Bicycle Route between Seoul and Busan

the Maps

There is a set of 13 digital maps, see index below, showing a scenic route for cyclists to take on a journey from Busan to Seoul or the other way around. The description of the route is in both directions and may be helpful on locations where the maps are not so clear. Because of the large size of each map they will not be directly available for downloading, but can be obtained by contacting me by email (see bottom of this page). Make a hard copy of the digital file on A4 size paper or larger, portrait or landscape, depending on the orientation of the map, using the option 'fit paper size'. The maps are free of charge and in return I am glad to receive any information that may improve the route itself or the description of it. See an example of a part of a map below. The basic map data is taken from a scale 1:100,000 road map atlas. The texts are in hangeul, the Korean script. For the cities and towns along the routes I added also the names in romanized (='our') characters. At major junctions and towns distances are given to /from Seoul-Yeouido from / to Busan-Seomyeon.

the Route

The main objective is to select roads that are relatively quiet, leading through countryside with scenic beauty. The total distance is about 500 kilometres. Difficult mountain passes are avoided, the roads are paved, exclusive bike paths are included wherever possible. There are no tunnels longer than 100 metres. Some cities are on the route, which may be convenient if more is needed than only food shopping and accommodation for the night. These cities are Yeoju, Chungju and the route passes at close distance from Jeomchon (a.k.a. Mungyeong) and Yeongcheon. A number of small towns are encountered, where basic needs can be found, including internet cafes. Follow the links to the description route Seoul to Busan and the description route Busan to Seoul.

GPS

The route has been fixed in waypoints using a GPS receiver, as well as the locations of motels along the route. There are two routes available, one is Seoul to Busan and the other is Busan to Seoul. (the one is not just the inverse of the other!) A total of about 450 waypoints have been fixed. If you want to receive the files (for either direction there is one file), it includes also the complete set of recorded tracks, contact me and I'll send it to you. The files are available in .gpx format (0.9 mb) and Garmin users can also have it in .gdb format (0.2 mb). You need your own software to load the file into the GPS unit. Units: lat/lon, WGS84 datum. For background maps, Garmin has published the "Korea City Navigator v7 English Version".

Long Profiles of the route

profile of route on map 1
profile of route on map 2
profile of route on map 3
profile of route on map 4
profile of route on map 5
profile of route on map 6
profile of route on map 7
profile of route on map 8
profile of route on map 9
profile of route on map 10
profile of route on map 11
profile of route on map 12
profile of route on map 13

example of a part of a map

Some Advise for Using the Maps and Route Descriptions

  1. Road numbers are important for navigating. Make sure the road numbers show clearly on your map print-out, or write them clearly on it.
  2. The use of a well calibrated bike odometer (preferably in kilometers) is important.
  3. I advise you to update the distance figures regularly to synchronise it with your bike's odometer.
  4. This is a route guide only, touristic sites on or near the route are not mentioned, please get this from other sources
  5. The maps are not always up-to-date. Especially new roads bypassing villages and towns are not shown. Avoid the new roads as much as possible, the old ones are much more scenic; passing through a village may be much more interesting than joining the motor traffic bypassing it.
  6. In the descriptions means that there are one or more yeogwan (motels) available. means that special attention is required; in most cases because of lack of a roadsign.
  7. When the description reads "in the direction of ...." or "direction ...." it means that the mentioned place itself is not on the route. When the description reads "to .... ", it means that you will actually pass through the mentioned place.

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Go to the Route Descriptions: Seoul to Busan or Busan to Seoul