Why this ride
390 km from Gyeongju to Gyeongju, about 6 h 05 of riding. It goes by way of Tongdosa Temple, Gaya Tumuli, Marisan Tumuli and Songhak-dong Tumuli. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wolsong Belt and Songhak-dong Tumuli
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 390 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 05
- 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. Wolsong Belt
Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom for the better part of a thousand years, and the Wolseong belt is the heart of it. Wolseong means Crescent Moon Fortress, a low curved rise that once held the royal palace. Today you will see grassy embankments, the outline of old foundations, and a landscape more of absence than of monuments, which is exactly why so many Koreans come to stroll it, particularly at dusk and in the first week of April when the cherry blossoms are out.
Read the complete Wolsong Belt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wolsong Belt is where the day begins. Next is Tongdosa Temple.
2. 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 comes up about 46 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gaya Tumuli.
3. Gaya Tumuli
Right in the middle of Gimhae, a busy city just west of Busan, a low ridge of grassy mounds rises between apartment blocks and roads. These are the Daeseong-dong tumuli, the burial ground of the rulers of Geumgwan Gaya, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula from the first centuries AD until it was absorbed by Silla in the sixth century. In 2023 a group of Gaya burial sites, including these, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Read the complete Gaya Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 92 km into the recorded legs you reach Gaya Tumuli. Next is Marisan Tumuli.
4. Marisan Tumuli
In Haman county, in the south of Korea, a long ridge rises above the town of Gaya, and along its crest lies a line of large burial mounds, grassy domes that seem to ripple across the hills. These are the Malisan, or Marisan, tumuli, the royal tombs of Ara Gaya, one of the states of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula from roughly the first to the sixth century. In 2023, they were listed by UNESCO together with other Gaya tumuli across the region.
Read the complete Marisan Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Marisan Tumuli, about halfway. Next is Songhak-dong Tumuli.
5. Songhak-dong Tumuli
The little port town of Goseong, on the south coast of Korea, is best known to many Koreans for dinosaur footprints, but the green mounds on a ridge above the sea tell an older story. The Songhak-dong tumuli are burial mounds of the Gaya confederacy, a group of small city-states that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula alongside the better-known kingdoms of Baekje, Goguryeo and Silla, and that were gradually absorbed by Silla in the sixth century. Goseong was the centre of one of these states, usually called Sogaya, and the big round mounds here, laid out in a line above the bay, were the graves of its rulers.
Read the complete Songhak-dong Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Songhak-dong Tumuli sits at 201 km, about halfway. Next is back through Marisan Tumuli.
6. back through Marisan Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Marisan Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Marisan Tumuli comes up about 241 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Gaya Tumuli.
7. back through Gaya Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gaya Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 298 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Gaya Tumuli. Next is back through Tongdosa Temple.
8. back through Tongdosa Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Tongdosa Temple, late in the day. Next is Wolsong Belt.
9. Wolsong Belt
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wolsong Belt 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 390 km.
Leg by leg
Wolsong Belt to Tongdosa Temple
Wolsong Belt → Tongdosa Temple is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tongdosa Temple to Gaya Tumuli
Tongdosa Temple → Gaya Tumuli is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gaya Tumuli to Marisan Tumuli
Gaya Tumuli → Marisan Tumuli is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Marisan Tumuli to Songhak-dong Tumuli
Marisan Tumuli → Songhak-dong Tumuli is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Songhak-dong Tumuli to back through Marisan Tumuli
Songhak-dong Tumuli → back through Marisan Tumuli is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Marisan Tumuli to back through Gaya Tumuli
back through Marisan Tumuli → back through Gaya Tumuli is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gaya Tumuli to back through Tongdosa Temple
back through Gaya Tumuli → back through Tongdosa Temple is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tongdosa Temple to Wolsong Belt
back through Tongdosa Temple → Wolsong Belt is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.