[One Day Walk] Shall We Walk the Goryeo Royal Tombs... Ganghwa Nadeulgil Course 3

16.2Km Distance Towards Gonreung, Seokreung, and Gareung

Course 3 of Ganghwa Nadeulgil has two routes: one that circles inside Jeondeungsa Temple from Onsur-ri Public Parking Lot, and another that walks toward Onsur-ri Anglican Church. The course inside Jeondeungsa takes about 1 hour, while the route toward the Anglican Church, passing Giljeong Reservoir, the tomb of Yi Gyubo, Gonreung, Seokreung, and Gareung, covers a total distance of 16.2 km and takes about 5 hours and 30 minutes. This course features Jeondeungsa, the oldest existing Korean Buddhist temple.

Jeondeungsa houses many relics, including treasure-level cultural assets such as the Daeungbojeon Hall, Yaksa-jeon Hall, and the temple bell. There are two entrances: the East Gate and the South Gate. At the East Gate stands the Yang Heon-su Victory Monument, which proves Jeondeungsa as the origin of patriotic Buddhism. It was erected in 1873, the 10th year of King Gojong’s reign, to commemorate General Yang Heon-su’s achievements in repelling the French troops who invaded Jeondeungsa, a strategic stronghold during the French Campaign against Korea (Byeongin Yangyo), thus saving the nation from crisis. On the path from the South Gate ticket booth, passing Jonghaeru Pavilion to Daejoru Pavilion, there are two large ginkgo trees over 700 years old, known as the Nohseung Tree and Dongseung Tree, which are protected trees.

Leaving Jeondeungsa and walking further, you will reach Onsur-ri Anglican Church. It is a wooden building that applies Western Christian church architecture to traditional Korean construction techniques, representing an East-West hybrid style. It consists of the main sanctuary and a two-story gate tower with a bell.

Passing Giljeong Reservoir, you will find the tomb of Yi Gyubo, the greatest literary figure of the Goryeo Dynasty. Following that, you can see the royal tombs of Goryeo in sequence: Gonreung, Seokreung, and Gareung. The scale is small, with only burial mounds, stone guardian statues (mangjuseok), and spirit stones (honyuseok) as facilities. It is difficult to expect the typical royal tomb structure with retaining stones and railings. At the Gareung parking lot, you can get your walking passport stamped to mark the completion of the course.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.