Quick answer: Korea's 2026/27 ski season starts in late November. Phoenix Pyeongchang is aiming to open on November 27 (and stay open until March 14, weather permitting), and Mona Yongpyong is targeting late November. Resorts closer to Seoul usually open in early December. Foreigner-only shuttle buses from Hongdae, Myeongdong and Dongdaemun run November 27 to March 1, and you must book them in advance. Checked with resort and shuttle operator pages on November 1, 2026. Most resorts haven't announced 2026/27 dates or prices yet, so we show last season's numbers as a guide.
When do ski resorts near Seoul open in 2026/27?
| Resort | 2026/27 opening | Opened last season | Getting there from Seoul |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix PyeongchangN | Target Nov 27 (until Mar 14) | Nov 21 | Foreigner shuttle, or KTX to Pyeongchang Stn + about 15 min by taxi |
| Mona YongpyongN | Target late November | Nov 21 | Foreigner shuttle, or KTX to Jinbu Stn + about 20 min by taxi |
| High1N | Not announced yet | Nov 28 | Foreigner shuttle; about 3 hours away by bus or train, best overnight |
| Vivaldi ParkN | Not announced yet | Dec 5 | Foreigner shuttle, about 2 hours |
| Elysian GangchonN | Not announced yet | Dec 6 | Train to Baegyang-ri Stn (ITX-Cheongchun or Gyeongchun Line) |
| KonjiamN | Not announced yet | Dec 10 | Gyeonggang Line to Gonjiam Stn (about 40 min from Gangnam) + 10 min by taxi |
| Jisan ForestN | Not announced yet | Dec 12 | Bus via Icheon, over 2 hours |
| Oak ValleyN | Not announced yet | Dec 12 | About 1 hour by car (only 3 short slopes) |
Opening days depend on snow and temperature, so resorts confirm them only a few days ahead. Most resorts near Seoul close in early March. Bears Town in Pocheon has been closed since October 2022, even though some older tour listings still show it.
Foreigner-only shuttle buses from Seoul
This is the easiest way to get to the slopes without a car. The resorts' shuttle operators run separate booking sites just for foreign visitors.
- Mona Yongpyong, Phoenix, High1 and AlpensiaN (rideus.net sites, linked from the resorts' English pages): Seoul service runs November 27, 2026 to March 1, 2027. Pickups are in Hongdae, Sinchon, Myeongdong and Dongdaemun, with a transfer at Sports Complex Station. Seats are sold in advance only, with no sales at the bus stop, and you can cancel for free until 14:00 the day before. A third-party guide lists one-way adult fares of about ₩21,000 (Phoenix), ₩22,000 (Yongpyong) and ₩26,000 (High1). Check the booking page for the current fare.
- Yongpyong from Incheon Airport: the same operator lists airport service from December 7, 2026 to February 12, 2027.
- Vivaldi Park (vivabus.net): the season runs until March 1, 2027, and the start date hasn't been announced yet. Last season an adult one-way ticket was ₩10,000. Sign-up asks for an email address and an SMS code, and free cancellation ends at 16:00 the day before.
- Tour platforms such as Trazy also sell shuttle seats to Elysian, Vivaldi, Konjiam and Oak Valley.
Why not the Korean booking sites? They often don't accept foreign cards and send your ticket as a text message to a Korean phone number. Use the foreigner sites above.
View from a ski lift. Photo: rawkkim / Unsplash
Easiest by train: Elysian Gangchon
Elysian Gangchon is the one resort you can reach easily by train. Take the ITX-Cheongchun or the Gyeongchun Line to Baegyang-ri Station. Only some ITX trains stop there in ski season, so check the timetable in the Korail app first. The resort has run a shuttle from the station, so check the current timetable before you go. Elysian runs a ski school for foreign visitors, and 3 of its 8 slopes are for beginners. Last season it opened on December 6.
3 easy picks for first-timers
- Elysian Gangchon: reachable by train, plenty of beginner slopes and a ski school for foreigners. Good for a day trip.
- Vivaldi Park: the cheapest foreigner shuttle last season, a gentle beginner slope, and Snowy Land, a winter theme park for friends who don't ski. Helmets are required on the slopes.
- Mona Yongpyong (stay one night): official English and Chinese ski lessons. Last season a half-day group lesson was ₩70,000 per person (minimum 4 people, age 8 and up) and a private lesson was ₩300,000 per team. It's also one of the first resorts to open.
Konjiam is the closest by subway, but it sells lift tickets mainly online and through its app rather than at a ticket window, and the app asks for Korean identity verification. If you want to go, a tour platform package is easier. Welli Hilli Park is better for intermediate skiers.
Yongpyong Resort in January. Photo: Seodaemungu Student / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Lift tickets and rentals: last season's prices
Few resorts have published 2026/27 day prices yet. These official 2025/26 prices (adults, in Korean won) give you a good idea:
| Resort | Lift ticket | Rentals |
|---|---|---|
| Mona Yongpyong | Day ₩96,000 · half day or night ₩68,000 | Ski or board set, day ₩48,000 · ski clothes, day ₩30,000 |
| Konjiam | 4 hours ₩81,000 (weekday) / ₩96,000 (weekend) · 6 hours ₩87,000 / ₩105,000 | - |
| Jisan Forest | 6 hours ₩79,000 (weekday) / ₩97,000 (weekend), about 25% less online | Ski or board, 6 hours ₩34,000 · ski clothes, 6 hours ₩30,000 |
| High1 | Full day ₩111,000 (current listing, season not stated) | Full day ₩54,000 · helmets free |
Bring your passport: Yongpyong asks you to leave an ID when you rent equipment. High1 has no foreigner discount.
Not skiing? Snow fun for everyone
- Vivaldi Park Snowy Land: a winter theme park with snow rides like a coaster and rafting.
- Mona Yongpyong sledding: ₩8,000 a ride or ₩28,000 for 5 rides (2025/26).
- High1 Snow World, open 10:00 to 16:00.
- Konjiam: a 15-lane sledding hill.
- Elysian Gangchon: a sledding hill and ice sledding for kids.
Eat like a Korean on the slopes: cup ramen first
Here's what the ski brochures leave out. After a freezing morning on the slopes, Koreans head straight for a cup of instant ramen: keop-ramyeon (컵라면). CU, Korea's biggest convenience store chain, reported in 2013 that cup noodles had been a top-five seller at its ski resort stores every season since 2011. Koreans will tell you ramen just tastes better in the snow.
How to do it like a local:
- Find the convenience store near the slopes. Pay, fill up at the hot water machine, and wait as long as the lid says.
- Go spicy. Shin Ramyun and Yukgaejang cups are long-time Korean favorites.
- Add a samgak gimbap (triangle rice ball). The real local move: when the noodles are gone, drop the rice into the leftover broth.
- Eat it outside, with the steam in your face. That's the whole point.
The other winter classic is eomuk (fish cake skewers). Last season Mona Yongpyong had a fish cake pop-up in its Dragon Plaza, and Phoenix added fish cake bars to its ski house in 2025.
After the slopes: the local dish near each resort
| Resort | Local dish | Eat it like a local |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Pyeongchang | Bongpyeong buckwheat: makguksu noodles and memil jeonbyeong (crepe rolls) | Order both and share. On dates ending in 2 or 7, Bongpyeong MarketN (about 15 min by car) has market day, with free tastes from the stalls. |
| Mona Yongpyong | Daegwallyeong hwangtae (dried pollack) | Hwangtae soup is a hangover soup, so Koreans have it for breakfast. Hwangtae HoegwanN in Hoenggye (about 10 min by car) grills it too. |
| Vivaldi Park | Hongcheon hwaro-gui: gochujang pork grilled over charcoal | Wrap each piece in lettuce with garlic and ssamjang, one bite each. Yangjimal HwaroguiN in Hongcheon town (about 30 min by car) has grilled it for over 30 years. |
| Elysian Gangchon | Chuncheon dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken) | Never leave before the fried rice. Say "Bokkeumbap juseyo" (볶음밥 주세요) and they fry rice in the leftover sauce. Myeongdong Dakgalbi StreetN is 3 train stops away (Namchuncheon), then a short taxi. |
| High1 | Jeongseon gondeure-bap (rice with wild thistle greens) | Add a spoon of seasoned soy sauce and mix. Hambaeksan DolsotbapN in Gohan, High1's town, serves it in a stone pot. |
| Konjiam | Gonjiam so-meori gukbap (beef head soup) | The broth comes mild, so season it at the table and eat it with kkakdugi (radish kimchi). Choi Mija Someori GukbapN (about 8 min by car) has served it since 1981. |
Foreigner shuttles go straight to the resort and back, so most of these need a taxi, a car or an overnight stay. Elysian is the easy one: the train runs on to Chuncheon. Check hours on Naver Map first.
Dakgalbi cooking at the table in Seoul. Photo: Sgroey / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Day trip or overnight?
- Easy day trips: Elysian (about an hour by train), Konjiam (about 40 minutes from Gangnam by subway, then a taxi) and Vivaldi Park (about 2 hours by shuttle).
- Better overnight: Yongpyong, Phoenix and High1. The foreigner shuttles leave Seoul very early in the morning and come back in the afternoon, so a day trip is tight.
- Grooming breaks: some resorts close the slopes in the late afternoon to groom the snow (Jisan 17:00–18:30, High1 16:00–18:00, Yongpyong 17:00–19:00). Check this before you buy an afternoon time pass.
What to wear (and keeping your phone alive)
Pyeongchang is properly cold. At Daegwallyeong, near Yongpyong, the average January low is −12.2°C (1991–2020 average), and night skiing feels colder still. Wear layers, gloves, goggles and a neck warmer. You can rent ski clothes at the resort.
Cold is hard on phones too. Apple says iPhones are designed for 0–35°C, and in the cold the battery can drain fast or the phone can shut down until it warms up. Keep your phone in an inside pocket, carry a power bank, and screenshot your mobile shuttle ticket before you leave.
Your phone at the slopes
Shuttle tickets, online lift passes and restaurant waitlists often come as a text or through an app. There are two kinds of checks:
- A simple SMS code or text ticket: a local Korean number can make these easier. We haven't tested every resort site, though, so use the foreigner booking sites when you can.
- Korean identity verification (PASS, i-PIN): this is for Korean residents. A tourist number, ours included, won't pass it, so pick options that don't need it.
Already in Korea? Stay connected on the slopes.
Shuttle tickets, maps and photos all day: our eSIM gives you unlimited 5G on SK Telecom plus a real Korean 010 number that can receive calls and texts after passport verification. QR by email, no SIM shop.
FAQ
When does ski season start near Seoul in 2026/27? Phoenix Pyeongchang is aiming for November 27 and Mona Yongpyong for late November. Resorts closer to Seoul usually open in early to mid December.
Can I go skiing from Seoul without a car? Yes. Use a foreigner-only shuttle bus, take the train to Elysian Gangchon, or take the Gyeonggang Line to Konjiam.
Which resort near Seoul is best for beginners? Elysian Gangchon and Vivaldi Park for a day trip, or Mona Yongpyong overnight if you want an English lesson.
Do I need a Korean phone number to book? Usually not if you use the foreigner shuttle sites, though Vivaldi's sign-up sends an SMS code. Korean booking sites and some resort apps need a Korean number or Korean identity verification.
What do Koreans eat at ski resorts? Cup ramen from the resort convenience store, often with a triangle gimbap, plus fish cake skewers. After skiing, they go for the local dish: buckwheat noodles near Phoenix, hwangtae soup near Yongpyong, dakgalbi with fried rice near Elysian.
Is Bears Town open? No. It has been closed since October 2022.
When does the season end? Most resorts near Seoul close in early March. Phoenix aims to stay open until March 14, 2027.
Sources: resort pages for Mona Yongpyong, High1 and Jisan Forest, LG's Konjiam press release (Nov 2025), the foreigner shuttle operators (rideus.net, vivabus.net), Yonhap (Jul 23, 2026), Kangwon Ilbo (Oct 22, 2026), Asia Economy (Dec 2025), Korea JoongAng Daily (Jan 2013, CU data), Smart Today (Jan 2025, Jan 2026), Kyeongin Ilbo (Nov 2025), Allure Korea (Dec 2022), ELLE Korea (Jul 2022), Lady Kyunghyang (Apr 2020), Sidae (Jan 2016), Apple Support and KMA climate normals, checked Nov 1, 2026. Dates and prices change, so please check before you go. Cover photo: ski slopes at Yongpyong by Kalatpadai / Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Dakgalbi photo: Sgroey / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Updated Nov 2: added where Koreans eat near each resort.