The Ministry of Environment and the Korea National Park Service have banned sunset and sunrise events from taking place at 21 national parks across the country ahead of the new year.

The park service said the decision considered the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Hiking trails at national parks will be off limits from 3 p.m. on December 31 to 7 a.m. the following day, and also from 3 p.m. on January 1 to 7 a.m. the next day.

Parking lots at the parks will also be off-limits during these two time slots.

Instead, the park service will livecast via its YouTube channel the first sunrise of 2022 witnessed from several mountains, including Mount Jiri, Seorak and Deogyu.