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Reservations to see New Year's sunrise from Mount Halla close early

Published: 03 Dec. 2024, 13:02 Updated: 03 Dec. 2024, 13:15

Hikers watch the sunrise on Oct. 13 at Mount Halla on Jeju Island. [YONHAP]

Reservations for the night hike to see the first sunrise of the New Year from Jeju Island’s Mount Halla closed in less than an hour.

Reservations for the night hike to watch the sunrise on Jan. 1 next year on the Seongpanak Trail and Gwaneumsa Trail, which began at 9 a.m. on Monday, were fully booked in about 40 minutes, according to the Hallasan National Park Office.

The reservation capacity is 1,000 people for Seongpanak Trail and 500 people for Gwaneumsa Trail, with each trail being 9.6 kilometers (5.97 miles) and 8.7 kilometers, respectively.

As soon as reservations opened, more than 10,000 people flocked to the Mount Halla reservation system, causing connection issues. There were 5,000 to 6,000 people in the queue at 9 a.m., and the reservation website experienced significant delays.

The reservation system for the Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa trails was temporarily suspended from Nov. 27 to Dec. 27.

Advance reservations are normally required to hike the Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa trails, but for one month, visitors are allowed to enter freely.

Access was effectively restricted due to adverse weather conditions on the first day of the temporary suspension. The weather improved on Saturday, and 790 hikers trekked the Seongpanak Trail; the number rose to 988 on Sunday.

As of October, the total number of visitors to Mount Halla this year was 750,586, including 680,586 domestic visitors and 74,000 foreign visitors.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]