Why this ride
From Yeoju it runs 239 km to Yeoju; allow about 3 h 46 of riding. The stops in between: Heolleung Cluster, Jangneung Cluster and back through Heolleung Cluster. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yeongneung Cluster and Jangneung Cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 239 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 46
- 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 Heolleung Cluster.
2. Heolleung Cluster
In the south of Seoul, wedged between highways, apartment towers and the Daemosan hills, a forest of oak and pine hides two royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty. Heolleung is the tomb of King Taejong, the third king of Joseon, who ruled in the early fifteenth century, and his queen Wongyeong, and nearby lies Inneung, the tomb of King Sunjo and his queen from the nineteenth century. Together they form one of the clusters of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, listed by UNESCO in 2009.
Read the complete Heolleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Heolleung Cluster comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jangneung Cluster.
3. Jangneung Cluster
North-west of Seoul, close to where the Imjin river flows into the Han and the demilitarised zone cuts the Korean peninsula in two, lies a royal tomb: Jangneung, the resting place of King Injo, who ruled Joseon in the seventeenth century, and his queen. Injo's reign was marked by invasions from the Manchu, and he was forced to humiliate himself before the Qing emperor in 1637, a defeat that still resonates in Korean memory. His tomb, like the other Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2009, is a grassy mound on a hillside, guarded by stone figures of officials, warriors and animals, with a T-shaped shrine below.
Read the complete Jangneung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 118 km into the recorded legs you reach Jangneung Cluster. Next is back through Heolleung Cluster.
4. back through Heolleung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Heolleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Heolleung Cluster, late in the day. Next is Yeongneung Cluster.
5. 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
Back at Yeongneung Cluster. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Yeongneung Cluster to Heolleung Cluster
Yeongneung Cluster → Heolleung Cluster is 57 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Heolleung Cluster to Jangneung Cluster
Heolleung Cluster → Jangneung Cluster is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jangneung Cluster to back through Heolleung Cluster
Jangneung Cluster → back through Heolleung Cluster is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Heolleung Cluster to Yeongneung Cluster
back through Heolleung Cluster → Yeongneung Cluster is 58 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.