Why this ride
From Yeoju it runs 280 km to Yeoju; allow about 5 h 25 of riding. The stops in between: Area 2, Seolleung Cluster, Namhansanseong and Donggureung Cluster.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yeongneung Cluster and Donggureung Cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 280 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 25
- 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. Yeongneung Cluster
The Yeongneung cluster lies in the countryside of Yeoju, a town on the Namhan River east of Seoul, and it is the resting place of King Sejong the Great, who reigned from 1418 to 1450 and is remembered above all for the creation of the Korean alphabet, hangul, announced in the 1440s. Koreans hold the king in deep affection, and a statue of him sits in the middle of Seoul. His tomb here is a joint one, shared with his queen, and it sits in a beautiful pine-covered setting with stone officials, horses and lanterns lined along the approach. The nearby tomb of King Hyojong, known as Nyeongneung, is part of the same area.
Read the complete Yeongneung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yeongneung Cluster is where the day begins. Next is Area 2.
2. Area 2
Built and expanded as an emergency capital in the early seventeenth century, its walls run for kilometres along the ridges, with gates, command posts and temples inside, and it became a World Heritage site in 2014. The fortress is remembered for a bitter episode: in the winter of 1636 to 1637, King Injo fled here as the armies of the Qing invaded, and after a siege of more than forty days in the cold, he came down and submitted, kneeling before the Qing emperor. Koreans still regard it as a moment of national humiliation and resilience at the same time.
Read the complete Area 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Area 2 comes up about 49 km into the recorded legs. Next is Seolleung Cluster.
3. 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
about 69 km into the recorded legs you reach Seolleung Cluster. Next is Namhansanseong.
4. 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
Namhansanseong, about halfway. Next is Donggureung Cluster.
5. Donggureung Cluster
Nine kings and ten queens of the Joseon dynasty lie at Donggureung, in the city of Guri, just north-east of Seoul. The name means the Eastern Nine Tombs, and it is the largest royal burial ground of the dynasty, which ruled Korea for over five centuries from 1392 to 1910. The tombs are spread across a wooded hillside, each a grassy mound surrounded by stone figures of officials and animals, set according to the rules of geomancy with a mountain behind and water in front.
Read the complete Donggureung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Donggureung Cluster sits at 113 km, about halfway. Next is back through Namhansanseong.
6. back through Namhansanseong
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Namhansanseong comes up about 162 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Seolleung Cluster.
7. 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
about 182 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Seolleung Cluster. Next is back through Area 2.
8. back through Area 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Area 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Area 2, late in the day. Next is Yeongneung Cluster.
9. Yeongneung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yeongneung Cluster 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 280 km.
Leg by leg
Yeongneung Cluster to Area 2
Yeongneung Cluster → Area 2 is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Area 2 to Seolleung Cluster
Area 2 → Seolleung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seolleung Cluster to Namhansanseong
Seolleung Cluster → Namhansanseong is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Namhansanseong to Donggureung Cluster
Namhansanseong → Donggureung Cluster is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Donggureung Cluster to back through Namhansanseong
Donggureung Cluster → back through Namhansanseong is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Namhansanseong to back through Seolleung Cluster
back through Namhansanseong → back through Seolleung Cluster is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seolleung Cluster to back through Area 2
back through Seolleung Cluster → back through Area 2 is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Area 2 to Yeongneung Cluster
back through Area 2 → Yeongneung Cluster is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.