twin-Column Tomb
back through Anak Tomb No. 3 → Twin-Column Tomb is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.