Korea National Park Fines: Hiking Rules for Autumn 2026

Autumn is when Korea’s national parks are busiest and most closely watched. The Korea National Park Service runs an autumn crackdown every year. In 2026 it runs from 21 September to 30 November, and rangers don’t have to give you a warning first. Most visitors who get fined weren’t trying to break anything. They took a shortcut the locals seemed to be using, opened a can of beer at the top, or lit a gas stove at a picnic spot.

This guide uses the fine table in the Natural Parks Act enforcement decree, as currently in force, plus the parks’ own rules on trail hours and bookings. If you only read one section, read the table.

How much are the fines in Korean national parks?

Short answer: most everyday offences cost ₩100,000–200,000 the first time. Smoking is the big exception at ₩600,000. The amount goes up if you’re caught for the same thing again within a year.

These are 과태료 (gwataeryo), administrative fines under the 자연공원법 (Natural Parks Act). They apply in national parks and in provincial and county parks too.

🏞️ Natural Parks Act fines, from the enforcement decree's fine table (Appendix 3)

The “2nd” and “3rd” amounts apply only if you’ve already been fined for the same offence in the past 12 months. The decree also lets officials cut a fine by up to half when the violation looks like minor carelessness, or raise it by up to half for serious cases. For a tourist, the first-offence column is the one that matters.

Why is off-trail hiking the offence they care about most?

Short answer: it’s the most common violation, and it’s the one that kills people. The unofficial paths are called 샛길 (saetgil) or 비법정탐방로 (unofficial trails).

According to the Korea National Park Service’s northern regional office, entering closed areas made up 28.7% of all national park violations recorded in 2024, the largest single category. Park figures reported in September 2026 point the same way.

The accident figures come from KNPS data released by lawmaker Shin Jung-hoon and reported by Money Today and Namdo Ilbo in September 2026. They cover five years: 497 accidents on official trails with 38 deaths, and 57 on unofficial ones with 16 deaths. Maeil Shinmun reported that Seoraksan accounted for 6 of the off-trail deaths, Bukhansan for 3 and Juwangsan for 2.

A separate three-year breakdown, reported by Digital Times from the park service’s September 2026 briefing, shows what else gets people fined. Out of 8,669 violations, 2,977 were off-trail entry, 1,830 illegal parking, 1,046 cooking, 994 drinking, 546 littering, 333 camping and 307 smoking. Almost a quarter of them (1,968) happened in October and November, which is foliage season.

The trap for visitors is that closed paths often look well used. Locals take them, and some map apps show them. If a path has a rope across it, a “출입금지” (no entry) sign, or isn’t on the official park map, it’s a ₩200,000 path.

Can you drink makgeolli at the summit?

Short answer: not in a national park where the summit or trail spot has been designated alcohol-free, and never in a mountain shelter. The fine is ₩100,000.

The summit drink, 정상주 (jeongsangju), is a real tradition, and you’ll still see people doing it. Since 13 March 2018, though, the decree has banned drinking in shelters and their facilities. It also lets park authorities ban it at trails and summits “for accident prevention”, marked with signs. The fine started at ₩50,000 and has been ₩100,000 since late 2022. On Hallasan, drinking is banned outright, along with smoking and bringing gas stoves.

The rules are different in the city. Drinking in Seoul’s parks and along the Han River follows other laws; see our guides to Korea’s drinking rules and Han River park rules and fines. The post-hike makgeolli at a trailhead restaurant is completely fine, and it’s where most Koreans do their drinking anyway. There’s more on that ritual in our piece on Korean hiking culture.

What time do national park trails open and close?

Short answer: most high trails let you start from 3–4 a.m. but stop letting people in from late morning or early afternoon. Starting after the cutoff counts as entering a restricted area, so it’s the same ₩200,000 fine as going off-trail.

Since May 2015 every national park except Taean has used a 입산시간지정제 (set entry hours) system. Each trail has an “entry until” time, worked out so you can finish before dark. Seasons change on 1 November at most parks, so a late-autumn trip falls under the shorter winter hours.

⏰ Sample trail entry windows (start time to last entry), from KNPS and Hallasan official pages

On Hallasan you also have to start down from the summit by 13:30 in October to March (14:30 from April to September). The Hallasan reservation page shows an older timetable alongside this one. The times above match the individual trail pages, but check again on the day. If you’ve booked a mountain shelter, some parks give you 1–2 extra hours.

Seoraksan’s Heullimgol valley also needs a booking every October and November.

Are trails closed in late autumn for fire season?

Short answer: yes. In recent years, many high trails in 18 national parks have closed from 15 November to 15 December. The 2026 list is normally announced in early November.

Korea’s autumn wildfire-prevention season (산불조심기간) runs from 1 November to 15 December. According to KNPS’s 2025 fire-season closure list, the autumn closures in Jirisan, Seoraksan, Bukhansan, Naejangsan, Odaesan and 13 other parks ran from 15 November to 15 December. The same list closed 123 trail sections, or 581km including partial closures, across all parks. Seoraksan loses its main summit routes, Osaek–Daecheongbong and Hangyeryeong among them. Bukhansan closes just one section, so it stays the easy choice.

This matters if you’re chasing late foliage in the south. By mid-November the leaves are finishing at Naejangsan anyway (see Korea autumn foliage 2026 and Seoul foliage timing). Treat any hiking plan after 15 November as provisional until the 2026 list is out.

How does the Hallasan reservation system work?

Short answer: you need an online booking for the final stretch to the summit on the Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa trails. Bookings open at 9 a.m. on the first working day of the previous month, and not showing up gets you barred.

• Where: the Hallasan reservation site, visithalla.jeju.go.kr, which has an English version. Your entry and exit QR codes are sent by text message to the phone number you give, so enter it carefully.
• When: booking for any date opens at 09:00 on the first working day of the month before. For November dates, that’s the first working day of October. There’s no waiting list.
• What’s booked: since May 2025, only the summit section needs a booking. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, that’s Jindallaebat to the summit on Seongpanak (1,000 people a day) and Samgakbong to the summit on Gwaneumsa (500 a day). The lower sections are open without one.
• Gwaneumsa news: the upper Gwaneumsa section closed on 1 August 2026 for rockfall-barrier and deck repairs. It reopened on 24 September (Seoul Shinmun).
• No-shows: if you don’t hike and don’t cancel before your slot ends, you can’t book for 3 months. A second no-show means a year. That also applies to anyone in your group you didn’t cancel.
• Food and fire: Hallasan bans disposable lunch boxes, flammable items, alcohol and smoking. Gimbap and burgers are fine. The only place you may camp or cook is the Gwaneumsa campsite.

What should you do if you get lost or hurt on the trail?

Short answer: call 119, then read out the number on the nearest numbered location post, which tells rescuers exactly where you are.

Korean trails have numbered location posts at regular intervals. Many carry a 국가지점번호 (national point number), two Korean letters followed by eight digits. On Hallasan, the park asks you to report the number on the nearest trail location sign. Turn on your phone’s GPS as well. 119 can bring in an interpreter, and our emergency and 119 guide covers how that works and what hospital treatment costs.

If you want a gentler introduction, Bukhansan’s official trails are close to the subway, and our Bukhansan gear rental and outdoor options guide covers borrowing boots and jackets in Seoul, so you don’t need to pack them.