Korea autumn foliage 2026: which mountain fits your dates, from Seoraksan to Naejangsan

Plenty of people book their flights first and only then look up the foliage. The Korean autumn shots you see most often show a pavilion reflected in a pond under red maples at Naejangsan, or Seoraksan’s rocky ridges covered in color. Save both, and it feels as if one week should cover them.

This year’s forecasts say otherwise. Seoraksan’s forecast peak and Naejangsan’s are more than two weeks apart. Korea’s color starts on the high mountains in the north and moves south at 20–25 km a day, and first color at Seoraksan and at Duryunsan on the south coast comes about a month apart. Weather i 2026 forecast So rather than asking when to go, it is quicker to ask where the color will be in your week.

If you can still choose your dates, my pick is 27 October to 5 November, based in Seoul. The Korea Forest Service’s nationwide ginkgo peak (30 October), its Seoul Botanic Park forecast (2 November) and the Korea National Arboretum near Nami Island (29 October) all fall inside that span, and Naejangsan’s forecast window opens at the end of it. You can reach all of them from Seoul without a car. If Seoraksan is the reason for your trip, the answer changes. Its first color was already observed on 28 September this year, and counting from that date puts the peak around 17–20 October. Allow a little either side and aim for 15–22 October. Here is why.

Two forecasts, and one observation date so far

Two forecasts shape this year’s calendar. The Korea Forest Service published its peak-foliage forecast map on 22 September, and the private forecaster Weather i published its outlook on 4 September. They disagree on the same mountains. Seoraksan is 20 October for the Forest Service and 25 October for Weather i. Naejangsan is 4 November and 11 November, a week apart. Korea Forest Service release

One big reason is what each calls the peak. The Forest Service counts a place as peaking when about 50% of the leaves have turned. Weather i and the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) call it the peak when about 80% of the whole mountain has turned, and call it first color when about 20% has turned from the summit down. With different yardsticks, neither date is wrong. Read the Forest Service date as the point when the color is about half done, and the Weather i date as the point when the whole mountain is nearly covered. The days between the two are the useful window for a traveler.

The Forest Service also forecast by tree type: ginkgo on 30 October, and maples and oaks on 31 October, about 0.8 days later than the average of the last five years. Weather i expects late September and October to be warmer than normal, and puts first color and the peak about 9 and 8 days later than normal, within about a day of 2025.

So far KMA has announced an observation date for one mountain only. It recorded Seoraksan’s first color on 28 September, four days earlier than in 2025 (2 October) and exactly on the normal date. KMA release That is five days ahead of Weather i’s forecast of 3 October. On 7 October, KMA’s foliage status page showed Seoraksan and Odaesan at “first color” and the other 19 of its 21 mountains not yet turning.

Seoraksan has moved to the early end of its window

Seoraksan takes longer than most mountains to go from first color to peak. On KMA’s normals, first color comes on 28 September and the peak on 17 October, 19 days later. In 2025 first color came on 2 October and the peak on 24 October, 22 days later. With first color on 28 September this year, the same gaps put the 2026 peak at about 17–20 October.

That is not a forecast. It is past records laid against this year’s observation. Still, the direction is clear. It is five or more days earlier than Weather i’s 25 October, which uses the same 80% definition, and first color itself came five days ahead of Weather i’s date. Against the Forest Service’s 20 October, on its 50% definition, nothing points later either. Either way, Seoraksan centers on about 20 October. I would plan Seoraksan for 15–22 October. Holding out for after the 25th on Weather i’s date alone now has little to support it.

The same method works for other mountains. Weather i’s table gives normal dates alongside its forecasts, and counting from normal first color to normal peak across its 14 mountains gives anywhere from 11 to 19 days, mostly about two weeks. Seoraksan is the slowest. A week or two before you travel, open the KMA status page. If your mountain has flipped to “first color”, expect the peak about two weeks later.

Where to go in your week

The table puts the forecasts, the status KMA showed on 7 October, and the car-free route from Seoul, Busan or Jeju City side by side. Do not try to fit every region into one week. Pick the one that matches your dates.

The Forest Service dates are for maples, except the 30 October ginkgo date in the Seoul row, which is nationwide. Oaks run on different dates: 25 October at Seoraksan and 26 October at Naejangsan. Nami Island and the Seoul palaces have no forecast point of their own, so the table uses nearby points or the nationwide date.

Mid-October: Seoraksan, and Odaesan, which has just started

As above, Seoraksan centers on 15–22 October. I would sleep in Sokcho the night before. City buses 7 and 7-1 run from central Sokcho to Seoraksan, usually every 17–20 minutes between them in the daytime, with a few gaps of more than 30 minutes. The last bus leaves the park at 20:35. Sokcho bus timetable

Staying in Sokcho does not get you out of the traffic. A traveler who has taken the bus to Seoraksan several times in October replied on Reddit in 2025 that getting on the bus in Sokcho was never a problem, but that traffic heading into the park can turn a 30-minute ride into an hour, with all the delay at the end. If the jam is on the last stretch, a hotel closer to the park does not avoid it. What is left is to set off early, before the cars arrive.

The Seorak Cable Car up to Gwongeumseong takes no reservations. Tickets are sold on site on the day only, and only as round trips, at ₩16,000 per adult (as of 7 October). Hours are posted fresh on the homepage every day; on 7 October they were 08:30–17:30. Each ticket carries a boarding time, and if you miss it you pay a 20% fee to be given a new one. Seorak Cable Car guide If the queue is long, do not hold out for the cable car. Another traveler, who toured Korea’s foliage spots from 28 October to 12 November 2025, stayed in Sokcho for the first three nights and also rode the cable car, but wrote on Reddit in November 2025 that if foliage is the point, walk the 3 km Biseondae trail.

Seoraksan’s Heullimgol trail needs a reservation from 1 October to 30 November 2026. It runs one way for 3.1 km from the Heullimgol visitor center to the Yongso Falls junction, with a cap of 5,000 people a day. Entry is by hourly slot, 08:00–15:00 in October and 09:00–14:00 in November. Booking is online and closes at 14:00 the day before. The visitor center accepts walk-ins for any spaces left, but do not count on that. Heullimgol reservation guide

Odaesan is starting now. Weather i put its peak at 16 October, and on 7 October KMA showed it at “first color”. If you land early in the third week of October, it is a lighter trip than Seoraksan. The 05:40 KTX from Seoul Station reaches Jinbu (Odaesan) at 07:26, and there is a 07:05 from Cheongnyangni, plus a 07:52 at weekends. A standard seat costs ₩21,900 from Seoul Station and ₩20,300 from Cheongnyangni. Woljeongsa temple is about 13 km from Jinbu Station by road, around 20 minutes by car on our route calculation. Trains back to Seoul leave Jinbu at 17:06, 19:09, 20:02 and 22:29. Korail KTX timetable from 1 October

Late October to early November: Seoul and Nami Island

This is the span I recommended at the start. Seoul’s palaces have no forecast point of their own. The dates worth using are the Forest Service’s nationwide ginkgo peak on 30 October, its Seoul Botanic Park maple date of 2 November, and Weather i’s Bukhansan peak on 4 November. On 7 October, Bukhansan had not started turning.

Last year’s record fits this span. The Biseondae traveler above spent most of a 28 October to 12 November foliage trip in and around Seoul, and wrote that the whole city turns yellow, crimson and gold just before the leaves fall. Weather i expects this year to land within about a day of last year.

The ticket to sort out early in Seoul is the Secret Garden (Huwon) at Changdeokgung. You can only enter on a set session, and the English sessions are at 10:30, 11:30, 14:30 and 15:30 (March to November). Each session takes 100 people: 50 tickets sold online and 50 on the day. Online sales open at 10:00 six days before your visit, not counting the visit day, and on-site sales start at 09:00 on the day. The palace office itself says both kinds sell out very quickly in October and November. As of 7 October, you pay ₩5,000 for the garden plus a ₩3,000 palace ticket, and it is closed on Mondays. Royal Palaces: Changdeokgung admission Once your date is fixed, mark 10:00 six days before your visit in your calendar.

If someone in your group needs to avoid stairs, the Namsan Sky Forest Trail is the right choice. Seoul announced its opening for 25 October 2025: a 1.45 km barrier-free deck path at an 8% grade. The city says it takes 12 minutes in total from Seoul Station on bus 402 or 405 to the Namsan Library stop. Seoul Media Hub For palace timing and hanbok, see the Gyeongbokgung and Bukchon autumn walk; for a real hike, the Bukhansan trail guide.

Nami Island has no forecast point either. The nearby Forest Service points are Chukryeongsan (maples 26 October, oaks 25 October) and the Korea National Arboretum (maples 29 October). The last week of October is a safe bet.

At Nami, the first ferry decides the day. From 18 September to 22 November 2026, the first boat leaves at 07:30, half an hour earlier than usual. Buy your ticket and board before 08:00 and the entry ticket, which includes the round-trip ferry, costs ₩13,000 instead of ₩19,000 (as of 7 October). Nami Island ferry schedule Nami Island fees Lining up the Korail and Nami timetables gives this:

• Weekdays: the 05:38 ITX-Cheongchun from Yongsan reaches Gapyeong at 06:34. The wharf is 1.5 km away, a 20-minute walk, so you are there before 07:00 with time to spare.
• Holidays: the first train on Korail’s holiday timetable leaves Yongsan at 06:15 and reaches Gapyeong at 07:11. Check which timetable your Saturday falls under when you book. On foot you reach the wharf at about 07:31, just after the 07:30 boat; ferries run every 30 minutes between 08:00 and 09:00, so the next one is at 08:00 and the early fare is gone too. A taxi from the station, about five minutes, gets you there in time on paper, but waiting for one and buying the ticket are the variables.

During the autumn extension, the last boat is at 21:30 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The last ITX-Cheongchun from Gapyeong to Yongsan leaves at 22:33 on weekdays and 22:31 on holidays. Korail ITX-Cheongchun timetable The Gapyeong and Nami Island day trip covers the island itself and the waits after 09:00.

First half of November: Naejangsan, Jeju and Busan

Naejangsan is 4 November for the Forest Service and 11 November for Weather i. Weather i puts first color on 5 November, a day after the Forest Service peak. The Forest Service peak (50%) and Weather i’s first color (20%) measure different things, which is how the order can flip like this. Treat 4–11 November as the useful window.

Last year’s record leans towards the later date. The Biseondae traveler did not give the exact day, but put Naejangsan near the end of a trip that ended on 12 November, and still found the leaves just turning. I would put Naejangsan in the second week of November and give the first few days of the month to Seoul.

The earliest KTX trains leave Yongsan at 05:08, 05:48 and 06:29 and reach Jeongeup at 06:49, 07:28 and 08:10. From Suseo, a train leaves at 05:08 and arrives at 06:32. A standard seat costs ₩32,700–35,200 from Yongsan and ₩33,400–34,000 from Suseo, depending on the stopping pattern. Korail KTX fares The last trains back leave Jeongeup at 22:43 for Yongsan and 23:22 for Suseo.

From Jeongeup Station, a city bus runs to the park. A Taiwanese traveler wrote on Dcard in March 2025 about taking the 07:47 KTX from Yongsan, reaching Jeongeup at 09:21, changing to bus 171 and arriving at Naejangsan at about 10:00. The advice was to wait for the bus early, because with so many people going up and down there were no seats. Even on a weekday the cable car queue was 20–30 minutes, and the traveler recommended riding the cable car first and walking back down slowly so as not to rush. That is the order I would take: go up first, and stop at Naejangsa temple on the way down.

If changing in Jeongeup sounds like a hassle, there is a group tour. Klook’s Naejangsan autumn foliage day tour leaves Seoul at 06:15 from Hongik University Station exit 9 and returns there at about 20:30, with 3 hours 30 minutes in the park. On 7 October 2026 it was ₩59,100 per adult (Klook showed the price in won). That is less than a KTX round trip from Yongsan (₩65,400–70,400 in a standard seat), and there is no bus change. The cable car and lunch are extra, and if the minimum group size is not reached you can move to another date or take a refund. The October calendar showed Seoul departures only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: 26, 28 and 30 October. The page says full refunds up to 24 hours before, but the same page also says cancellations within 48 hours cannot be refunded, so go by the terms on the payment screen. The operator also says it cannot guarantee the color. If you want more than half a day of walking in the park, take the KTX.

There is also a reserved section in 2026. From 18 October to 16 November, the 2.8 km route from the Seorae visitor center over Seoraebong to Byeongnyeonam needs an online reservation, capped at 520 people a day. Korea National Park Service notice That is the only section in the notice, and the walk from Iljumun gate to Naejangsa is not part of it.

On Jeju, the Forest Service forecasts the 1100 Road for 6 November, and Weather i puts Hallasan’s first color on 31 October and its peak on 13 November. Bus 240 takes 37–41 minutes from Jeju Bus Terminal to Eorimok. The timetable changes in November. From 1 November the winter timetable drops the 06:30, 16:10 and 17:10 departures from the terminal, and the last bus towards Jeju City passes Eorimok at 17:43 instead of 19:33. Jeju bus 240 timetable The tables on the Hallasan site give the October entry cutoff for the Eorimok and Yeongsil trails as 12:00 in one place and 14:00 in another, so plan to be on the trail before noon. Hallasan trail information

Busan has no forecast point. Among the Forest Service points, the Gyeongnam Arboretum is forecast for 8 November. If you are staying in Busan, Beomeosa temple is the easiest choice. It is open daily 08:00–17:00 and free, and you reach it by Metro Line 1 to Beomeosa Station, exit 5 or 7, then bus 90. Visit Busan To add Bulguksa, see our Bulguksa and Seokguram guide.

The sun sets long before the last train

When you plan a day trip, you usually start with the last train home. On these trips, apart from Jeju, the last train is hardly ever the problem. The sun goes down much earlier. The table sets the arrival and last-departure times from the official timetables next to our own sunset calculation for the same date.

Sunset is calculated with the US NOAA formula for a sea-level horizon. On a slope or in a valley, it gets dark earlier.

For Nami Island, Odaesan and Naejangsan there are still about five hours of trains after sunset. Even at Seoraksan, staying in Sokcho, the last bus leaves nearly three hours after the sun. So there is no point trying to stretch the evening. Only the first train adds walking time. Take the 05:48 to Naejangsan instead of the 06:29 and you get a little over 40 more minutes of daylight on site. Jeju is different. Even in October the last bus is only about an hour and a half after sunset, and in November it leaves at almost the same minute as the sun. In November, stay at Eorimok late into the afternoon and there is no bus back.

A week before you go

The forecasts came out in September, and the real weather will move them. About a week before you leave, open the KMA status page and see whether your mountain has flipped to “first color”. If it has, the peak is about two weeks away, or closer to three on a slow mountain like Seoraksan. If it still shows no color, mountains further north or higher up will turn first.

If you are weighing Korea against Japan, Japan runs later: on Japan Meteorological Agency records, Tokyo’s maples turn on 28 November on average. Our Japan seasonal calendar lays out Japan’s blossoms and leaves for the whole year, which helps if you want to join both countries in one autumn.

The color moves south at 20–25 km a day. Rather than chase that line across the country in one week, wait where it passes during your dates. You will rush less and see more.