Land-based parks are in red and marine parks are in blue.
The national parks of South Korea are preserved parcels of public land on which most forms of development are prohibited. They cover a total of 6.6% of the country's area, and are typically located in mountainous or coastal regions.[1] The country's largest mountain park is Jirisan National Park in the southwest; this was also the first national park to be designated in 1967. The largest marine park is Dadohaehaesang, with an area of more than 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi), but almost all of this is water. The smallest park is Wolchulsan, with an area of only 56.1 km2 (21.7 sq mi).
As of 2023, there are 23 national parks in South Korea; the parks, with the exception of Hallasan National Park, are managed by the Korea National Park Service, established in 1987.[2] The Authority operates its own police force, and since 1998 has been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment. It was previously under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Construction.
- ^ "e-나라지표 국립공원현황" (in Korean). Statistics Korea. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
- ^ "National Parks: About the Korea National Park Service". Korea National Park Service. Retrieved 19 September 2016.