Five Bike Paths Through the Heart of Korea

Korea has far more certified cycle route than the Seoul–Busan line most visitors ride. This guide covers five of the paths that sit off it, grouped into the three trips they naturally make.

• Bukhangang 북한강 — Seoul to Chuncheon. 116 km ridden, in one day or two.
• Ocheon 오천 + Geumgang 금강 — Goesan to Gunsan. 306 km, in three days or six.
• Yeongsangang 영산강 + Seomjingang 섬진강 — Mokpo to Gwangyang. 294 km, in three days or five.

Each trip is planned twice: once for riders who want the distance, once for riders who want the country. Every single day carries its own Kakao Map route as a link, a QR code and a typed-out URL, so it works on a phone, in a PDF reader, or printed and folded into a jersey pocket.

Also inside: how the distances you actually ride differ from the signed path lengths and why; how bicycles travel on Korean subways and intercity buses; the one place on the southern trip where the route breaks and you take a bus between two rivers; the Baekje fortress and royal tombs sitting beside the Geumgang path; and how these routes fit into the national certification passport and the Grand Slam.