SEOUL: Foreign visitors planning to ride a train in Korea this month can save a few thousand won and pick up a free transit card or eSIM through a new promotion that began on Monday (May 4).
The campaign, which runs through June 3, is a joint effort by the Korea Tourism Organisation, the Korea Railroad Corporation and the travel platform Klook.
It follows Klook’s launch in late April of a foreign-language rail booking service designed to make Korean trains easier to navigate for overseas visitors.
The first 5,000 travellers to book tickets through Klook get 6,000 won (US$4) off, courtesy of the KTO.
Korail will hand out free Rail Plus transit cards, preloaded with 5,000 won, to the first 1,000 users.
Klook is also throwing in a free eSIM to help travelers stay online while moving between cities.
The new booking service plugs directly into Korail’s reservation system, letting users pick seats in real time and pay on the spot.
It supports more than 20 languages, including English, Chinese and Japanese, and accepts payments in more than 40 currencies.
There is no need to swop a digital voucher for a paper ticket, as the booking itself gets passengers on the train.
Until now, foreign visitors had often encountered trouble booking Korean trains due to language barriers and payment restrictions.
Some ended up buying from unauthorised resellers and lost money in the process, according to KTO.
“This public-private collaboration will ease the inconvenience foreign tourists face when using our trains and help us push back against illegal ticket sales,” said Mr Park Woo-jin, who heads the tourism transport team at the KTO. “We want visitors to be able to travel easily across the country, not just in Seoul.” - The Korea Herald/ANN
