By Kim Tae Won and Sohn JiAe

A series of special discount cards or passes have arrived to cut entrance or transportation fees for non-Korean visitors to Seoul and Pyeongchang in Gangwon-do Province during next year’s PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

One of them is the Pyeongchang Korail Pass, launched by the Korean Railroad Corporation (Korail). It allows passengers to ride Korail trains across the nation, including the KTX Gyeonggang high-speed train from Seoul all the way through to Pyeongchang and Gangneung in Gangwon-do Province.

The Pyeongchang Korail Pass comes with extra benefits, too, including free use of city tour buses across Seoul, Busan, Jeju Island, Incheon, Gyeongju and Daegu. It also comes with one of Korail's free rechargeable public transportation cards, the Railplus Card.

The pass comes in two types: a five-day pass for KRW 168,000 and a seven-day pass for KRW 195,000. Either can be purchased until Jan. 31, 2018, at the Korail official website (http://www.letskorail.com/pyeongchang) or at airports and major train stations across the country.



The Visit Korea Committee will begin sales of the Korea Tour Card, a public transportation card for non-Koreans, starting on Jan. 1 next year.

Cardholders can charge the card up-front with as much as they plan to spend and use it to transfer between buses, subways and taxies. It will give them discounts when they transfer.

Tourists can also enjoy from 5 up to 50 percent discounts at 2,240 shopping centers, hotels, tourist spots and restaurants across the country, as well as on performances, exhibitions and hands-on programs.

Card purchasing and recharging can be done at convenience stores (GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, Mini Stop and Storyway), at card vending machines inside subway stations, at banks and at Airport Railroad Travel Centers. More information can be found at http://www.koreatourcard.kr/en/.



The Seoul Metropolitan Government, too, has launched its own Discover Seoul Pass with PyeongChang that can be used in Seoul and Gangwon-do Province.

With this special pass, you can enjoy benefits that existed on previous versions of the Discover Seoul Pass -- free entrance at 21 tourist sites in Seoul, discounts at 13 performance venues, and at duty-free stores -- and 61 additional discounts that can be enjoyed in the Olympic host cities.

The pass comes in two varieties: a 24-hour pass for KRW 39,900 and a 48-hour pass for KRW 55,000. It’s purchasable at airports and tourist information centers in downtown Seoul, and available until March 31 next year.

More information about the benefits that the pass provides can be found at http://discoverseoulpass.com/en or via its official application “Discover Seoul Pass.”

twkim0717@korea.kr