Why foreign tourists are trading palaces for peaks in Korea

Overseas visitors to Korea are increasingly choosing mountain peaks over historic palaces.

On Sunday, the trend was highlighted when 11 members of France's Fédération Française de la Randonnée hiked in Bukhansan National Park with Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young and renowned climber Um Hong-gil.

The visit is part of a larger group of about 40 association members currently touring Korea in three separate 11-day trips, hiking not just Mount Bukhan, but also Hahoe Folk Village in Andong, Mount Nam in Gyeongju, Mount Geumjeong in Busan, Suncheon Bay and a temple stay at Hwaeom Temple near Mount Jiri. The Korea Tourism Organization arranged the trip as part of its marketing push for Korean walking tourism.

The timing lines up with a campaign the tourism agency launched in July with the Korea National Park Service, aiming to draw a combined 3 million visitors to national parks by 2028.

Under the initiative, foreign visitors can borrow hiking boots and trekking poles for free and receive a keychain souvenir at participating parks, lowering the barrier for tourists who arrive in Korea without gear or a plan.

That barrier has already been falling on its own. Foreigners accounted for roughly 2.05 million of the visits to Korea's national parks last year, according to the Korea National Park Service, with Mount Halla on Jeju Island drawing the largest share at more than 270,000, followed by Mount Seorak and Mount Bukhan.

In Seoul specifically, foot traffic data from the Seoul AI Foundation showed foreign visitation climbing fastest not at palaces or shopping streets but at hiking spots, up 11.8 percent at Mount Acha and 10 percent at Mount Gwanak year-on-year.

The popularity of Korea’s mountains is largely thanks to their convenience. Seoul’s mountains are easily reachable by subway and can be climbed in just half a day. After a hike, visitors often enjoy Korean green onion pancake and makgeolli, or fermented rice alcohol, at restaurants nearby, a trend that has gone viral on social media.

To support the influx, tourism centers near the mountain entrances at Mount Bukhan and Mount Gwanak now offer multilingual guidance and gear rentals. Local officials say they want to make visiting a mountain as easy as going to a museum.

Korean hikers have noticed the shift too. A survey released this year by market research firm Embrain Trend Monitor found that 66.9 percent of Korean adults had hiked within the past year, and more than half of respondents said they believed the activity was turning into a distinctly "K-hiking" phenomenon capable of drawing foreign tourists in its own right.

Kang Jung-won, head of the tourism policy bureau of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said Korea's appeal lies in the contrast packed into a small footprint.

"Korea has four distinct seasons and beautiful, varied mountains across the country, paired with a rich history and culture, along with compelling walking tourism resources," Kang said. "We hope this visit by the members of the French hiking association will serve as an opportunity to spread the word about hiking tourism in Korea to the world."