Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ukon]

There are lot to choose from and I'm probaly gonna purchase a season pass and ride during the day( I have lot of time off in winter).

Any opinions on which is the best? Which ones have regular busing from Seoul to the resort? Which ones to avoid? Which is best for snowboarding?

[ippy]

dude. Leave korea, go to japan. I also have a lot of time to spend and theres no way in hell im sitting in korea for january. As soon as winter camp is done (compulsory for me), im gone. On the weekends while im here, i might head up to muju myself, but nothing anyone has said on this forum or on snowjapan indicates that boarding in korea is worth your time. If youre lucky and get a dump, congrats, enjoy fighting with the 15,000,000 other people on the slope for some untracked powder.

Actually i know nothing, just messing with ya.
I have no clue about seuol, but i honestly shudder to think.
Still, im off back to nagano nevertheless come mid january. And there ill stay till im called back for graduation.

[nomad-ish]

does anyone know the prices for muju ski resort and accommodation? i've looked at their website and haven't found much information, other than a trail map and some slope stats.

[Bibbitybop]

High 1 is the best, but not near Seoul.

Most Korean mountains suck if you've skied or boarded anywhere else in the world. Not only are they small with man-made snow, they don't take care of their facilities (like marking ice) and the locals have no spatial awareness or consideration.

[sigmundsmith]

Just be aware, Koreans ski/board like they drive and walk - all over the place.

There are always accidents from complete stupidity.

They will sit in a group in the middle of the slope. The marshalls are like police, quite useless.

The amount of snow that gets put down here is very limited. Most is man made.

The weekends are terrible here. Everyone in Korea is on there and it is me-me-me attitude. The lines for lifts at Muju on the weekends will have you waiting for about 30 minutes.

Muju is probably one of the worst when it comes to crowds. It attracts people from Daejeon, Daegu and Busan as it is the closest resort to these cities.

Depending on accommodation you are seeking will determine how much you pay. The hotels are ridiculously overpriced. What I would suggest is look for cheaper accommodation out side of the actual resort.

If you do some internet searching comparing costs of resorts, lifts etc Nagano is slightly cheaper. Of course you have to get there but what I have heard it is a thousand times better than what Korea has to offer in regards to quality of snow, fascilities and resorts.

[Underwaterbob]

I've grown to appreciate the erratic qualities of Korean skiers and boarders. I treat the slopes like an obstacle course. Dodging beginners is fun.

There are also idiots who are good at it but still run into others, apparently out of some snowy form of Asperger's. Those I could do without.

[Ukon]

Ummm.....I was looking for a snowboard resort to travel to on a daily basis rather than a huge trip to nagano or something....

I'm a beginner so I don't think it will be too bad....I just want to go during the weekdays, not weekends anyhow....I'd perfer to commute not stay the night.

[Underwaterbob]

If you're a beginner, you can't beat Sajo. It's the smallest hill in the country, but has a few decent runs. Sometimes on weekdays I have the slopes to myself. Weekends not so much... it's in Suanbo, 20 minutes outside of Chungju. There's a free shuttle from the main Chungju terminal, which is about 1.5 hours out of Seoul by bus.

The bigger resorts are funner towards the end of the season when your average Korean skier/boarder has gotten bored and they're less crowded.

[allovertheplace]

yeongpeon, sorry for the spelling error, is the best. Its about 2.5 hours north of seoul so its not as crowded as the others. Its also got a decent cheap priced pension where you can crowd people in. Not great slopes but they are fun enough-not the best but not the worst. Bad thing is its far away and there is nothing to eat besides 18k won pizza or lotteria. It always struck me as funny that it has the pretension of a ski resort but no bars, no clubs, nothing to do at night at all. Just for skiing though its the best bet in Korea.

[Bibbitybop]

[blackjack]

[Underwaterbob]

I'd never tried Navering 스키장 before.

http://search.naver.com/search.naver?sm=tab_hty&where=nexearch&query=%BD%BA%C5%B0%C0%E5&x=0&y=0

Every resort in Korea with a clickable map for more information.

[Ukon]

Thanks...

Btw, where does one go to get the best price on season tickets...my co-teacher says it's online...

The websites are quite pricey for even a day visit...I assume you can negociate or buy cheaper through online vendors?

[njp6]

I've only done Phoenix Park and didn't mind it too much. Between 40,000 to 50,000 with the bus ride. The weekends suck though. Around one o'clock, I couldn't even find the end of the lift line. Skiing on Sol-Nal is the best as everyone is at home with family.

Isn't there a hill close to Bundang? Does anyone have any info on this?

[ippy]

ukon mate, id strongly advise against a season pass unless youre literally on the doorstep of a decent resort. Yo umay think youre saving money, but in the long run when you factor in accomodation, transport, rentals, and food, youre burning a crap load more just in the mission to make sure you break even on your season pass.
Also, ill have to assume (again) youre heading upo there on your own. The one thing that sucks about this sport is that the people that love it really fekking love it and the rest of the people just enjoy it once in a while. The cost is insane for most people, so getting someone to come with you every day will be a pain. And i promise you, if youre on your own, it gets kinda boring after a while. Also those 6am starts man. If you want to commute, youll be talking a two hour trip anywhere semi okay, and then probably a thirty minute bus journey on top of it.
It all takes it out of you. Plus theres the days you just cant be bothered in general.
Finally throw in the general frustrations of korean slopes youve heard desribed here and the quality of the snow and youre really having to ask yourself why youd voluntarily tie yourself to a snowboarding contract with one resort.
Oh yeah, not to mention that the season isnt that long - early jan to mid march (early april at a push).

Serioulsy think about the value youre getting. I had a myoko big 4 pass last year, it was alright, i just about broke even with it, but then got hit with an injury right at the start of march (which was no real bother anyway because by then the snow was wet and sticky). But a lot of the time id find id really just rather go to shiga or nozawa for a particular weekend or maybe even hakuba, but had to try and burn through the season pass so would ride ikenotaira or suginohara yet again.

Dont restrict yourself. Theres only one season pass id probably buy - ikenotaira's. Its always really good value. Plus the tree riding and parks are good fun there. Even then id consider not bothering though unless i lived in myoko itself.

The thing is, if you can find a season pass near to where you live thats dirt cheap and really only amounts to 7 or 8 days of boarding to make up for it (ikenotairas is exactly that), then thats fine and makes perfect sense. But once you cross ten or eleven days it gets to be a bit of burden. Thats 4 weekends right there. You may have a lot of days off in winter, i do to, but ill be damned if im doing it all in one place. Get out, get a feel for different places and enjoy the whole feel for different mountains and the scenery. Its not all about technique, its also about riding and enjoying the ride.

However that being said, if you have a bit of cash squirreled away, get off the rental gear. Every time you get a new board youll find something annoying (stance setting, width, contact points, shape, flex etc). Grab your own board, and after two days youll have a really good feel for it and from there on in youll be pretty much improving instead of spending the first half of your day acclimatising.

My advice is to look for something first hand. You can find some absolute bargains from 07/08 (though id get looking real quick) or 08/09. In fact theres black friday and cyber monday soon, so you may want to have a wee look then too.
If youre riding as often as you think youre going to ride, youll more than make up for the rental cost in the end.

Finally, if you are looking at dropping about 4 or 500,000 won on transport, then id strongly urge you to take a flight to chiba airport and spend your time camped at nagano. The great thing is you have some pristine resorts at yoru doorstep right there: myoko/nozawa/shiga kogen/hakuba. Myoko is 4 resorts, hakuba has about 8 or 9, nozawa, if you include togari just across the way has 2, and finally shiga kogen has around 20. Spend 5 or so days at hakuba, then head to nozawa for a few days, then pop around myoko for a while. And if you can be assed (i never could), go see the snow monkeys at shiga and go to one of the many resorts there. You are literally spoiled for choice!

Look at your costs very carefully and ask whether it really is worth it. You might think it isnt, but seriously, ive heard nothing good (except high 1) about korea. But i promise you, theres nothing bad about boarding in japan. I mean jesus, just look at it:

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/306411/Yamagata_Zao_Onsen_late_Februa.html#Post306411

Now go read up what people have to say about the place:

http://www.snowjapanforums.com/ubbthreads.php/forums/14/1/Snow_Trip_Reports.html

Dont assume that because youre a beginner it wont make a difference. My third ever trip (to happo), was a powder DUMP and i promise you, it was the single best day ive ever spent falling down an official olympic downhill course. I have a feeling we aint going to be getting too many days like that in korea. Seriously, dont needlessly tie yourself to one mediocre place when you have some world class resorts to mess around in on your doorstep. It will honest to god blow your socks off!