Last checked: October 11, 2026 · Source: Hallasan National Park official booking site (visithalla.jeju.go.kr) — notices linked below.
To hike to the summit of Hallasan (Baengnokdam crater) you need a free online reservation for the Seongpanak or Gwaneumsa trail. Bookings for next month open on the first business day of each month at 9:00 a.m. Korea time. The official site has an English version, and visitors without a Korean phone sign in with an email code (the only social login left is Kakao), so you can book it yourself. Bring your passport on hike day: rangers check it against your QR code.
Trail status (checked Oct 6, 2026)
- Gwaneumsa trail summit section (Samgakbong ↔ Baengnokdam) reopened Sept 24, 2026 after construction.
- Always check the park’s closure notice on the morning of your hike (typhoon, heavy rain or snow = partial or full closure).
Which trails need a reservation?
| Trail | Reaches the summit? | Reservation |
|---|---|---|
| Seongpanak | Yes | Required (Jindallaebat ↔ summit section) |
| Gwaneumsa | Yes | Required (Samgakbong ↔ summit section) |
| Eorimok, Yeongsil, Donnaeko | No (go to Witse-oreum / south wall) | Not needed |
| Seokguram, Eoseungsaengak | No (short trails) | Not needed |
You book the trail you go up. You may come down either Seongpanak or Gwaneumsa.
Seongpanak or Gwaneumsa: which trail?
Both reach the crater rim at 1,950 m. The park’s own figures:
| Seongpanak (east) | Gwaneumsa (north) | |
|---|---|---|
| Length, one way | 9.6 km | 8.7 km |
| Time to the summit | about 4 h 30 min | about 5 h |
| Round trip | about 9 h | about 10 h |
| Halfway check point | Jindallaebat shelter (7.3 km, about 3 h) | Samgakbong shelter (6 km, about 3 h 20 min) |
| Character | Long, mostly gentle forest path; steep only near the top | Shorter but steeper, deep valleys and bigger views |
Our suggestion for a first visit: go up Seongpanak, which is easier to pace, and come down Gwaneumsa if your legs still feel good. The park notes that many Seongpanak hikers descend that way. One catch: no bus runs from the Gwaneumsa trailhead straight to the airport or bus terminal. Take bus 475 (every 45–90 minutes; the last run leaves Jeju National University at 19:45 and passes the Gwaneumsa trailhead at about 20:00) and change at Sancheondan to the 281. You book the trail you start on. Leave enough time either way: the cut-off at Jindallaebat or Samgakbong is 11:30 in winter and 12:30 in summer, and everyone must start down from the summit by 13:30 (winter) or 14:30 (summer).
Full side-by-side comparison (distance, grades, views, bus 475 times, parking): Seongpanak vs Gwaneumsa: which trail to take.
Not sure you can manage a 9–10 hour day? The park itself recommends the Eorimok and Yeongsil trails for hikers without recent mountain experience. They need no reservation and go up to about 1,700 m, though not to the crater.
When do bookings open?
Next month’s dates open on the first business day of the current month at 9:00 a.m. KST. Weekends and national holidays push the date back; Jeju-only holidays do not.
| You want to hike in | Booking opens (KST) |
|---|---|
| December 2026 | Mon, Nov 2, 9:00 (Nov 1 is a Sunday) |
| January 2027 | Tue, Dec 1, 9:00 |
| February 2027 | Mon, Jan 4, 9:00 (Jan 1 is a holiday, Jan 2–3 a weekend) |
| March 2027 | Mon, Feb 1, 9:00 |
| April 2027 | Tue, Mar 2, 9:00 (Mar 1 is a holiday) |
On opening day there is a virtual queue. Dates can sell out while you wait in line, and the availability calendar is hidden until the next day. The site is also under maintenance 8–10 p.m. on opening day and the day before.
How many people per slot?
Since Dec 1, 2025 there are two entry slots:
| Entry time | Seongpanak | Gwaneumsa |
|---|---|---|
| 05:00–08:00 | 800 | 400 |
| 08:01–11:30 | 200 | 100 |
Per booking: up to 4 people, and one booking per week (if you actually hike and scan your QR code, you can book again from the next day).
Booking a slot: the steps
- Open visithalla.jeju.go.kr and switch the language to English (Language menu at the top).
- Sign in. There are two ways: Kakao login (if your Kakao nickname has special characters the booking may fail), or Non-member verification, the option for foreigners: enter your name and email, get a code, and confirm it. As of October 6, 2026 the Naver, Google, Baidu, Facebook and Line buttons are switched off on the login page, so most visitors will use the email option. The email option appears only on the English (or other foreign-language) sign-in page; the Korean page shows Korean real-name verification instead, and the park says email sign-in is only for visitors without a Korean phone number. Remember which method you used — you must sign in the same way to check or cancel, or your booking won’t show up.
- Choose Reservation, then your trail (Seongpanak or Gwaneumsa), date, and entry slot.
- Enter each hiker’s details carefully. The park sends each person’s entry QR code by KakaoTalk, text message or email, and companions get theirs at the phone number or email entered for them. Whether a foreign mobile number receives the text is not officially confirmed, so also enter an email you can check on the trail.
- Finish the form the same day. A reservation without personal details stays “incomplete” and is auto-cancelled after 1 day.
- Check your booking under Reservation inquiry.
There is no waiting list. If a date is full, check again later — cancelled slots go back on sale.
Phone help (Korean, weekdays 09:00–17:30): +82-64-713-9953. On weekends and holidays the park asks you to use the website.
Cancelling and the no-show penalty
- You can cancel until the end of your booked entry slot (e.g. booked 08:01–11:30 → cancel before 11:30).
- Partial cancellation (one person in your group) has the same deadline, but it is no longer possible once anyone in the group has scanned in. After a booking is complete you cannot add companions or edit hiker details, so get names right the first time.
- No-show without cancelling: 1st time = no bookings for 3 months; 2nd time = 1 year.
- If the name on your QR code doesn’t match your ID, or you bought a QR code from someone else, you are turned away and banned for 1 year. Never buy or sell slots.
- Weather closure? The park messages everyone booked for that day. To move to another day, cancel the booking yourself before your entry slot ends (so it is not counted as a no-show), then book a new date.
On hike day
- Bring passport + QR code. Have both ready before you reach the gate; rangers check them together.
- Seongpanak parking fills very early. Take bus 281 or 181 (see Jeju Airport to Seongpanak by bus and taxi).
- There is no shop on the Seongpanak trail. Carry water, food, rain gear (and crampons in winter). Single-use lunch boxes are banned; gimbap and burgers are fine.
- Trails open at 05:00 all year, on every course. Only the cut-off times change with the season, a standing rule since July 1, 2024.
- Summit-section cut-off in October–March: pass the Seongpanak entrance and Jindallaebat shelter (or the Gwaneumsa entrance and Samgakbong shelter) by 11:30. Leave the summit area by 13:30, and be down past Jindallaebat or Samgakbong by 15:30. Miss the cut-off and you will be turned back.
- Summer hours (April–September) are one hour later: last entry 12:30, leave the summit by 14:30. The park’s booking-guide page and trail page show the same seasonal table.
Summit certificate
Since September 1, 2026 you can also download the certificate as a PDF from the same booking site (free, according to Jeju Province’s announcement). You apply on the day of your hike with a summit photo and your reservation number; the kiosk and the JEJU IoT app still work too. The menus and the same-day rule are explained in our Hallasan summit certificate guide.
Taking the train to the coast before you fly to Jeju? KTX tickets open 2 months ahead.
Need a Korean phone number so the QR message reaches you? Compare eSIM, USIM and pocket Wi-Fi plans for visitors.
Hiking more than one park? National park shelters work differently, by lottery: see how Jirisan shelter booking works for foreigners and the four Seoraksan shelters. If you would rather sleep in a cabin than a shelter, see can foreigners book forest cabins?
Read next
Sources
- Gwaneumsa trail page: 8.7 km, about 5 hours, bus 475 and the Sancheondan transfer (Korean, checked Oct 6, 2026)
- Seongpanak trail page: length, times, cut-offs, parking, buses 281/181 (Korean, checked Oct 11, 2026)
- Booking guide (opening day, no waiting list, incomplete bookings, no-show penalty, cut-off tables, entry times)
- Winter hours from October 1, 2026 (park announcement, reported by Financial News, Sept 28, 2026)
- Reservation rules (trails, 4 people, weekly limit, cancel deadline)
- Opening day queue and maintenance hours
- Time slots and quotas from Dec 1, 2025
- ID check and QR resale penalty
- Summit certificate PDF
- Gwaneumsa reopening
- Login options: Kakao, or email verification on the English page (checked Oct 11, 2026)