National parks

South Korea has 24 national parks, and none charges admission (fees were abolished on 1 January 2007). From Seoul, go to Bukhansan; for the big mountain scenery, Seoraksan or Jirisan; on Jeju, Hallasan needs a free summit booking. Every trail has a last-entry time, and high trails close for wildfire season, in autumn usually from mid-November.

Jirisan became the first national park in 1967. The newest are Palgongsan near Daegu (December 2023) and Geumjeongsan in Busan, designated on 3 March 2026. Of the 24, 19 are mountain parks, four are marine or coastal and one, Gyeongju, is protected for its history. The Korea National Park Service runs 23 of them; Hallasan is run by Jeju Province. The parks counted about 43 million visits in 2025, so popular trails are crowded at autumn weekends.

Which national park fits your trip?

Most first-time visitors do not travel for a park; they add one to a city stay. Start from where you are sleeping.

Your base	Park	Why go
Seoul	Bukhansan	Granite peaks and fortress walls inside the city limits; subway plus bus to the trailheads
Sokcho, east coast	Seoraksan	The country’s most famous mountain scenery; low trails such as Ulsanbawi
Busan	Geumjeongsan	Ridge walks along an old mountain fortress on the city’s northern edge
Gyeongju	Gyeongju (Tohamsan with Seokguram, Namsan)	Silla temples and rock-carved Buddhas on easy forest trails
Jeju	Hallasan	South Korea’s highest peak; summit by free booking only
South coast	Hallyeohaesang	Island seascapes around Tongyeong, Geoje and Yeosu
Jeolla, autumn	Naejangsan, Jirisan	Maple valleys at Naejangsa; Korea’s biggest mountain ridge

Park types and highlights from the Korea National Park Service park pages, checked 8 October 2026. If you have one free day in Seoul, Bukhansan is the easy choice; Seoraksan and Jirisan reward an overnight stay nearby. For the temples inside many parks, see temples. For easier walks such as the Seoul City Wall, gear rental in Seoul and long-distance trails like the Jeju Olle, see hiking in Korea.

Trail opening times and last entry

Since May 2015 the park service has fixed an entry window for each trail in the mountain parks it manages. You may start from the opening time, but you must pass each control point before its last-entry time. The hours change with the season, and the switch date differs by park.

Trail	Winter window	Summer window
Bukhansan: Baegun centre → Baegundae	04:00–16:00 (Dec–Feb)	04:00–17:00 (Mar–Nov)
Seoraksan: Osaek → Daecheongbong	04:00–11:00 (Nov–Mar)	03:00–12:00 (Apr–Oct)
Jirisan: Seongsamjae → Nogodan	04:00–16:00 (Nov–Mar)	03:00–16:30 (Apr–Oct)
Jirisan: Jungsanri centre (Cheonwangbong)	04:00–13:00 (Nov–Mar)	03:00–14:00 (Apr–Oct)

Earliest start and last entry, from the park service’s entry-time page, checked 8 October 2026. On most of these routes the window shortens on 1 November, so a hike planned for early November has an hour less than one in October. On Jirisan’s Jungsanri trail, hikers booked into Jangteomok shelter get one extra hour, and those booked into Rotary shelter or visiting Beopgyesa temple get two. Hallasan has its own rules; see the Hallasan hiking guide.

Fire-season trail closures

Twice a year, in the dry seasons, the parks close many high trails to prevent wildfires. Lower valleys and temple paths usually stay open.

• Spring 2026: Seoraksan closed its high trails to Daecheongbong from 4 March to 15 May, keeping lowland routes such as Waseondae, Ulsanbawi, the Towangseong Falls viewpoint and Jujeongol open. Odaesan closed most of its trails from 3 March to 5 May but kept the walks from Haetalgyo to Sangwonsa and on to Jeokmyeol Bogung.
• Autumn: in 2025 the closures ran from 15 November to 15 December at Seoraksan, Odaesan, Gyeryongsan and other parks. On 8 October 2026 the 2026 lists had not yet been published; individual parks usually announce them in early November.

Park rules and fines

Rangers run enforcement drives at peak season; Juwangsan’s runs from 9 October to 8 November 2026 and Palgongsan’s from 12 October to 20 November 2026. Breaking the Natural Parks Act can bring a fine of up to ₩2,000,000.

• Stay on marked trails; entering closed or unmarked paths is an offence.
• No cooking or camping outside designated sites, and no smoking.
• Drinking is targeted too, especially on summits.
• Do not pick plants, mushrooms, acorns or herbs.
• No hiking outside the trail entry hours.

Mountain shelters and campsites

Shelters on the long ridges, such as Jirisan’s, are booked on the park service’s reservation site, which is in Korean. Since 2025, all shelter beds are allocated by lottery: you apply in an even-numbered month for stays in the next two months (for May and June stays, between 1 and 6 April). Beds left over are released from the 1st of each even month. Staff check the booker’s ID and companions at check-in. Campsites are also booked through the same site.