Maple Season Postponed Due to Late Heat, Trends in National Park Visitors Change

Due to the late heat, the autumn foliage season, which is later than usual, was also evident in the national park visit index.

According to the Baeam Office of Naejangsan National Park, the autumn leaves of Baekyangsa Temple in Baekyamsan Mountain, Jangseong-gun, a major maple spot in Jeollanam-do, were colored more than a week later than last year.

As a result, the number of autumn visitors who visited Baekyangsa Temple between the last weekend of October and the first weekend of November, when autumn leaves usually peak in the southern part of the country, decreased by about 28% from 100,000 last year to 72,000 this year.

On the other hand, from the 4th to the 17th of this month, the number of visitors in the two weeks of early and mid-November was 175,000, an increase of 54% compared to the same period last year.

Jangseong-gun and Baekyangsa Temple, which have held autumn festivals such as Sansa concerts around the last weekend of October every year, will consider adjusting their schedules from next year.