Is the picnic zone really free?

Yes, entirely — no admission, no facility charge and no booking. Korea's national parks do not charge entrance fees either, so the only thing you are likely to pay for in the valley is parking.

9:00am to 5:00pm, every day. It is a daytime facility rather than an evening one, which follows from the fact that overnight use has been discontinued.

Can I pitch a tent there?

No. Camping is prohibited, notwithstanding that both zones were campsites until September 2026. So are dogs, smoking, littering and noise.

Baemsagol valley in Sannae-myeon, Namwon, on the Jeonbuk side of Jirisan National Park — zone 1 at 29 Waun-gil and zone 2 at 10 Waun-gil, the former campsites 1 and 2.

How many tables are there?

Thirty-four across the two zones, along with toilets, showers and drinking water, which is unusually well-provided for a rest area inside a national park.

Notice·Korea National Park Service

Jirisan's Baemsagol campsite is now a free picnic area — no booking, no fee

Kang Shin-wookPublished 22 September 2026Updated 21 September 20265 sources checkedEditorial policy 이 글을 한국어로 읽기

Korea National Park Service

The essentials

Dates: Permanent, from September 2026 (Year-round)
Where: Baemsagol picnic zones 1 and 2, Jirisan National Park, Namwon, Jeonbuk
Admission: Free
Booking: None. Walk in
Who it is for: All ages
Language: There is nothing to book and nothing to read, which makes this one of the easiest facilities in the park system for a visitor to use. Signage in the valley is bilingual on the main path.
Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm daily
Zone 1: 29 Waun-gil, Sannae-myeon, Namwon (the former Baemsagol campsite 1)
Zone 2: 10 Waun-gil, Sannae-myeon, Namwon (the former campsite 2)
Facilities: 34 picnic tables, safety railings and walkways, screening planting, toilets, showers, drinking water
Not permitted: Camping, dogs, smoking, littering, noise
Enquiries: Jirisan National Park Jeonbuk office, 063-630-8900

Written up from Korea National Park Service's own announcement of 1 September 2026. Details change — check the official page before you travel.

The two campsites in Baemsagol valley at Jirisan National Park became free picnic areas in September 2026. The booking process and the fee are both gone: between 9:00am and 5:00pm anyone can walk in and use 34 picnic tables, toilets, showers and drinking water. Camping and dogs are not permitted, despite the old name.

In short

The two Baemsagol campsites became free picnic zones in September 2026, with no booking procedure at all.
They are open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm and cost nothing.
There are 34 picnic tables, plus railings and walkways, toilets, showers and drinking water.
Camping, dogs, smoking, littering and noise are all prohibited — the old name notwithstanding, you cannot sleep there.

The entrance to Baemsagol Picnic Zone 1, surrounded by forest, a timber information structure beside the path. — The entrance to the new Baemsagol Picnic Zone 1. Photo: Korea National Park Service · Original

Almost everything in a Korean national park that has a roof or a pitch has to be booked, and the booking systems are the single biggest obstacle for a visitor. So a facility that has gone the other way — abolishing both the reservation and the fee — is worth knowing about. Baemsagol, one of Jirisan's finest valleys, now has two of them.

The Baemsagol stream running over a wide slab of bedrock, autumn light in the woods around it. — The Baemsagol stream, running over wide bedrock. Photo: Korea National Park Service / 15th National Park Photo Contest, Kim Yun-sik (김윤식)

Why turn a campsite into a picnic area

Campsites concentrate overnight use, waste and noise in a river valley, and require a booking apparatus to run. Day-use picnic areas do none of those things. Converting them trades a small amount of overnight capacity for open, unbooked daytime access — and in a valley that was already busy with walkers, that is the better trade.

A waterfall and boulders in Jirisan's Chilseon valley under autumn colour. — Autumn in Jirisan's Chilseon valley, in Hamyang — a different valley from Baemsagol, included for the season. Photo: Korea National Park Service · Original

What is there

Thirty-four picnic tables across the two zones, with railings and defined walkways to keep feet off the banks and planting to screen the sites from the path. Toilets, showers and drinking water are all available, which is more than most rest points in the park system offer and means you do not have to carry water in.

Picnic tables set along a curving path beside a lawn at Baemsagol Picnic Zone 2. — Baemsagol Picnic Zone 2 — a lawn, a curving path and picnic tables. Photo: Korea National Park Service · Original

What is not allowed

No camping. The name is historical; there is no overnight use.
No dogs, anywhere in the zones.
No smoking, no littering and no noise.
Hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm, so this is a lunch stop rather than an evening one.

Mist over the green summer woods and the water of the Baemsagol valley. — 'The feel of a summer valley' — mist over Baemsagol in summer. Photo: Korea National Park Service / 13th National Park Photo Contest

Combining it with a walk

Baemsagol is a long valley walk rather than a summit push, which makes it one of the more approachable routes in Jirisan and a natural fit for a picnic halfway. The designated entry-time system applies here as everywhere except Taeanhaean, so check the board at the trailhead for the latest start time before setting off, and remember that Jirisan's weather changes faster than its distances suggest.

Water dropping in steps beneath maple trees at Baemsagol. — Autumn at Baemsagol — the stream stepping down under the maples. Photo: Korea National Park Service / 14th National Park Photo Contest, Ok Maeng-seon (옥맹선)

Red maples arching over the Baemsagol stream like a tunnel. — 'Baemsagol maples' — a tunnel of colour over the stream. Photo: Korea National Park Service / 1st National Park Photo Contest

Clear valley water with the stones of the bed visible through it, and fallen maple leaves. — 'Autumn at Baemsagol' — water clear enough to show the stones of the bed. Photo: Korea National Park Service / 11th National Park Photo Contest

Purple Korean azaleas flowering among the valley rocks in new spring green. — 'Baemsagol azaleas' — spring, new green in the valley and purple flowers. Photo: Korea National Park Service / 10th National Park Photo Contest

Visitors standing on the deck at the Nogodan viewpoint on Jirisan, the ridge behind them. — Visitors at the Nogodan viewpoint on Jirisan — not the picnic zone, but a sense of what walking here is like. Photo: Korea National Park Service · Original

The shopfront of GREEN LINE, a young people's enterprise in Buun village. — GREEN LINE, a young people's enterprise in Buun village near Baemsagol. Photo: Korea National Park Service · Original

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is the picnic zone really free?: Yes, entirely — no admission, no facility charge and no booking. Korea's national parks do not charge entrance fees either, so the only thing you are likely to pay for in the valley is parking.
Q. What are the hours?: 9:00am to 5:00pm, every day. It is a daytime facility rather than an evening one, which follows from the fact that overnight use has been discontinued.
Q. Can I pitch a tent there?: No. Camping is prohibited, notwithstanding that both zones were campsites until September 2026. So are dogs, smoking, littering and noise.
Q. Where exactly is it?: Baemsagol valley in Sannae-myeon, Namwon, on the Jeonbuk side of Jirisan National Park — zone 1 at 29 Waun-gil and zone 2 at 10 Waun-gil, the former campsites 1 and 2.
Q. How many tables are there?: Thirty-four across the two zones, along with toilets, showers and drinking water, which is unusually well-provided for a rest area inside a national park.

Sources

Official notice (Korean)

Written in our own words from the sources above, never copied from them, and every date and price checked against at least two pages. The originals are in Korean. Spotted a mistake? Ask for a correction.