Korean National Park Reservations for Foreigners: Shelters, Campsites, Reserved Trails and Real-Name Verification

Korea's national parks charge no entrance fee, and most trails can be walked without booking anything. Reservations are needed only for mountain shelters, campsites and a short list of trail sections under the trail reservation system. The catch is that the Korean-language side of the Korea National Park Service booking site (reservation.knps.or.kr) asks for Korean real-name verification to log in — which is why having a Korean phone number is not always enough. The English site lets you sign up with an email address, but it covers only shelters and campsites. This guide explains what needs booking, the options that work without verification, and the lottery, payment and cancellation rules, based on the official pages (checked 29 October 2026).

1. 1

   What needs booking — mostly nothing

   National park entrance fees were abolished on 1 January 2007, according to the Korea National Park Service's own history page. Ordinary trails need no booking, but since 16 May 2015 every national park except Taean Coast has used set entry hours, so each trail has a set time from which you may start hiking and a time after which entry is closed. Bookings are needed for shelters (in Jirisan, Seoraksan, Deogyusan and Sobaeksan), campsites, and the sections listed under the trail reservation menu. As of 29 October 2026 that list includes Bukhansan Uiryeong, Seoraksan Heullimgol and Gombaegol, Jirisan Nogodan and Chilseon Valley, Gayasan Manmulsang, Naejangsan Seoraebong, Songnisan Domyeongsan and Myobong, Woraksan Oksunbong and Gudambong, and Chiaksan Hyangnobong, among others.

2. 2

   Why a Korean number may not get you in — real-name verification

   Booking a trail on the Korean-language site requires logging in. The Korea National Park Service membership terms require every member to pass real-name verification, and the non-member login is also mobile-phone or i-PIN real-name verification. Kakao and Naver login only work after you link them to an account on the Service's main website, so they do not skip the check. What is verified is the identity behind the number, not just the number — a number opened on a passport alone does not pass (see our SIM and eSIM guide). The English site signs you up with just your name, email, password, date of birth and sex, with no phone field, but its booking menus cover only shelters and campsites.

3. 3

   Shelters and campsites — a lottery, then pay by the deadline

   Under the Korean-language reservation and refund policy, campsites and shelters are allocated by lottery, with applications opening on the 1st of every even-numbered month (the next weekday if that is a holiday). If you win, you must pay within the set payment window or the win is cancelled automatically. Places nobody applied for, plus those freed by cancellations and unpaid wins, reopen first-come, first-served. The KakaoTalk or text notice of a win is only a courtesy, so check "My reservations" yourself. The English shelter page still says bookings open at 10:00 on the 1st of every month and that you pay at the shelter on the day, which no longer matches the Korean policy — read the Korean page through a translator. Shelters take no same-day walk-in or phone bookings, a booking covers up to five people including you, everyone must show an ID card or passport when registering on arrival, and check-in is 15:00–18:00.

4. 4

   Reserved trail sections — first weekday of the month at 10:00, QR entry

   Trail sections are first-come, first-served, and booking opens at 10:00 on the first weekday of each month. Bookings close at 14:00 the day before, except Uiryeong and Nogodan, which take them until 16:00 on the day. For Nogodan, an online booking sends a QR code by KakaoTalk notification, which you scan at the reader at the entrance. The Uiryeong booking notes say only the original QR code is recognised — not a screenshot or the QR on a printed confirmation. At Uiryeong and Nogodan, one person can book for up to ten people.

5. 5

   Going without verification — weekdays, outside the reservation period, on-site and phone

   Bukhansan's Uiryeong path is open without booking on weekdays from April 2026 until further notice; only weekends and public holidays are reservation-only. Even on weekends and holidays, a group made up entirely of foreigners qualifies for phone booking, and the number given is the automated booking line 1670-9202. Seoraksan's Heullimgol requires reservations only in October and November and runs as an ordinary trail the rest of the year; during the reservation period, leftover places are handed out on site at the Heullimgol visitor support center. Jirisan's Nogodan lists on-site registration and automated phone booking among its booking methods. We could not confirm whether the automated phone line works in other languages.

6. 6

   Payment, cancellation and no-shows — noon on the day is the line

   The listed payment methods are card, real-time bank transfer and bank deposit (including simple-pay services such as Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Samsung Pay). The policy page does not say whether foreign-issued cards work. For paid facilities, cancelling three days ahead or on the day you paid gets a full refund; two days ahead costs 10%, one day ahead 20%, and before noon on the day 30%. No penalty applies if a weather warning or similar is accepted as making access difficult. Cancellation is possible until noon on the day, but the policy page contradicts itself on whether a same-day cancellation counts as a no-show: its refund table applies the no-show restriction even to cancellations before noon on the day, while a note further down says cancelling yourself before noon on the day exempts you (the Uiryeong page treats same-day cancellations as no-shows). Cancel by the day before to be safe. A no-show bars you from booking and using facilities for one month the first time and three months after two or more, and the record is cleared after a year without another.