Seongpanak vs Gwaneumsa: Which Hallasan Trail to Take (2026)

Last checked: October 15, 2026 · Sources: Hallasan National Park booking site and the Jeju bus information system, linked below.

Seongpanak vs Gwaneumsa comes down to this: Seongpanak is the longer (9.6 km) but gentler way to the summit and has twice as many bookings, while Gwaneumsa is shorter (8.7 km) but steeper, slower and harder to reach by bus. For most first-timers the best plan is to go up Seongpanak and come down Gwaneumsa, which the park allows on a Seongpanak booking. Both trails share the same entry and cut-off times, and from October to March you must pass the checkpoint by 11:30.

Current status (October 15, 2026)

Both trails are open. The Gwaneumsa summit section reopened on September 24, 2026 after construction.

Winter hours (October–March) are in force now: entry from 05:00, checkpoint cut-off 11:30, leave the summit by 13:30.

No newer closure notice since October 1, 2026. Check the park’s notice board on the morning of your hike, as weather closes the summit often.

Seongpanak vs Gwaneumsa at a glance

	Seongpanak (east)	Gwaneumsa (north)
Distance to the summit	9.6 km	8.7 km
Park’s time, one way up	4 h 30 min	5 h
Park’s time, round trip	9 h	10 h
Checkpoint (cut-off point)	Jindallaebat, 7.3 km in	Samgakbong shelter, 6 km in
Time to checkpoint	3 h	3 h 20 min
Character	Mostly gentle, long, forest	Deep valley, big climb, steep ridge
Bookings per day	1,000	500
Staffed shelter	Jindallaebat	Samgakbong
Shop	None on the trail	Private rest area at the trailhead only
Parking	156 spaces (+199 free park-and-ride)	192 spaces
Bus	Direct: 281, 181, 182	281 + change to 475

Both trails end at Baengnokdam, the 1,950 m summit crater. The other trails (Eorimok, Yeongsil, Donnaeko) stop below the summit and need no booking. How to book is in our Hallasan reservation guide.

Which trail is easier?

Seongpanak. The park describes it as mostly gentle all the way to the top, but long: 19.2 km there and back. Gwaneumsa has deep valleys and a much bigger height gain, and the park says the Wanggwanneung ridge near the top is steep enough that you need to pace your breathing.

The park grades each section A (hard), B (medium) or C (easy):

Seongpanak section	Grade	Gwaneumsa section	Grade
Visitor center → Sokbat	C	Mountain museum → Tamna valley	B
Sokbat → Saraaksaem spring	C	Tamna valley → Samgakbong shelter	A
Saraaksaem → Jindallaebat shelter	B	Samgakbong → Yongjingak	C
Jindallaebat → summit	A	Yongjingak → summit	A

On Seongpanak the hard part is only the last 2.3 km. On Gwaneumsa you meet an A section before the checkpoint, so a slow start costs you more.

The park also warns that the summit air is thin, and recommends the Eorimok or Yeongsil trails (to about 1,700 m) if you haven’t hiked recently or have a heart condition.

Which trail has better views?

Gwaneumsa. The park describes Seongpanak as mostly forest all the way except the summit, good for a long forest walk, with the Sara-oreum side trail as its main viewpoint. On Gwaneumsa the park highlights the deep Tamna valley, the Yongjingak valley below Samgakbong, and the Wanggwanneung ridge, with its volcanic rock formations and dead trees. Near the trailhead it also passes Gurin cave, the highest-lying cave on Jeju.

What are the cut-off times by season?

Both trails use the same times. Entry starts at 05:00 all year.

Rule	Winter (Oct–Mar)	Summer (Apr–Sep)
Trail opens	05:00	05:00
Last entry at the trailhead	11:30	12:30
Last pass at Jindallaebat / Samgakbong	11:30	12:30
Leave the summit by	13:30	14:30
Leave Jindallaebat / Samgakbong shelter by	15:30	16:30

The park changed to this two-season system on July 1, 2024. Its reservation guide page still shows an older three-season table lower down (with a 06:00 winter entry), but the official notice and both trail pages use the times above.

What matters in practice is the checkpoint. On Seongpanak it’s 3 hours from the trailhead, on Gwaneumsa 3 hours 20 minutes, using the park’s own times. So in winter you should be walking by about 08:30 on Seongpanak and by about 08:10 on Gwaneumsa, and earlier if you’re slower than the park’s pace.

For winter hikes the park asks hikers to carry warm clothes, crampons, gloves and hot water. Snow of 30 cm or more that blocks the trail, winds of 14 m/s or more, or weather warnings can close all or part of a trail on the day.

How many people can book each trail?

Entry slot	Seongpanak	Gwaneumsa
05:00–08:00	800	400
08:01–11:30	200	100
Total per day	1,000	500

Gwaneumsa has half the places, so on busy dates it can sell out sooner. If your date is full on one trail, check the other. You book the trail you go up; the descent trail doesn’t need its own booking.

Where are the shelters, toilets and food?

	Seongpanak	Gwaneumsa
Shelters	Sokbat (unstaffed), Jindallaebat (staffed)	Samgakbong (staffed)
Toilets	Seongpanak office, Sokbat, Jindallaebat	Campground, Tamna valley, Samgakbong
Food for sale	None	A privately run rest area at the trailhead entrance

Neither trail has a shop past the trailhead. Carry all water and food. Single-use lunch boxes are banned (gimbap and burgers are allowed), as are alcohol and smoking.

Seongpanak has one extra: at the 5.8 km mark a 600 m side path climbs to the Sara-oreum crater lake viewpoint.

How do I get to each trailhead by bus?

Seongpanak sits on the 5.16 road, and buses stop at the trailhead: 281 from Jeju Bus Terminal (first bus 05:40, about 41 minutes), express 181 from Jeju Airport (first bus 06:40, about 46 minutes by the timetable; the park says about 35), and 182 back to the airport. Times, fares and the return trip are in our Jeju Airport to Seongpanak guide.

Gwaneumsa has no direct bus from the airport or the bus terminal. The park says you must change:

Take bus 281 from Jeju Bus Terminal (toward Seogwipo on the 5.16 road) and get off at Sancheondan. The park puts this at about 28 minutes (about 67 minutes from Seogwipo Bus Terminal).
At the Sancheondan Korea Polytechnic [west] stop, change to bus 475.
Ride about 7 minutes to the Gwaneumsa trailhead stop.

Bus 475 is a small loop (Jeju National University → Gwaneumsa → Tamna Education Institute → back) that runs only every 45–90 minutes. Each ride is 1,150 won by card (1,200 won cash) for adults, but with a transport card the 475 is free if you tap on within 40 minutes of tapping off the 281, so tap your card when you get off. Paying cash, you pay for both rides.

We read the 475 timetable on the Jeju bus site and lined it up with the cut-off times:

475 leaves Sancheondan	Arrives Gwaneumsa trailhead	Reach Samgakbong (park’s 3 h 20)	Winter (11:30)	Summer (12:30)
06:26	06:33	about 09:55	OK	OK
07:32	07:39	about 11:00	Tight	OK
08:26	08:33	about 11:55	Too late	Tight
09:21	09:28	about 12:50	Too late	Too late

The 281 timetable (in force from June 24, 2026) has the first bus leaving Jeju Bus Terminal at 05:40, then 05:50 and 06:00; the park’s page still says 06:00. With the park’s 28 minutes, the 05:40 bus (or the 05:50, with less margin) gets you to Sancheondan in time for the 06:26 bus 475, which reaches the Gwaneumsa trailhead at 06:33 and leaves about an hour and a half of spare time before the winter cut-off. Miss it and the next 475 reaches the trailhead at 07:39, with only about 30 minutes to spare in winter. The 475 timetable on bus.jeju.go.kr is dated March 2021 (its first and last buses, 06:20 and 19:45, match the park’s page), so check bus.jeju.go.kr before the day.

Our view: if you want Gwaneumsa as your way up by bus, aim for the 05:40 bus 281 and the 06:26 bus 475. Treat the 07:32 bus 475 as a backup only, since it leaves you about 30 minutes in winter. A taxi to the trailhead or a night at the Gwaneumsa campground (the only place in the park where camping is allowed) removes the timing risk.

Where do I park?

	Seongpanak	Gwaneumsa
Spaces	156	192
Overflow	Free 199-space park-and-ride near Jeju International University	None listed
Fee (small car)	1,000 won first hour, then 500 won per 20 min, max 13,000 won a day	Same table; each trail’s lot charges separately

The park says the Seongpanak lot fills very early, and parking on the road shoulder is fined along 4.5 km toward Jeju City and 2.3 km toward Seogwipo. If you plan to come down the other trail, don’t drive: your car will be on the wrong side of the mountain.

Can I go up one trail and down the other?

Yes. The park’s FAQ says to book the trail you go up: going up Seongpanak and down Gwaneumsa means a Seongpanak booking. The Seongpanak trail page says you can come down via Gwaneumsa, and the Gwaneumsa page notes that many Seongpanak hikers do exactly that.

Our view: up Seongpanak, down Gwaneumsa is the best route for most visitors. You get the gentle climb, the bigger Seongpanak quota and direct buses in the morning, and you see the Gwaneumsa valley and Wanggwanneung ridge on the way down, without the morning pressure of the Samgakbong cut-off. The reverse (up Gwaneumsa, down Seongpanak) makes sense mainly if you’re staying at the Gwaneumsa campground.

The park doesn’t publish a descent time, so leave the summit as early as you can. You must leave by 13:30 in winter (14:30 in summer) and pass Samgakbong shelter by 15:30 (16:30).

Getting home from Gwaneumsa: bus 475 leaves the trailhead stop at 12:04, 13:34, 14:54, 15:49, 16:44, 17:34, 18:29, 19:19 and 20:04 (from the timetable above) and reaches Sancheondan about 7 minutes later. From there, take 281 toward Jeju City, or 281 toward Seogwipo to go back past Seongpanak. If you just miss a 475, the next one can be over an hour away.

Which trail is better for sunrise?

Neither, on a normal booking. The trails open at 05:00, and it takes 4 h 30 min (Seongpanak) or 5 h (Gwaneumsa) to reach the top at the park’s pace, so you will see sunrise from the forest, not from the crater rim. If seeing the sunrise is the point, Seongpanak gives you more open 05:00 places and a gentler start in the dark.

Do both trails give the summit certificate?

Yes. The certificate is linked to your summit booking, not to the trail, and since September 1, 2026 you can apply on the booking website with a photo taken at the summit and download it as a PDF, with no kiosk queue or app needed. You must apply and get it on the day of your hike. See our Hallasan summit certificate guide.

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