Why this ride
From Yeonil it runs 186 km to Yeonil; allow about 4 h 16 of riding. It goes by way of Mt. Namsan Belt, Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple, Wolsong Belt and back through Wolsong Belt.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian and Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 186 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 16
- 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. Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian
Yangdong is a village that still lives like the old Korea of the Joseon dynasty. It lies in a valley north of Gyeongju, in a bowl of low wooded hills, and it is home to some of the finest surviving traditional houses in the country, hundreds of tiled-roof and thatched homes spread over the slopes. Two great clans have dominated it for centuries, the Wolseong Son and the Yeogang Yi, and their families built the large tile-roofed mansions on the high ground with the thatched houses of the tenants below. The neat layout follows the principles of feng shui: the main houses face south with a hill behind and a stream in front. UNESCO listed Yangdong along with Hahoe in 2010 as the Historic Villages of Korea.
Read the complete Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian is where the day begins. Next is Mt. Namsan Belt, 18 km on.
2. Mt. Namsan Belt
Namsan, the southern mountain of Gyeongju, is a modest granite ridge rising just under five hundred metres above the old capital of the Silla kingdom, and it is crammed with more Buddhist art than almost any mountain in Korea. For centuries the monks and craftsmen of Silla, which unified much of the Korean peninsula in the seventh century and ruled from Gyeongju until the tenth, carved Buddhas into its boulders, built stone pagodas on its ridges and placed temples in its valleys. UNESCO took in the whole mountain when it listed Gyeongju's historic areas, and walking its trails is like moving through an open-air museum among the pines.
Read the complete Mt. Namsan Belt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mt. Namsan Belt comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple.
3. Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Bulguksa sits on the lower slopes of Tohamsan, a forested mountain above Gyeongju, and it is the most famous Buddhist temple in Korea. It was largely built in the eighth century under the Silla kingdom, at a time when Gyeongju was its capital and one of the largest cities in Asia, and tradition credits the work to the minister Kim Dae-seong. Stone staircases and terraces from that time still carry the wooden halls, which have been rebuilt after fires and wars, most destructively during the Japanese invasions of the 1590s.
Read the complete Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple. Next is Wolsong Belt.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple.
5. Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple sits at 73 km, about halfway. Next is back through Wolsong Belt.
6. back through 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
back through Wolsong Belt comes up about 112 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple.
7. back through Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 137 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple. Next is back through Mt. Namsan Belt, 18 km on.
8. back through Mt. Namsan Belt
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mt. Namsan Belt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mt. Namsan Belt, late in the day. Next is Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian.
9. Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian 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 186 km.
Leg by leg
Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian to Mt. Namsan Belt
Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian → Mt. Namsan Belt is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mt. Namsan Belt to Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Mt. Namsan Belt → Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple to Wolsong Belt
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple → Wolsong Belt is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wolsong Belt to Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Wolsong Belt → Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple to back through Wolsong Belt
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple → back through Wolsong Belt is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wolsong Belt to back through Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
back through Wolsong Belt → back through Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple to back through Mt. Namsan Belt
back through Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple → back through Mt. Namsan Belt is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mt. Namsan Belt to Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian
back through Mt. Namsan Belt → Yangdong Cluster: Donggangseowon Confucian is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.