Easter break skiing in South Korea

March 7, 2013 1:03 AM

Family is spending Easter break in Seoul. Please recommend a ski resort that is: - near enough for a day trip - accessible via public transportation - not too crowded as a bonus The only other ski resort we've ever been to is GALA Yuzawa in Japan, and it was accessible by train, so we'd like to imitate the same experience in Seoul. Thanks!
posted by drea to Travel & Transportation around South Korea (2 answers total)

What exactly are the dates that you will be in Seoul? There are a number of resorts that are relatively close to Seoul (1-2 hours travel time), but the problem is that if Easter break means the end of March, most of those resorts will have already closed for the season. For example, March 10th is the last day of the season for both Yangji Pine Resort and Star Hill Resort (which appear to be the two resorts closest to Seoul). Jisan Forest Resort, which is also relatively close to Seoul and accessible by public transportation or by calling to reserve a free shuttle, appears to be open until March 24th, but only on a limited basis after March 10th (only one slope, which is intermediate/advanced level, and one lift will be available). Vivaldi Park will only be running the lifts on March 9-10 and 16-17, although the website says the park will be open for the spring season from March 11th until a date TBA. (I think Vivaldi Park is known for being pretty crowded, but perhaps not so much at this time of year.) Vivaldi Park is 1 hour 15 minutes by direct bus from Dong Seoul Terminal (accessible from Gangbyeon station on subway line 2); as of right now, there is no end date listed for the bus.

To the best of my knowledge, even the ski resorts located in the colder/snowier parts of South Korea (3-4 hours from Seoul) are scheduled to close after March 24th, so if your travel dates are later than that, you may be out of luck....
posted by st elmo's fire at 5:21 AM on March 7, 2013

It's been a while since I skied in Korea, but I remember the closest resort to Seoul as being Bearstown, although it's pretty small and at a quick glance I can't see when the season ends there. The only resort I'm aware of that is accessible by train is High 1, but that's a bit far for a day-trip. Here are a few more places to look at.

As st elmo's fire rightly says, if you're looking to ski this late in the year, your options are pretty limited and will probably involve a lot of travel.

One side-note: like a lot of things in Korea, skiing is made a lot cheaper if you use vouchers, usually sourced from the website or social media presence of the resort you're going to. I regularly got my ski pass or rental half price by asking Korean friends to print me off resort vouchers.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 12:07 AM on March 8, 2013