Written by : Essential Expat Experiences
Disclaimer : This trip was organized by Plus Planner on behalf of the province of Gangwondo. I was able to attend free of charge in exchange for social media promotion.
Yongpyong Resort is like the Disneyland of ski resorts. Built in 1975, it is the first ski resort in South Korea, and over the decades has expanded massively to include golf, a water park, zip-line, luge, and a cable car! This resort became internationally famous in 2018 during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, but the park is open year round and has many attractions to enjoy regardless of the season.
If you visit in the fall, the first thing you must do is to ride the Mt. Balwangsan Cable Car! The 7.4 km-long course is the longest in Asia, and it takes 25 minutes to arrive at the top of Balwangsan where you can enjoy spectacular views of the resort, mountainside, and fall foliage. Here you can also find the Dragon Pavilion, which includes a restaurant, cafe, shop, and an amazing, glass-floored observatory on the top floor. While you explore the mountain top be sure to check out Mayumok, a legendary tree that grew after "Japanese rowan tree seed falling inside a Siberian crab apple and growing inside it" (quote from: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190606000032).
The cable car costs 16,000 won for a one-way trip, or 20,000 won for a roundtrip. My friends and I were given round-trip tickets, so after exploring the mountaintop for a couple of hours we made our way back to the cable car. On the ride back down, you can enjoy the views of the treetops one last time as you gently travel down the side of the mountain. A zip-line is also available, so I'll definitely be back again to give it a go! The cable car is open from nine a.m. to eight p.m. year round.
After the cable car, we made our way to the hotel for a quick rest before dinner. Behind the main hotel, you can see a beautiful light display, featuring a fountain and a castle made of lights. This is the perfect place to snap a few photos, or just to enjoy the crisp evening air and stroll along the path.
The next morning we made our way down to the breakfast buffet, and ate our fill of sausages, bacon, eggs, toast, cereal, fruit, and so much more! The buffet was a wonderful mix of Korean food and classic Western breakfast food, and the only negative was the truly terrible coffee ha ha. The final activity was the highlight of the trip for me : luge! We grabbed our helmets and lined up as soon as the luge opened, and rode the ski-lift back up the mountain to get into our carts. After a safety demonstration and a quick lesson in how to brake and steer, we were off! I zoomed around my friends and raced to the bottom of the mountain, going as fast as I could while still making all the turns. It was a blast, and as soon as I reached the finish line I wanted to go back up and ride it again. The luge is in operation from nine a.m. to six p.m. year round, and costs 15,000 won per ride including the ski lift to the top.
I highly recommend a visit to Yongpyong Resort regardless of the season, but autumn and winter are probably the best months to visit to enjoy the beautiful scenery and take advantage of all the activities to resort has to offer. The easiest way to get there would be to take the KTX to either Pyeongchang (Jinbu) or Gangneung Station, then catch a bus to the resort. More information about transport, as well as reservations, is available here: https://www.yongpyong.co.kr/eng/about/car.do.
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