Why this ride
A 239 km round trip from Yeoju - roughly 3 h 58 in the saddle. The stops in between: Area 2, Donggureung Cluster, Olleung Cluster and back through Donggureung Cluster. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yeongneung Cluster and Olleung Cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 239 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 58
- 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 Donggureung Cluster.
3. 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
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Donggureung Cluster. Next is Olleung Cluster.
4. Olleung Cluster
Seoul's royal tombs are not all in the city centre, and the ones on this stretch lie in the green country just to the north-west, in a belt of forest, farmland and expanding suburbs that stretches towards the border. The cluster on our list is one of several groups of Joseon dynasty burial mounds, and the nearest sizeable town is Uijeongbu, nearly half a million people, with Goyang just beyond it.
Read the complete Olleung Cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Olleung Cluster, about halfway. Next is back through Donggureung Cluster.
5. back through Donggureung Cluster
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Donggureung Cluster sits at 141 km, about halfway. Next is back through Area 2.
6. 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 comes up about 171 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yeongneung Cluster.
7. 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
Yeongneung Cluster closes the day.
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 Donggureung Cluster
Area 2 → Donggureung Cluster is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Donggureung Cluster to Olleung Cluster
Donggureung Cluster → Olleung Cluster is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Olleung Cluster to back through Donggureung Cluster
Olleung Cluster → back through Donggureung Cluster is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Donggureung Cluster to back through Area 2
back through Donggureung Cluster → back through Area 2 is 43 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.