Hallyeohaesang National Park (한려해상국립공원) is a splendid marine park protecting a sea full of islands and dramatic mainland peninsulas. This is the perfect place for a classic, coastal road trip! Offshore, ferries transport hikers to far-flung outposts of civilization and great, uncrowded trails. This is the place you want to spend your summer!
Hallyeohaesang is a vast park, split up into multiple districts. A single visit will give you a taste of the region, but multiple visits or a longer trip will allow you to explore more of this scenic sea park.
Much of my own Hallyeohaesang exploration has been accidental. Despite the fact that this park boasts some of the best sea-to-summit trails in all of South Korea, its not well-known in the English-speaking world. I stumbled into some of my favorite places completely by coincidence! Now, this park is one of my favorites, and one of my most-visited!
Here’s hoping that you too enjoy the seaside cliffs, islands and waterways that make up Hallyeohaesang National Park!
Happy Hallyeohaesang hikes
Tips and tricks for enjoying Hallyeohaesang National Park
When to go
Korea’s national parks have two annual closure periods. One closure, typically mid-November to mid-December, is for forest fire prevention. The spring closure tends to be from mid-February to May for Hallyeohaesang National Park. However, closures usually only affect peaks and ridges, leaving some trails still accessible. Check the official Korea National Park Service website for more information, and look out for closed trails marked in red on Naver maps.
Hallyeohaesang is a seaside park, so of course, it is lovely to visit in summer. But consider visiting this park in other seasons for a chance to get those scenic seaside views to yourself! Much like Korea’s other parks, there is beauty to be seen in every season: from the changing colors of the foliage in the fall to the beautiful blooms of spring.
Because this park is so vast and encompasses so many separate areas, I’d recommend sparing some time to see two or more different parts of the park. A long weekend would give you a chance to do some hiking – and some island hopping! The southern coast is the perfect place for a road trip – or you could link up multiple islands by ferry!
Where to stay
Hallyeohaesang National Park is huge. It encompasses 99 islands and the long stretch of coastline from Yeosu to Geoje. The tricky bit is that the park is not continuous, and instead is made up of pockets of scenic seascapes. From west to east, there are actually six distinct areas:
- Fast KTX trains connect Seoul to the major southern city of Yeosu. From Yeosu, you can visit the two beaches that are within the park, or the lovely little island of Odongdo.
- Slightly to the north, there’s Namhae, which has a famously beautiful bridge linking several islands. Namhae can be accessed via a direct bus from Seoul or from neighboring Yeosu.
- Slightly south and west is the Sangju area, containing a campground, a beach and a great hike up Geumsan!
- The town of Sacheon also possesses an area of the park, about which little information can be found online. This area is slightly north and west of Sangju. Getting to Sangju and Sacheon can be tricky, likely requiring a transfer in Tongyeong or Yeosu.
- Tongyeong is the access town for trips to a wealth of islands, including Hansando and Bijindo. It’s a fairly big city, with lots of direct buses from Seoul and other metros. This is where Mireuksan is located!
- Finally, furthest west is the gorgeous Geoje island, home to several beaches and some very scenic hikes – including the routes for this very tough race and this fast’n’fun summer race. There are direct buses from Seoul and Busan, but coming from anywhere else will likely require a transfer en route.
If you have your own vehicle or the means to rent one, this could be a good area for a road trip to explore the different areas of the park. Taking ferries to the different islands is also a great experience.
Motels and other amenities can be found in all of the locations above, with Tongyeong, Yeosu and Geoje being the biggest cities.
Hike & Run
There are tons of terrific trails in Hallyeohaesang National Park. The trick is in finding them! Information about this park in general is tough to come by, and specific hiking info is even more scant. It took me a few years really explore Hallyeo, but now I can recommend these 4 awesome places to you:
Mireuksan in Tongyeong is great for both running and hiking, and is easy to get to. From the peak, you have great views over the islands that Hallyeohaesang National Park is famous for!
Odongdo is just a little island, but it’s a pretty one. It’s famously scenic and romantic, and is one of the best excursions around Yeosu!
Geumsan, a mountain found in the Sangju section of the park, offers a short-and-sweet hike with more excellent views of the marine park. And this one’s trails are definitely within park boundaries!
There are so many beautiful routes on Geoje as well! We first got to explore thanks to Korea’s toughest ultra race! We later revisited the peninsula to take part in a speedy summertime race!
This is by no means an exhaustive list of what’s on offer in Hallyeohaesang National Park. Take this as a starting point, and get out there to find your own favorite trails!
Happy hiking!