Riders: Gareth Morgan, Jo Morgan, Dave Wallance, Brendan Keogh,
Motorcycles: Hyosungs
Distance: 3,500km
Countries: South Korea
Trip description: Starting off in the hurly burly of Downtown Seoul and out to Kapyong where New Zealand’s K-Force was stationed during the Korean War. Then along the DMZ and out east before riding southwards along the coast of the Sea of Japan and inland to Taedansan National Park and on to Namhae island at the bottom of the peninsula, back up to Soraksan National Park and into Seoul to drop the bikes off. This will be a visual, sensory and culinary delight.
And so another piece of our global motorcycle jigsaw puzzle is in place, the bikes are surrendered and we leave tomorrow. This 3,500 km trip has been fun and we take away very fond memories of the ROK and its people. What are the main impressions? That we got back to Itaewon, the European suburb […]
We’ve spent two days now riding along the razor wired southern boundary of the DMZ from the east coast back toward Seoul. Past the rest of the tunnels bored by the North Koreans and past the shot out Labour Party Headquarters where hundreds were tortured and executed during those dark days of occupation. The presence […]
The roads we have experienced here have been just great. Lots of tight curves and us wishing the footpegs didn’t drag quite so easily. Some wonderful views and the other extreme that we have seen in the last few days, serious smog, obliterating all but the closest scenery and shrouding our lives in grey. The […]
That’s how the climb up Ulsanbawi, the most famous rock outcrop in Seoraksan the most famous National Park in South Korea is billed. Can’t say we were looking forward to the challenge but if this biking and hiking tour of the ROK is to be complete then the climb is a ‘must do’ pinnacle of […]
What a weird feeling walking through a Korean town and having a meal. Today’s nuclear test by the DPRK has sent shockwaves through South Korea and in the reaction within small provincial town of Inje where we are – not far south of the DMZ – I’m guessing is typical. As the obligatory television sets […]
As we head back to the northweast corner of South Korea today, a highlight of our journey looms – the visit to Soraksan National Park and the last of our hiking torture. But two things make me suspicious; (a) The autumn colours seem to far more accentuated today than on previous days (b) this is the […]
Suanbo is a resort town with hot springs and ski slopes, set in the central hills. We managed to get a good deal on a couple of tired rooms in a tired hotel with an “oncheon” (Bath house) in the basement. The segregated pools were full at night so I thought a discrete plunge in […]
It’s the annual homecoming festive season of “Chosuk” when Koreans head back to the small family communities that are their roots. From home and abroad they converge on the little villages and farms that are where they originate from. There are the burial mounds of their ancestors are located and Chosuk sees all the family […]
Dave you don’t know what you’re missing, we’re getting disgustingly fit, mixing mountain hikes with a motorcycle ride. They certainly make for an exhausted team at the end of the day but by abandoning the bikes and taking to the slopes we get another perspective on the history of the place as well as having […]
Another mountain, another National Park. This time, another with Sharman origins (reminding us of our visit to Penis Park earlier in the tour), Chilgapsan provided just too many mountain trails for us to contemplate with our knees still in a fragile state left from the hikes to date. So instead we opted for a lunch […]
