If you’re one for winter sports, northeast Korea is a great place to live or visit. Since the site for the 2018 Winter Olympics is relatively close to Sokcho, I definitely wanted to check out the snowboarding before the season ended. YongPyeong is a top-of-the-line ski resort with plenty to do for both amateurs and pros alike. And if you’ve never skied or snowboarded before, but you’re excited to learn, there are even lessons available.

Getting There

If you’re setting out from Sokcho, it’s not too difficult to get to YongPyeong (용평리조트). You’re only two buses and a brief taxi ride away really. Depending on bus waiting time, it will take you about 2-3 hrs from the Sokcho Inter-City Bus Terminal to Yongpyeong Ski Resort.

First off, head to the Sokcho Inter-City Bus Terminal* and catch a bus to Gangneung (강릉). Buses leave for Gangneung about every 30 minutes, so your timing can be flexible. It takes about an hour to get to the Gangneung Bus Terminal. At the time I’m writing this post, a one-way bus ticket to Gangneung costs ₩6,300 (about $6 USD).

*Please note, there are two bus terminals in Sokcho – Express and Inter-City. The Express Bus Terminal is in a completely different part of the city (near Emart) from the Inter-City Bus Terminal, which is downtown. The Express Bus Terminal mainly services routes to Seoul and Incheon, so be sure to go to the correct location.

Once you arrive in Gangneung, you’ll need to catch your next bus to Hoinggye (횡계). You can just buy your ticket at the terminal. A one-way ticket costs ₩2,500 (about $2 USD) and it takes about half an hour to go from Gangneung to Hoinggye. The buses run fairly regularly as well, so you don’t need to worry about timing.

 

 

Once you reach Hoinggye, you’ll be dropped off at a rather small bus terminal.

 

From here you can either grab the free shuttle bus (it only comes 4 times per day) or you can go across the street to the taxi stand and get a cab. A taxi to YongPyeong will cost about ₩9,000. Here’s the taxi stand across from the bus terminal.

 

YongPyeong Ski Resort

Congrats! You’ve finally reached YongPyeong Ski Resort! But you’ve still got a few more things to take care of before you’re ready for the slopes. You’ll be dropped off near the main building of the resort, called Dragon Plaza. Head over to the Ticket Office, which is located just outside Dragon Plaza. There you can purchase your lift tickets and a ticket for your ski/snowboard rental if you didn’t bring your own gear. If you also wish to rent clothing (snowpants and jacket), you’ll have to rent them separately from the shop inside Dragon Plaza.

The YongPyeong website shows the different rates for their lift passes and gear rentals. If you have a bank account with NH (NongHyup) or another major Korean bank, you may be able to get a discount. When we went, we paid with an NH bank card, and we got a 50% discount on our lift passes and a 40% discount on our snowboard rentals. These discounts aren’t listed on their website. You’ll see the available discounts at the ticket office.

Once you’ve got your lift passes and tickets for gear rental, you can go back inside Dragon Plaza. Get your clothing rental first and your gear rental second. The clothing rental prices are also listed on the Yongpyong website. When we went, we rented a complete set for a half-day, and it cost ₩17,000. When you grab your clothing rental, a complete set will include snow pants and a jacket. If you’d like gloves, a hat, or goggles you’ll have to either bring them with you or purchase them there. There are cheap gloves available for ₩10,000.

After you’ve gotten your clothing and gear, you can rent a locker for ₩1,000 (non-refundable). The lockers only accept ₩500 coins. You’ll either need to bring two ₩500 coins or there are machines available there to change your bills into coins. Stash your things, and you’re finally ready to hit the slopes. Enjoy your day!

Getting Home

I hope you had a fun day skiing/snowboarding. Now that you’re worn out, you’re probably thinking about the easiest way to get home. You can either get a taxi back to the Hoinggye Bus Terminal or you can grab the free shuttle. We had half-day afternoon lift passes that finished at 4:30pm, and after returning our clothing and gear, we were able to catch the 5pm shuttle back to Hoinggye. To get the shuttle bus, you’ll have to go to the parking lot outside of the hostel. It’s just a short walk down the road from Dragon Plaza. When you arrive back at the Hoinggye Bus Terminal, grab a bus back to Gangneung. Below is the time table for buses from Hoinggye to Gangneug. The last bus back leaves at 10pm.

When you arrive back in Gangneung, you can take a break from the travel and grab a bite to eat. There are lots of good restaurants around the city. Or you can continue on back to Sokcho (or wherever you may have come from). I hope you had a great day out today.