Hallasan Gwaneumsa Trail closure ends on the 30th; 2.7 km from Samgakbong to the summit expected to reopen October 1

2.7 km. With this one section closed, one of the two gateways to the Baengnokdam summit has shut. The closed section announced by the Jeju Province World Heritage Office on June 19 runs from Samgakbong Shelter on the Gwaneumsa Trail to the summit via the east ridge. The period is from August 1 to September 30. According to Seoul Shinmun, climbing resumes on October 1. As of September 18, there is no confirmed notice.

The closed Gwaneumsa section is 2.7 km, only 31% of the 8.7 km total

Of the Gwaneumsa Trail's total 8.7 km, the closed part is the 2.7 km from Samgakbong Shelter to the summit, which is only 31% of the whole. The 6 km from Gwaneumsa Campground to Samgakbong Shelter is not subject to closure. Media Jeju and the official Jeju Province guidance drew the distinction this way; only the June 22 edition of the Kyunghyang Shinmun wrote 'entire section closed.'

Distance figures also differ. A Seoul Shinmun article from August 5, 2025 gave this section as 2.3 km, the same figure as the distance from Seongpanak's Jindallaebat Shelter to Baengnokdam. There are also reports of a partial closure from September 15 to October 31, 2025, so it is easy to get confused. The reason for the work is repairing rockfall barriers and a full replacement of the decks in hazardous sections.

Seongpanak 1,000 and Gwaneumsa 500: summit quota cut to 2/3

The daily hiking reservation quota is 1,000 for Seongpanak and 500 for Gwaneumsa. The summit quota for August–September fell from 1,500 to 1,000, a 33% cut. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, since May 3, 2025, Gwaneumsa has kept reservations only for the 2.7 km from Samgakbong to Baengnokdam. That is exactly the section under this closure.

Entry cutoff times toward the summit at the Gwaneumsa Trail entrance and Samgakbong Shelter are reported as 12:30 in summer and 11:30 in winter. When the trail reopens on October 1, winter hours apply, so the cutoff moves up an hour. The descent cutoff is 14:30 in summer and 13:30 in winter. A one-way trip takes 5 hours, so an early start is necessary.

Gwaneumsa visitors 78,076, 1/3 of Seongpanak

Hallasan National Park had 903,999 visitors in 2025, down 2.6% from 928,409 in 2024. Gwaneumsa had 78,076, ranking 4th among the 5 courses. Comparing summit courses, Gwaneumsa has about 1/3 of Seongpanak's visitors. The figures are Yonhap News's tally, and the original data comes from the Jeju Province World Heritage Office.

Rank	Course	Visitors	Summit climb	Daily quota
1	Yeongsil	323,644	Not allowed	No reservation required
2	Eorimok	274,465	Not allowed	No reservation required
3	Seongpanak	224,442	Allowed	1,000
4	Gwaneumsa	78,076	Allowed	500
5	Donnaeko	3,372	Not allowed	No reservation required

For those aiming for Baengnokdam, the options have narrowed from two to one. On June 22, a Jeju Province official said, "It is difficult to build a separate detour trail for that section," and "we decided to restrict access to prevent visitor safety accidents during the construction period." Samgakbong was previously closed in May 2015 due to rockfall and reopened on October 1, 2016.

5-year maintenance plan worth 2.5 billion won, with Gwaneumsa first in line

This work follows the 'Hallasan National Park Trail Maintenance Plan (5-Year)', under which 4 maintenance projects will receive a total of 2.5 billion won in investment, as Jeju Domin Ilbo reported. When the trail reopened in 2016, the World Heritage Office expected the crowding at Seongpanak to ease somewhat.

As of September 18, it had not been confirmed whether the construction finished within the scheduled period. The closure could be extended depending on weather or construction progress. The place to check is not the Korea National Park Service but the Jeju Province World Heritage Office. The request made by World Heritage Office head Kim Hyeong-eun on June 19 still holds today. "Because use of part of the Gwaneumsa Trail will be restricted during the construction period, please check your hiking schedule in advance."

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When is the reopening date for Hallasan's Gwaneumsa Trail?

The closure end date announced by Jeju Province is September 30, 2026, so the schedule is for the trail to reopen on October 1. However, as of September 18, 2026, no separate confirmed reopening notice or construction completion announcement has been found, so you should check directly on the Hallasan hiking reservation system before departure.

Q. Which section of the Gwaneumsa Trail is closed?

It is the 2.7 km section from Samgakbong Shelter to the summit via the east ridge (Baengnokdam). The 6 km from Gwaneumsa Campground to Samgakbong Shelter is not subject to closure, so you can walk as far as Samgakbong. However, the June 22 edition of the Kyunghyang Shinmun described it as 'entire section closed,' so reports differ.

Q. What is the Hallasan hiking reservation quota?

The Seongpanak course has 1,000 per day and the Gwaneumsa course has 500 per day. Since May 3, 2025, the section requiring reservations has been reduced, so at Gwaneumsa the reservation system applies only to the 2.7 km from Samgakbong to Baengnokdam, and the 6 km from the entrance to Samgakbong can be used without a reservation.

Related official sites

• Hallasan Hiking Reservation System — Course-by-course hiking reservations and closure notices
• Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Hallasan National Park Office — Real-time trail operation status and weather closure notices
• Gwaneumsa Trail sections, distances and entry times — Distances by section and seasonal entry cutoff times
• Hiking reservation status — Real-time lookup of remaining reservation slots by course

Featured image · Stock photo · Not an on-site photo of any current game in the article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Basile Morin), CC BY-SA 4.0

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