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Jirisan's Chilseon Valley gets a QR stamp trail with AI narration, in English too

Kang Shin-wookPublished 22 September 2026Updated 21 September 20263 sources checkedEditorial policy이 글을 한국어로 읽기
Trail closure information

Summary

Jirisan National Park has put AI narration and a mobile stamp card on seven points along Chilseon Valley, running to 28 February 2027. There is no app to install and no booking: you scan a QR code at the Chuseong car park and walk. The narration is offered in English as well as Korean, and the single thing to know is that once a stamp is collected, that point's narration cannot be replayed.

Article

In short

  • It runs for six months, from 1 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, and costs nothing with no advance booking of any kind.
  • You start by scanning a QR code at the Chuseong car park. There is no app to install — you need location services and a data connection, nothing else.
  • Seven points along the valley issue a stamp when you are within 50 m and verify by GPS; an eighth comes from a short survey at the end.
  • The narration is available in English, which is rare for a national park programme in Korea, and it cannot be replayed once the stamp is taken.
An autumn waterfall in Jirisan's Chilseon Valley, water dropping in stages below a rock face in full colour.
Chilseon Valley in autumn, the water and the colour coming down together. Photo: Korea National Park Service · KOGL Type 1 · Original

Chilseon Valley is one of the more dramatic approaches into Jirisan, and the park's Gyeongnam office has laid a digital trail along the section that stays open all year. Seven points between the Chuseong car park and Seonnyeotang pool carry a story, a small task and a quiz, delivered through a web page rather than an app, with a stamp collected at each. It is free, it needs no reservation, and the narration is offered in English.

The main channel of Chilseon Valley, water running between large boulders with thick forest on both sides.
The main channel of Chilseon Valley — long stretches alternate between rock and water. Photo: Korea National Park Service

Why not needing an app matters

Programmes like this usually mean downloading something, registering, and discovering the registration wants a Korean phone number. This one does not. The whole thing runs in a mobile browser opened from a QR code at the trailhead, which is what makes it usable by a visitor rather than only by a resident.

  1. Scan the QR code at the Chuseong car park to open the mobile page.
  2. Register your details, and switch on location services and a data connection.
  3. Walk to each point. Inside 50 m the verification screen appears and GPS confirms you are there.
  4. The story, task and quiz for that point open during verification. English narration is supported.
  5. After seven points, complete the short survey for an eighth stamp.
  6. Eight stamps counts as completion and enters you in that month's draw.
The official map of the 'Chilseon, Awakening' mobile stamp trail, its seven points numbered in course order.
The official trail map. The slogan reads 'Walk the nature, meet the legend'. Photo: Korea National Park Service · Original

The seven points

Stamp points along Chilseon Valley

1. Chuseong car park
The start, where the QR code is posted. Must be verified in person
2. Seoam-jeongsa
A temple at the mouth of the valley. Must be verified in person
3. Seobok pine grove
The pine section. Must be verified in person
4. Yongso
An alternative task is available if you cannot reach it
5. Dujidong village
Alternative task available
6. Chilseon suspension bridge
Alternative task available
7. Seonnyeotang
The end point. Alternative task available
Yongso: water falling through a narrow gap in the rock into a deep blue-green pool.
Point ④, Yongso. Photo: Korea National Park Service, Saengsaeng Photo
The Chilseongyo suspension bridge over the valley, a timber deck floor and steel railings, deep green woods around it.
Point ⑥, the Chilseongyo suspension bridge. Photo: Korea National Park Service
Seonyeotang surrounded by trees in autumn colour, water running down the rock into a clear pool.
Point ⑦, the finish, at Seonyeotang in autumn. Photo: Korea National Park Service, Saengsaeng Photo, Kwon Mun-hyeon (권문현)
Red and yellow autumn leaves reflected in the water of Ongnyeotang, pooled between large boulders.
Ongnyeotang in autumn. Seonyeotang, Ongnyeotang, Biseondam — the valley's place names all run on from the fairy legend. Photo: Korea National Park Service, Saengsaeng Photo, Kwon Mun-hyeon (권문현)

The first three have to be done on the ground; the last four have a fallback task if weather or a closure keeps you out. You can take them in any order.

The mistake almost everyone makes

Once a point's stamp is collected, that point's story, task and quiz are gone — there is no replay. If you are going to listen to the narration at all, listen to it there and then before moving on. Collected stamps themselves persist for the length of the programme, and you can return to the trail by re-scanning the original QR code.

  • If the verification screen does not appear at a new point, refresh the page.
  • If GPS verification fails, check location permission and your data connection first. If it still fails, call 055-970-1034 with evidence you were there — a photograph, for example — and staff can verify manually.
  • Manual verification is refused where a visit cannot actually be confirmed.
  • Prize notifications go to the contact details you registered, so enter them correctly.

Not to be confused with the booked Cheonwangbong route

The stamp trail compared with the booked Chilseon route

Booking
Stamp trail: none, scan and go. Booked route: compulsory advance reservation online
Season
Stamp trail: to 28 February 2027. Booked route: May to October, five days a week
Numbers
Stamp trail: no limit. Booked route: 60 people a day
Start
Stamp trail: whenever you like. Booked route: assemble by 6:40am for a safety briefing
The walk
Stamp trail: the open valley section. Booked route: 10 km one way to Cheonwangbong, about eight hours
Biseondam in autumn light, water running over a wide rock shelf with coloured woods on either side.
Biseondam. This is where the section you can walk without booking ends and the booked section begins. Photo: Korea National Park Service, Saengsaeng Photo
Chilseon Falls, a white fall pouring through a narrow rock gorge between trees.
Chilseon Falls, on the booked Chuseong car park–Cheonwangbong route. Photo: Korea National Park Service, Saengsaeng Photo
A two-stage waterfall in the upper Chilseon Valley, the water turning twice down a steep rock wall.
A waterfall in the upper valley, which gives some idea of the terrain in the booked section. Photo: Korea National Park Service
Sunrise from Cheonwangbong on Jirisan, the sun coming up over cloud with ridgelines layered behind.
Sunrise at Cheonwangbong, the end point of the booked Chilseon Valley route. Photo: Korea National Park Service

Check the dates on the booked route yourself

The reservation system's guidance page still showed the previous year's season when we checked, so confirm the current dates on the booking screen rather than the guidance page. The distances and timings published for the stamp trail are the park's own walking estimates.

What to take

  • A power bank. The whole thing runs on GPS, and a flat phone means no stamps.
  • Proper footwear — the valley mixes rock with wet sections and trainers slip.
  • Check the trail-closure page and the weather before you set out.
  • Work backwards from sunset. Night hiking is prohibited in Korean national parks and the entry-time system is enforced.
  • Carry your rubbish out; there are no bins on the trail.
Both sides of Chilseon Valley covered in red and yellow autumn foliage.
Autumn colour in Chilseon Valley. The service runs on into the winter, until February 2027. Photo: Korea National Park Service, Saengsaeng Photo

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do I need to install an app?
No. The whole programme runs in a mobile browser opened from the QR code at the Chuseong car park. You need location services switched on and a data connection, and nothing else — which is what makes it workable for a visitor rather than only for a resident.
Q. Is there English narration?
Yes. The story and narration at each point are offered in English as well as Korean. That is unusual for a Korean national park programme, and it is the main reason this one is worth a visitor's time.
Q. Do I need to book?
No, and there is no limit on numbers. Do not confuse it with the Chilseon route up to Cheonwangbong, which is a separate, strictly booked programme limited to sixty people a day with a 6:40am assembly.
Q. What happens if I cannot reach one of the points?
The first three have to be verified in person, but the last four have an alternative task if rain or a closure keeps you out, so a partial walk can still be completed.
Q. Can I listen to the narration again later?
No, and this is the single most common disappointment. Once a point's stamp is collected, its story, task and quiz cannot be reopened. Listen to it where you are standing before you move on.

Sources

  1. Official notice (Korean)
  2. Official page (Korean)
  3. Official page (Korean)
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.

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