Cycling Busan to Seoul, South Korea - Part 2
Our journey from Busan to Seoul continued from Daegu to Gumi to heritage rich Andong, where we made an unforgettable trip to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Hahoe Village.
This is a continuation from Cycling Busan to Seoul, South Korea - Part 1
STAGE 3: DAEGU TO GUMI
Start Daegu
Finish Gumi
Distance 51km
Climbing 230m
Grade Easy
After a day off the bike in Daegu where we spent the day walking to stretch our legs, the Folding Tales crew had a fairly uneventful and easy ride to Gumi. If you look at our elevation gain it was also probably the flattest ride of the tour, and we had the opportunity to have a proper breakfast at the hotel and a leisurely start to the morning. Having to cover only half the distance as our previous days, it was a treat that allowed us to truly relax and take our time. It was also a mental break from the more rural villages and agricultural areas, as civilisation was always in view not too far off in the horizon.
The day’s route covered some lovely stretches along the bike lane as we continued to follow the Nakdonggang River further north. But first, we made a pitstop at the ARC Cultural Center at the 6km mark, at the meeting point of the Nakdonggang and Geumhogang Rivers. The building itself is an impressive architectural feature that was designed to be in harmony with the river, surrounded by a beautiful landscape characteristic of the natural Korean countryside. At first glance it appears to be a spaceship of some sort, but the multimedia theatre pavilion actually showcases everything about Korea’s river culture.
Leaving the arc, we rode along the twists and turns of the river, enjoying the picturesque views on either side. Lunch came in the form of a pizza stop in Chigok, then a pleasant afternoon of unhurried cycling. It was well before sunset when we reached our hotel in Gumi, a major industrial epicenter for the country and home to Samsung mobile and LG Display. The city of Gumi is not really a tourist destination on its own, and in truth we were merely passing through for a layover before another gran fondo. A local dinner of Korean pancakes was another check on our food must-have list, and we had a nice hot tub soak and a good rest before leaving bright and early the next day.
STAGE 4: GUMI TO ANDONG
Start Gumi
Finish Andong
Distance 110km
Climbing 756m
Grade Moderate
Day 4 was yet another day of following the riverside bike lanes, but we’d noticed a significant drop in the temperature from the previous day. We started the ride bundled up and only shed some layers when the sun came out to warm us up. We’d ridden almost 300km by day 4, and the temperatures were beginning to inch lower the further north we went, and moving deeper into autumn. We made good time this day, only stopping for a packed snack of roasted chestnuts at the 39km mark - a good idea since it took another 20km+ and some steep climbs to reach a lunch stop after our first option turned out to be closed or abandoned.
While the previous day’s ride was always accompanied by riverside or city views in the distant horizon, the road to Andong continued further into remote rural areas, going through more agricultural land and villages. Lunch was a hearty mackerel stew with Korean style traditional condiments, at a random restaurant within an area surrounded by fields full of hay rolls. We earned a big thumbs up from the matron of the restaurant when she learnt our destination for the day, and how long our entire tour would stretch. By the 60km mark we’d reached the Donamseowon Confucian Academy in Sangju, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, obviously a good pitstop for photos.
Knowing we still had another 40km to go we didn’t linger long. The road continued through a very quiet farm area, and finishing before it got too late in the day was imperative. We didn’t quite make it before sunset however, and it was dark by the time we peeled off the bike lane into Andong proper, continuing along the main road until we reached Sosan Village and our accommodation for the next two nights, the centuries-old Yangsodang House. The patriarch Mr Kim drove us to a scrumptious, bubbling bulgogi dinner, which was the perfect end to the day.
Yangsodang House
This was the head residence of the Andong Kim clan, a beautiful hanok that has been preserved in mostly its original form, though with modern amenities added like heating, electricity and heated water. The name of the house “Yangsodang” means “making the family pure and noble by cultivating simplicity and innocence,” reflecting the family’s tradition. Said to have been built by Gim Yeong-Su (1446-1502), whose pen name was Yangsodang during the reign of Joseon King Seongjong. The home is quite literally a glimpse into Korea’s past, tucked away in a quaint village just off the main road that houses several heritage homes and a small public park.
Just like other hanoks, Yangsodang House is positioned in relation to its surroundings, with thought given to the land and seasons. The ideal house is built with a mountain in the back and a river in the front, and this was true with Yangsodang, with higher ground behind and while a river was not directly outside the front gate, it ran undeniably in front of the village as a whole. Yangsodang was also built in the customary square formation with a central courtyard that is a classic design for hanoks in the north, because this allows the home to retain heat better than the more open L formations of hanoks in the south.
In the traditional hanok style, Yangsodang has beautiful tiled roofs, wooden beams and stone-block construction. Delicate traditional paper lubricated with bean oil called Hanji were used to construct the windows and doors; both aesthetically pleasing and breathable. The lovely home uses the Korean floor-based heating system called Ondol which we were really grateful for since temperatures were dropping by the time we’d reached Andong. If you’re planning to stay at Yangsodang keep in mind that while the bathrooms/toilets are modern inside, they are not allowed to build anything other than the old style of outhouses that are separated from the rest of the house, meaning if it is cold or raining you’d need a jacket to head out to the loo.
For some perspective, Kim (occasionally romanized as Gim) is the most common family name in both Koreas, and are characterised by where they claim to originate from. The Gim clan of Andong refers to two Korean clans who were prominent yangban (noble) families during Korea's Joseon dynasty originating from Andong, during the Goryeo dynasty. The clan produced many individuals who passed the gwageo (national civil service examinations under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties), as well as three queens.
hahoe village
Eka’s initial plan was to cycle to Hahoe Village since it was a mere 7km away, but Maya and myself outvoted him since our rest day in Andong was sandwiched between two gran fondos. With our fourth and final long ride also including a mountain climb, we implemented a one-day cycling ban that Eka eventually complied with. Initially planning to take the bus that was a two minute walk from Yangsodang House, we eventually decided to save some time and managed to get Mr Kim’s son to help call a taxi for us instead.
Translating to “Village Enveloped by Water”, Hahoe gets its name from Nakdong River, which flows around the town’s perimeter at the foothills of the Hwasan Moutain. Besides the heritage homes, you can also enjoy magnificent views of the riverside, sandy beaches and Buyongdae Cliff, as well as walk under the lush ginko and pine trees. The village is home to about 200 families mostly of the Ryu clan, who have lived here for centuries. The center of the village is populated by large tile-roofed houses belonging to the nobility, surrounded by thatched roof peasants' homes facing north, south, west and east.
After lunch we went to catch the Andong Mask Dance at the nearby performance hall, held everyday at 2.30pm and is open to visitors who have paid the entrance fee for Hahoe Village. It is a folk dance that has some pretty interesting social commentary of ancient Korean society, speaking of the hypocrisy of the aristocrasy and religious bodies of the era. If you don’t mind crowds, Hahoe is the focal point of the Andong International Mask Dance Festival held between the 28th of September and the 7th of October.
It is worth spending a day in Hahoe just wandering around, having a bibimbap brunch beforehand to fuel our walk, but motorised scooters were available for rent too. Our deviation to Andong from the main cycling route was definitely worth it, since postcard perfect Hahoe Village was like a walk through time and is really an experience worth the entire trip to South Korea. The village looks like it came straight out of a history book, and is so well preserved that even England’s Queen Elizabeth popped by for a visit back in 1999.
STAGE 5: ANDONG to suanbo
Start Andong
Finish Suanbo
Distance 102km
Climbing 1,051m
Grade Moderate
After a day of rest in Andong we packed up and set off once again. This day was our fourth and final gran fondo of the tour, and we had a mountain to climb somewhere around the 75km mark so it was another early start for us. The day began with a gentle ascent back onto the main cycling route along the river, with breakfast of stuffed fried doughnuts from a street food vendor after cycling 12km to Pungcheon-myeon. It felt like we’d never tasted anything so good! By the time we finished eating while sitting on the bench of a bus stop, a local breakfast coffee place had opened its doors, so we had a cup each and stopped by a local supermarket to refill our bidons before hitting the road again.
Because of where we were, the normal views of the riverside and natural landscape now included mountains in the distance, a constant reminder to save a bit of energy for our final uphill push up to Suanbo. But it had rained the night before so it was hard not to enjoy the ride on a day of such glorious weather, with the fall colours already evident all along the bike path. We made a pitstop at Yecheon Samgang Korean Pub Village, which has been preserved supposedly in its original state from when it was built in the early 1900s. This was basically the best tavern providing food, drink and a place of rest for anyone who traveled to and from Samgang Naru, and is said to be the oldest pub still standing in the country.
Lunch was a quick Lotteria set meal near the 50km mark at Mungyeong, after which we had another fairly pleasant 25km before we started climbing not too far from Maseongmyeon. But with most mountain climbs come great scenery, and we were treated to lovely views as we rode along, and made it to the peak at the 85km mark as the sky exploded with swirls of golden red and orange. We then descended in the biting cold for approximately 5km, climbed a gentler second peak before another downhill and reached Suanbo slightly after dark.
Suanbo
As a hot spring town, Suanbo has been a favourite for emperors and presidents, though apparently not much has been done to develop the place since the 1970s. We’d not known this part, and rolling into town at night we were greeted by colourful neon lights ala Christmas decorations. Riding to our hotel we definitely noticed that a number of buildings were either abandoned or in dire need of refurbishment. There was a noticeable lack of pedestrians out and about too, though we reasoned perhaps the town gets a decent crowd on weekends.
Suanbo is known for its hot springs and jjimjilbang or saunas, and some hotels will have these facilities that can be used for a fee. Our hotel had a hot tub that took forever to fill, but served its purpose in helping us to get some relief from our five days of cycling and all the walking in between. We chose a restaurant nearby for a lovely dinner of pheasant - one of the local delicacies, and the staff appeared genuinely surprised to see a customer walk in. Since the meal was meant to be shared we had no room for the other Suanbo specialty - rabbit, but we were happy to try one of the two.
Since we were in the mountains it was quite chilly by the time we finished dinner, and that was definitely our cue to head back to our rooms. We’d celebrated and reminisced about our four gran fondos on the trip over dinner, and the final stretch of our journey to Seoul would definitely not be as hard. Still, we had nearly 200km left spread over the three remaining days, and another good night’s rest was necessary to continue on our way.
We’ll publish a write up on how to pack for the weather changes in colder climates soon, since it took us several trips to really nail it down. However, you’ll find a hint of it in our guide to packing light for a cycling tour.
In the meantime, you can continue to the final part of our journey Cycling Busan to Seoul, South Korea - Part 3
If you missed it, you can also start from the beginning at Cycling Busan to Seoul, South Korea - Part 1
If you enjoyed reading about our South Korean bike tour, do check out these other cycling journeys that might also tickle your fancy.
Cycling Spain’s Andalucia 2017
Cycling Taiwan’s East Rift Valley, Jiufen and Houtong 2019
Cycling Shikoku, Japan 2.0 2022
Cycling Northeast Taiwan 2023
We also have a number of domestic tours if you’re looking for ideas to travel in Malaysia:
Cycling Malaysia’s West Coast from Klang to Pangkor Island
