Gwanaksan Hiking Center Draws More Visitors as Seoul’s Mountain Tourism Grows

The Gwanaksan branch of Seoul Hiking Tourism Center has become a standout stop for Gwanaksan Hiking, with reporting in 2026 noting that it drew the most visitors among Seoul’s three hiking tourism centers in the previous year. Its growth fits a wider rise in Seoul’s hiking-support services, which have expanded around Bukhansan, Bugaksan, and Gwanaksan with route guidance, multilingual information, gear rental, and convenience services for visitors. ¹

For travelers and residents planning a hike, the key point is practical: the Gwanaksan center is not a distant visitor office but a transit-linked support point. It is located inside the Sillim Line’s Gwanaksan Station area, with later reporting specifying that it sits immediately to the right of the escalator at Exit 1. ¹

Why Visitor Numbers at the Gwanaksan Center Are Rising

The Gwanaksan center moved quickly from trial operation to a high-traffic hiking support base. Trial operation began on November 1, 2024, on the first basement level of Sillim Line Gwanaksan Station. Within one week, more than 3,000 citizens and tourists had visited, helped by the center’s direct access to the station and the mountain area. ²

The center’s formal opening followed on April 24, 2025, when the Seoul Tourism Organization held an opening ceremony at Gwanaksan Eutteum Park and began full-scale operation of the Gwanaksan branch. The branch was described as the third Seoul Hiking Tourism Center, following the existing network serving Seoul’s mountain tourism routes. ³

Early demand was already clear before the official opening. After trial operations began in November 2024, reports said the Gwanaksan branch was receiving about 6,000 visitors per month on average. ³ By March 2026, the Gwanaksan center was reported as having had the highest visitor count in the previous year among Seoul’s three hiking tourism centers. ¹

That makes the Gwanaksan branch especially relevant for people looking for a practical starting point. The available source material does not provide a full route map, opening hours, reservation system, or fee schedule for the Gwanaksan branch. What it does confirm is that the center is designed to reduce friction before a hike by offering support services connected to Seoul’s broader hiking tourism program.

What Visitors Can Use the Center For

Seoul’s hiking tourism centers support hikers through one-stop services such as course guidance, multilingual information, and equipment rental. These services are offered across the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center network serving Bukhansan, Bugaksan, and Gwanaksan. ¹

For international visitors, the centers have been presented as facilities that provide hiking item rental, tourist information, and convenience services. The Seoul Tourism Organization said the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center brand helped turn Seoul’s mountain resources into tourism content, and reported that the three centers surpassed 100,000 total annual visitors in 2025. ⁴

The growth is not limited to Gwanaksan alone. Across the Bukhansan, Bugaksan, and Gwanaksan centers, visitor numbers rose from 4,414 in 2022 to 10,955 in 2023 and 43,016 in 2024. By November 13, 2025, the three centers had received 85,661 visitors for that year, nearly double the previous year’s total at that point, with cumulative visitors from 2022 to 2025 counted at 144,046. ⁵

Equipment rental demand also points to more active use of the centers. In the first half of 2025, the three Seoul hiking tourism centers drew 44,387 visitors, passed 100,000 cumulative visitors, and recorded 1,648 hiking equipment rentals, up from 906 in the same period a year earlier. Foreign visitors accounted for 7,343 visitors, or 16.5%, during that first-half period. ⁶

The broader message is that the Gwanaksan branch is part of a growing visitor service model, not simply a signpost near a trailhead. It is intended to help hikers prepare, orient themselves, and access basic support before heading into the mountain area.

How to Plan a Practical Visit

Start by treating Gwanaksan Station as the confirmed access point. The center is described as being inside the station area, specifically near Exit 1 in later reporting. ¹ If you are using public transit, this makes it a logical stop before beginning a Gwanaksan outing.

Use the center for information before committing to a route. The source material confirms course guidance and multilingual information as part of the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center service model, which is especially useful for visitors unfamiliar with Seoul’s mountain routes. ¹

If you need hiking items, check availability at the center rather than assuming every item will be available at all times. The sources confirm equipment rental as a service across the centers, and the rising rental count shows growing demand, but they do not list exact rental inventory, prices, or reservation requirements for the Gwanaksan branch. ⁶

The rise in visitor numbers also means timing may matter. The Gwanaksan branch drew more than 3,000 visitors in its first week of trial operation and averaged about 6,000 monthly visitors after trial operations began, so it is reasonable to expect the station-linked center to be busy during popular hiking periods. ^{2 3}

A Seoul city official was quoted as saying that “awareness of the mountains is also rising through hiking tourism centers and SNS promotion,” connecting the visitor increase to both on-site support and public promotion. ⁵ Separately, Seoul Tourism Organization CEO Gil Ki-yeon described the cumulative visitor milestone as proof that hiking tourism had “firmly established itself as a new tourism content of Seoul.” ⁶

작성자 소개

Patrick Choi

Administrator

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