We all know celebrating winter season in South Korea is everybody's dream. I am Anne from the Philippines and I now I am living my Korean Dream. I have been in the country for 6 months and was able to experience 3 seasons already, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and when I visited last April 2015 it was Spring, so I can say that I've felt what it's like with every season. If you're gonna ask me with my favorite season? It will take me more than an hour to choose between Spring, Autumn and Winter. But ask me for my hatest and I will answer Summer without hesitation. HAHAHHAHAHH.
As a person who grew up in a tropical country, I can say that Winter is fascinating. So one of my bucket list is to try for ski. I know that it's one of yours too that is why you're reading my blog now. Last February 15, 2020, we had a ski adventure at Elysian Gangchon Resort and it was so worth it. Let me share some of the things you need to know about Skiing in Korea.
DATES
The first thing you have to consider is the date of your planned ski trip. Different Resorts in Korea have different Opening and Closing Dates. Ski Season in Korea usually starts as early as November as soon as temperatures lowers down enough to form snow. Take note that the snows are not real, they are artificial made for you to enjoy. And this year, most Ski Resorts closes as early as March for Spring Season is now waving early this time.
As for us, we checked the dates of Ski Resorts in multiple blogs and for year 2019 here's the list of Opening dates.
Dates may vary depending on the temperature drop. But just to be sure it'll be better to visit each websites and to also check the location, size of resort and other things to know about the ski resort.
WEBSITES
* Yongpyong Ski Resort: www.yongpyong.co.kr (Korean, English, Chinese)
* Phoenix Pyeongchang Snow Park: www.phoenixhnr.co.kr (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)
* Vivaldi Park Ski World: www.daemyungresort.com (Korean only)
* High1 Ski Resort: www.high1.com (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)
* Alpensia Ski Resort: www.alpensiaresort.co.kr (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)
* Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort: www.elysian.co.kr (Korean, English, Chinese)
* Muju Deogyusan Ski Resort: www.mdysresort.com (Korean, English)
* Welli Hilli Park Snow Park: www.wellihillipark.com (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)
* Bears Town Ski Resort: www.bearstown.com (Korean, English)
* Oak Valley Snow Park: www.oakvalley.co.kr (Korean, English, Chinese)
* Yangji Pine Resort Ski Valley: www.pineresort.com (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)
* Eden Valley Ski Resort: www.edenvalley.co.kr (Korean only)
BOOKING
After checking the websites and choosing for dates of our ski trip we are down to top two ski resorts which are Vivaldi Park Ski World and Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort. What we did next is we looked for trip packages in different websites like Trazy, KoreaTravelEasy, Klook and many more.
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| sample email from KTE |
I visited all the websites and compared the package prizes in those two resorts and found the KoreaTravelEasy package for Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort the cheapest. The package is called 2019 Elysian Gangchon Resort 1Day Ski, Snowboard LESSON and Snow Sled, Sightseeing Shuttle Bus Tour Package that cost us $77.00 roughly 90,090 won. Don't worry because booking in KoreaTravelEasy is simple. You just have to log in or sign up to an account, start booking and then they will send an email and instructions as to how to pay for your booking.
What I like about booking in KTE is that it's really easy to communicate with them and they reply immediately to your queries. We had an experience were in we had to move out of our dormitory on the same day of our ski trip and we had not other choice but to reschedule our trip. Good thing KTE replied fast, so instead of cancelling our trip, we just rescheduled it a day earlier.
Don't forget to always check your email. KTW will be sending emails reminding you of your booking. Also, attached there is your voucher and other details like meeting point and time of your departure.
SKI DAY
This was the bus that picked us up in the meeting station. It is clearly from KTE because of the signage Trazy or short for Travel Easy.
Before going to the resort, we made a quick stop to the rental of proper skiing outfit. Note that the clothes and other equipments are included in the package but the Helmet, Goggles and Gloves are not. The rental helmet, goggles and gloves cost 10,000 won each but if you want to buy your own gloves, it will cost you 20,000 won.
Once done, you are now ready to go skiing!!!
AT THE SKI RESORT
This the Foreign Ski School and Information. Before heading to the counter for the ski gears, you have to get your tag. This tags are different depending on what you availed because others didn't pay for a lift and others did. As for us, the lift is already included in the package.
Your instructor will then lead you to a counter where you have to get your shoe size and then get you ski gears (2 ski blades, 2 ski poles, and ski boots). You have to be mindful of your gears because they all depend on your shoe size so careful not to exchange them with other people. Also, it's hella expensive if you loose any of them. Check out the videos on how to properly lock you ski boots and then once done you are now ready for the ski lesson!
After getting our shoe sizes we then proceeded to get our equipments on the counter.
My friend trying out her ski boots. Make sure that they are not that tight or loose as you'll have a hard time skiing.
This is us while our instructor is teaching us. It was really hard to learn how to ski for the first time. You'll have to remember the terms 11 and letter A, for these are the forms that you'll be doing while skiing. Also he taught us how to stand up once we fall down. All in all it was a really fun and unforgettable experience.
As the saying goes,
"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves".
So don't be afraid to fall and stumble down on the snow. You don't have to be good at it for the first time. No matter what happens, always learn to stand up and try again.
Once you get the proper tempo you can try other slopes like me and Dalya.
That's me (left) and Dalya (right) as we tried the lift and went for a different slope.
"Skiis are not just pieces of woods, steel and fiberglass. They are tools of escape, a medium for personal expression, a way to challenge fears, push the limits and share incredible experience with your friends" - Anonymous
