Places · National parks · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment
National Parks of Korea: hours, closing days and admission
None of Korea's twenty-four national parks charges an entrance fee. What they do impose is a designated entry-time system: for every trail and every season there is a latest hour you may start up and an hour by which you must be descending, night hiking is prohibited, and rangers enforce it at the trailhead.
Hours, closing days and admission, side by side
Checked against each institution's own visitor pages on 2026-09-21. Fees and hours change — follow the official link in the table before you travel.
| Place | Region | Hours | Closed | Admission | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jirisan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentKorea's first national park, designated 1967; mountain shelters must be booked | Jeonnam | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Gyeryongsan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Chungnam | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Hallyeohaesang National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentA marine and island park | Gyeongnam | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Seoraksan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentHas shelters and sections that must be booked in advance | Gangwon | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Songnisan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Chungbuk | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Naejangsan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Jeonbuk | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Gayasan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Gyeongnam | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Deogyusan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Jeonbuk | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Odaesan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Gangwon | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Juwangsan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Gyeongbuk | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Taeanhaean National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentThe one park with no designated entry-time system | Chungnam | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Dadohaehaesang National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentIsland walking — check the ferry timetable first | Jeonnam | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Chiaksan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Gangwon | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Woraksan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Chungbuk | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Bukhansan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentWithin reach of Seoul, and free to enter | Seoul | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Sobaeksan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Chungbuk | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Wolchulsan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Jeonnam | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Byeonsanbando National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Jeonbuk | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Gyeongju National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentA historic-site park rather than a wilderness one | Gyeongbuk | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Mudeungsan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentOn the edge of Gwangju | Gwangju | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Taebaeksan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment | Gangwon | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Palgongsan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentDesignated in 2023, the twenty-third national park | Daegu | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
| Geumjeongsan National ParkKorea National Park Service · Ministry of Climate, Energy and EnvironmentDesignated in 2025 as the twenty-fourth, and the first urban national park | Busan | — | — | Free to enter. Car parks, campsites, shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged and booked through the reservation system | Official · Book |
About National Parks of Korea
Korea has twenty-five national parks in a country the size of Iceland, and they are more varied than the word "mountain" implies. Hallyeohaesang and Dadohaehaesang are marine parks made up of hundreds of islands; Taeanhaean is dunes and beaches on the west coast; Gyeongju is a historic-site park where you walk among Silla tombs and temple remains rather than up anything. Bukhansan is inside Seoul's city boundary and is the most visited national park on earth by area.
Twenty-four of them are run by the Korea National Park Service under one set of rules, one reservation system and one trail-closure page. Hallasan on Jeju is the exception, administered by the province with its own permits. Entry is free everywhere; what costs money is a car park, a campsite pitch, a bunk in a mountain shelter or a ranger-led programme, and all of those are booked in one place.
- Check the trail-closure page the morning you go: closures for fire-risk periods and weather warnings happen at short notice.
- Autumn colour weekends are the busiest days of the year on every popular trail in the country.
National parks, one by one
Names that link go to our visiting guide; the rest go straight to the institution's own site.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entrance fee for national parks in Korea?
No. Entrance fees were abolished and none of the twenty-four parks charges you to walk in. Parking, campsites, mountain shelters and ranger-led programmes are charged, and all of them are booked through the single national reservation system rather than paid at a gate.
What is the designated entry-time system, and does it apply to me?
It applies to everyone, in every park except Taeanhaean. Each trail has a season-dependent latest start time and a time by which you must be coming down, because night hiking is prohibited. Rangers turn people back at the trailhead, so check the table for your specific trail on the day.
Which park is easiest to reach from Seoul?
Bukhansan, which is within the city limits and reachable on the subway — Line 3 to Gupabal or the Ui light rail. That accessibility is also why it is the busiest park in the country; a weekday visit is a completely different experience from a Saturday in October.
Can a visitor book a mountain shelter?
The reservation system is the only way to get a shelter bunk, and it is a Korean-language system built around domestic identity verification, which is the real obstacle rather than availability. Check what it currently requires before planning a multi-day traverse that depends on a bed.
Why is Hallasan not counted here?
Hallasan is a national park but Jeju Province administers it directly, with its own permit and booking arrangements separate from the national system. That is why Korea has twenty-five national parks while the Korea National Park Service manages twenty-four.
Pages checked: www.knps.or.kr · www.knps.or.kr