Yes — but only at designated campgrounds, and not on every beach. Jeju has a set of beach campsites run by the island's two city councils, and most of them are free. Camping outside those marked sites is not permitted, and on some beaches it is actively enforced.
The free beach campgrounds
These are run by Jeju City and Seogwipo City, sit directly on the coastal road, and almost all cost nothing. In riding or driving order, anticlockwise from Jeju City:
| Where | Site |
|---|---|
| Jeju City | Iho Tewoo 이호테우 — 6 km from the city, the two horse-head lighthouses |
| Aewol | Gwakji 곽지 — with a freshwater spring bath house on the sand |
| Hallim | Geumneung 금능 — next to Hyeopjae and quieter, pine shade behind the beach |
| Andeok | Hwasun Golden Sand 화순금모래 |
| Pyoseon | Pyoseon 표선 — an enormous tidal flat |
| Seongsan | Sinyang Seopji 신양섭지 — sheltered bay under Seopjikoji |
| Udo | Sanho Beach 산호해변 — the coral-sand beach |
| Gujwa | Gimnyeong Seongsegi 김녕성세기 — best equipped, with a cooking shelter |
| Jocheon | Hamdeok Seoubong 함덕서우봉 — the busiest |
How the free sites work
They are first-come and unstaffed. No booking, no reception, nobody to pay. You pitch on the marked ground, use the toilet block, and leave. Most have a water point and a covered platform.
The councils run them properly in season — roughly July and August — when showers are on and a warden comes round. Outside those months the ground stays open and the toilets stay unlocked, but the showers are often off and the site can be empty. That is the quiet, cold, excellent version.
Every legally registered campground in Korea, free or paid, is listed at gocamping.or.kr, run by the Korea Tourism Organization. Check there before committing to a night.
The beaches where you cannot camp
This is where people get caught. Woljeongri 월정리 on the north-east coast prohibits camping outright and posts signs saying so — and it looks exactly like the beaches either side of it that do allow it. Hyeopjae is likewise not on the free-camping list, while Geumneung, two kilometres along, is.
The rule of thumb that works: if there is a marked pitch area with a toilet block and a sign in Korean and English, it is a campground. If it is simply a nice bit of sand, it is not.
Where camping is never allowed
- Hallasan National Park — no camping and no overnight stay of any kind. The trails have fixed turnaround times and rangers clear the mountain before dark. The shelters are day shelters. Enforced with fines under the Natural Parks Act.
- Beaches outside a designated campground — managed by the city councils, with the ban posted at the entrance and patrolled in July and August.
- Oreum and gotjawal forest — many of the volcanic cones are protected as heritage, and several gotjawal forests are absolute reserves.
- Private land, including the tangerine groves behind their stone walls.
Fires
Open fires are banned outside designated pits, and beach fires specifically so. A gas stove on a camp table is fine and universal; charcoal only where a site provides a grill. Jeju's spring fire-risk season runs roughly February to May, when the rules tighten further — and the island is windy enough that this is not a technicality.
What the free sites don't have
Hot water, most of the year. And shops: Geumneung, Hamdeok and Gimnyeong have a convenience store within a few minutes' walk. Sinyang Seopji and Hwasun do not. Buy dinner before you arrive.
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