Due to the COVID-19 situation, visitors won’t be able to view the new year’s first sunrise at the top of Hallasan Mountain in Jeju.

The Hallasan National Park Management Office announced that special permits for night hiking, which have been issued starting at 12:00 am on January 1 of each year, will not be available in 2021.

On the first day of every year, Jeju Province has allowed night hiking to the top of Dongneung Peak via two trails, one from Seongpanak and another from Gwaneumsa Temple. The permission for the hikers who wished to watch the first sunrise of the new year from the highest point in Korea.

The ban on night hiking is a decision that comprehensively considers the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and special administrative measures for disease prevention in Jeju Province. The guidelines prohibit gatherings, meetings, and events of 50 or more indoors and 100 or more outdoors at public institutions.