The Korea Tour Card offers tourists a variety of discounts on accommodations and entrance fees at tourist site.
By Kim Tae Won and Son Gina
The cheaper, the better. A range of special discounts has been prepared for tourists during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, specifically targeting people who come to Korea for the world’s largest winter sports festival. Here’s some information about how to make your trip to Korea more economical and enjoyable, with details about deals and other alternative discount passes that are all available to tourists and visitors in Korea this season.
When you land at the airport, grab your discount pass first. This special discount pass is exclusively for non-Korean citizens, and it lets you get around here a bit more economically. The Korea Tour Card is perfect for those who want to travel all around the country, and the Limited Edition Discover Seoul Pass With PyeongChang is a must-have item for those who‘d like to only travel around Seoul and Gangwon-do Province.
The Korea Tour Card, launched by the Visit Korea Committee, is a prepaid transportation card with a few added discounts and benefits. You can use all public transportation systems across Korea, including both intra-city and inter-city buses, subway systems and taxis — everything except trains. Purchase the card for KRW 4,000/ USD $3.75 and put on it as much money as you need.
The card is less than $4, but it can be used throughout your whole trip for shopping, on the performing arts, at exhibitions and even for lodging. Gangwon-do Province, the venue of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, offers its own discounts at a total of 32 tourist attractions, including the Gyeongpo Aquarium in Gangneung City and at the Samyang Ranch in Pyeongchang. This gives you a wider variety of choices as you look around the province in your spare time during and after the Olympic events.
Seoul’s major department stores, duty-free shops and shopping malls also have their own coupon book that’s available to cardholders, sometimes with discounts of up to 50 percent off. If you want to learn a bit about Korean history or about Korean heritage and traditions, there are Korea Tour Card discounts on your admission at museums and art exhibitions, including at the National Gugak Center where you can enjoy some traditional Korean music, at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) and at the National Museum of Korea.
You’ll also be eligible for discounts from 5 to 50 percent off at about 2,240 locations of 178 stores all across the country. If you plan to travel to other cities besides Seoul or Pyeongchang, be sure to double check the discounts list in advance.
The Korea Tour Card can be purchased and topped-up at convenience stores, card vending machines at subway stations, at certain banks, and at the Airport Express Travel Centers. Details about the discounts can be found at the Korea Tour Card official website (http://www.koreatourcard.kr/en/).
The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Discover Seoul Pass with PyeongChang offers various discounts at tourist sites, performances and duty-free stores in Seoul and across Gangwon-do Province.
The Limited Edition Discover Seoul Pass With PyeongChang focuses more on tourist attractions and accommodations in Seoul and Gangwon-do Province. The card adds 61 more discounts at venues in Gangwon-do to the pre-existing Discover Seoul Pass, which already offers discounts at 21 tourist attractions and 13 duty free shops in Seoul.
The cards come in two types: a 24-hour pass for KRW 39,900/ $38 and a 48-hour pass for KRW 55,000/ $52. This is the perfect choice for travelers who want to see as much as possible, because the total amount of discounts available exceeds KRW 200,000/ $188 on entrance fees at 21 tourist attractions, and those are only available with this card.
Only the entrance fee discounts have a use-by date. The other discounts are still available at 61 more facilities, including 10 resorts in Gangwon-do, 12 major hotels and 29 tourist attractions, regardless of your date of use.
These cards can be purchased at official online retailers, airports and at tourist information centers in Seoul, and are available until March 31. For more details about the discounts available with this card, please visit its official website (http://discoverseoulpass.com/en) or install the Discover Seoul Pass app.
If you would like to enjoy shopping, be sure to check out the Korea Grand Sale 2018, a shopping and sightseeing festival for tourists and visitors, sometimes dubbed the Korean version of the U.S.’s Black Friday.
Major duty free shops, such as Silla, Shinsegae and Lotte, offer discounts of up to 30 percent off on certain brands during the sale. The Lotte Department Store and Doota Mall in Dongdaemun, a popular tourist shopping area, also have gift cards for customers who purchase a certain amount or more. They also have sales on individual brands.
Discounts are not only limited to shopping. During the sale, tourists can get discounts on admission fees all over the country. The N Seoul Tower Observatory in Seoul, a common filming location for many soap operas, Lotte World, the Korean Folk Village and SM Town, all really popular places for fans of Korean TV shows and pop music, will greet tourists with discounts from 20 to 65 percent off. Stop by one of the famous filming locations and you, too, can be the star of your own Korean drama.
Benefits extend to Gangwon-do Province, too, home to the three host cities of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. For tourists who want to experience the snow-covered fields of Gangwon-do Province, some resorts, including the Welli Hilli Park and Vivaldi Park, have discounts on some rooms and lift passes. If you want a new experience, you can spend a quiet and cozy night at one of the Buddhist temples in Gangwon-do Province, such as Woljeongsa Temple or Baekdamsa Temple, at 20 percent off the usual prices. It’s an opportunity to enjoy the excitement of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang and the healing calm of a Buddhist temple deep in the mountains of Gangwon-do Province, all at the same time.
Shopping and sightseeing festivals for tourists and visitors will take place all over the country from Jan. 18 to Feb. 28, in accordance with the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. For more information about the Korea Grand Sale 2018, please visit its official website (http://www.koreagrandsale.co.kr/en).
