Advice for Seoul in the Winter

[jjpb3]

I'm taking my dad to Seoul for his first ever taste of winter (among winter destinations, South Korea has the least onerous visa requirements for RP passport holders like my dad). But though I'm confident that Seoul can get him to experience wintertime temperatures [don't worry, I'm buying him the necessary cold weather accoutrements], I'm not as confident (purely by reasoning from analogy with my NYC experience) that there will be snow during the time that we're there (between Christmas and New Year).

I'm thinking about booking a day trip to a ski resort in South Korea -- purely to provide him his first experience with snow ; it'll be more of an apres-ski experience than a skiing experience -- but I don't know the best way to do that.

Any advice from fellow SQTalkers? Is there a responsive English-speaking travel agent in Korea, or Hong Kong (we're flying CX), that you would recommend? Should I instead contact the concierge of the hotel we're staying in (front runner at this point, based on SQFAN's recommendation, is Westin Seoul)?

TIA.

SQFAN has done a good job keeping my arm twisted for a TR, so likely, I'll let y'all know how this trip turns out.




(My dad doesn't know yet that I used my Asia Miles to ensure that he travels in Business Class; I've only told him he should be preparing for a very long series of flights in Y, for which he's very thankful anyway. The farthest he has travelled from Manila is Singapore, so I just had to make sure this trip was memorable for him.)

[lee_apromise]

Stay at Shilla Hotel !!!!

You don't need a travel agent. Just contact the concierge and if you can, ask him to book ski resort & train tickets. The last thing you want to experience is getting stuck on express way. There is a plenty of good ski resorts located right next to train stations and usually ski resorts offer free shuttle bus services from train stations.

[N_Architect]

Wish I could help but don't know much on what you're looking for, jjpb3. Have been to a nice ski resort outside Pusan earlier this year ("Eden Valley"), but other than that I can't recommend anything, especially for the Seoul area.

[SQ LPP]

Why not taking your dad to Vancouver instead?
End of December, usually the Grouse Mountain will be opened for skiing. And if you like the adventure, we can go up to Whistler, the location for 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

[9V-JKL]

I've only been to 1 ski resort in Korea so can only tell you what I know. http://www.yongpyong.co.kr/eng/index.asp

There was most certainly snow at that time; Christmas week. The slopes are lit at night till late.

This was part of the tour package we booked in SIN. It was a 2.5hr drive from Seoul. If you don't want to drive or train, I think you could take a heli. I saw a heli-pad about 5 mins from the resort. On a more serious note, if its going to take that long to get there and back from Seoul, perhaps an overnight stay would be preferred

[scooby5]

Last time i did it the hotel was able to organise a bus to take us about 2.5hrs out of Seoul for a day of skiing. I can't remember the name of it was but it was quite a small layout, which was better considering it was a January and there was nothing in the way of real snow......they had the machines running at night to provide snow for the next day.

[jjpb3]

Why not taking your dad to Vancouver instead?
End of December, usually the Grouse Mountain will be opened for skiing. And if you like the adventure, we can go up to Whistler, the location for 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Canada's out because of surly immigration officers. The visa is much harder to obtain for my dad.

Thanks for the input, everyone. (N_Architect: I was just looking for recommendations on ski areas near Seoul -- and options on how to get there -- so I could take my dad to see snow, in case Seoul doesn't have snow on the ground at the time we're there.)

[Kyo]

Am fairly certain snow will be falling during those months, especially in ski resort areas, so all should be good.

I do, however, hear that Busan is the preferred destination and Jan-Feb is more consistent with snowfall than Dec. But all should be fine, and I hope you/dad have a great holiday. I just had my first re-acquaintance with snow last week after 21 years, and can say it was just like experiencing it again for the first time - your dad will surely enjoy it and it's just like discovering something out of a storybook.

[Kiwi]

I've transitted ICN several times in December and IIRC there has always been snow on the ground then.

[KeithMEL]

Can't give any advice but just wanted to commend you for doing such a nice thing for your father. Kudos!

[LukeGT]

Why not taking your dad to Vancouver instead?
End of December, usually the Grouse Mountain will be opened for skiing. And if you like the adventure, we can go up to Whistler, the location for 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

and moreover jjpb3's dad will enjoy CGK's company, whose age should be similar

[SQ LPP]

and moreover jjpb3's dad will enjoy CGK's company, whose age should be similar

CGK is in his last breath!

[HUGE AL]

and moreover jjpb3's dad will enjoy CGK's company, whose age should be similar

CGK is in his last breath!

[kapitan]

I will be doing the same this December, using my miles, will redeem three J tixs for the family, including myself.

After having read this board, decided that I should be booling Ibis MyeongDong. Still looking for a ski resort, probably to spend a night before returning to Seoul for more eating.....