[WEEKEND GETAWAY] Korea's top-rated ski resorts for your winter thrills

If you want to get the best of both indoor and outdoor worlds during this winter season, here are four of Korea’s top ski resorts you can visit.

Visitors enjoy a lift ride at Phoenix Pyeongchang in Pyeongchang, Gangwon. [PHOENIX PYEONGCHANG]

Seasonal activities are the highlights of vacations and holiday trips. In the winter season, homebodies enjoy eating s’mores and sipping hot cocoa while listening to Christmas carols, while outdoor lovers go skiing and occasionally get buried deep in snow while doing tricks.

Thankfully, you can be both at some of Korea’s top ski resorts. You can spend an entire day skiing and snowboarding outside and come back in the evening to relax in warmth while enjoying delicious food and a cozy indoor atmosphere.

If you want to get the best of both indoor and outdoor worlds during this winter season, here are four of Korea’s top ski resorts you can visit.

Konjiam Resort곤지암리조트

Konjiam Resort presents a Mobile Quick Pass, a convenient option for visitors to enter the ski park. [KONJIAM RESORT]

Konjiam Resort in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, is probably the ski resort that is closest to those living in the greater Seoul area. Located just 40 minutes by car from Gangnam District, southern Seoul, it is the largest ski resort in the Seoul metropolitan area. It is owned by LG Group, and its slopes are named after the group’s major product lines and brands, such as LG Gram, the company’s laptop lineup, and LG Whisen, its air conditioner lineup.

This year, the resort has taken several measures to make booking easier and prevent crowding at busy spots on the resort. The resort’s app allows visitors to purchase a resort pass and enter the resort after a simple verification process. Booking a limited-time pass for the ski lift, ski rental, a ticket for the sled zone and signing up for a ski lesson can all be done through the app. Users can sign up for a Mobile Quick Pass and use services without a physical ticket.

Another measure the resort took to reduce long waits is operating “Gram Lift,” an extra lift in the middle of the ski park that operates on the weekends. The resort also flattened parts of its slopes to give ski beginners a better, more entertaining experience by giving them the opportunity to appreciate the peak of the ski park.

In addition, to celebrate LG Twins’ first Korean Series title in 29 years, the price of the lift passes will be halves for three days starting Friday.

If you are part of the resort’s online member program, you will get 20 to 30 percent discounts on the lift, rental, and family spa, not to mention access to nighttime skiing.

@konjiam_resort

278 Docheogwit-ro Docheok-myeon, Gwangju, Gyeonggi(경기도 광주시 도척면 도척윗로 278)Operating hours: 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.Phone number: 1661-8787Price: 6-hour package, 93,000 won ($70.4) on weekends, 77,000 won on weekdays4-hour package, 86,000 won on weekend, 72,000 won on weekdaysWebsite: https://www.konjiamresort.co.kr/main.dev

Vivaldi Park비발디파크

A child stands on the snowy ground of Snowyland at Vivladi Park in Hongcheon County, Gangwon. [VIVALDI PARK]

Vivaldi Park in Hongcheon County, Gangwon, is one of Korea’s most popular and well-known resorts. It can accommodate up to 20,000 people at once. This year, Vivaldi Park is offering a package for groups of three. The package includes five-hour lift passes and a 50 percent discount on ski rentals. The package is priced at 100,500 won.

Meanwhile, Vivaldi Park’s snow theme park, Snowyland, also presents a three-ticket package for 81,000 won. The theme park’s season pass comes with a free entrance to the nearby water park Ocean World. Until Jan. 27, if you book a ticket online, you can enjoy up to 40 percent discounts on lift passes, ski rentals and Snowyland tickets. If you make online bookings until Dec. 22, there’s a five percent extra discount. Keep in mind that you should book a ticket at least until 5 p.m. on the day before your visit.

If you are interested in warm water exercises, Ocean World runs a jimjilbang, a Korean-style spa, from Dec. 15 until March 3.

@sonohotels

262 Hanchigol-gil Seo-myeon, Hongcheon County, Gangwon(강원도 홍천군 서면 한치골길 262)Operating hours: 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Price: 7-hour package, 80,000 won on weekdays, 90,000 won on weekends5-hour package, 72,000 won on weekdays, 82,000 won on weekends3-hour package, 30,000 won on weekdays, 70,000 won on weekendsPhone number: 033-439-7796Website: https://www.sonohotelsresorts.com/skiworld

High1 Resort하이원리조트

High1 Resort in Jeongseon County, Gangwon, opens for this season Friday. [HIGH1 RESORT]

Opening for this winter season on Friday, High1 Resort in Jeongseon County, Gangwon, offers a 50 percent discount for those visiting on the opening day. High1 Resort has been recommended by the Korea Tourism Organization for two years in a row as a "wellness tourist spot." With a nearby white birch forest, sledding zone Snow World, Korea's longest extreme rafting course and a cable car zone, High1 Resort Sky 1340, visitors are given diverse options for enjoyment this winter in Jeongseon County.

Ski and snowboard aficionados may be interested in the X5 Season Pass, which grants them free entrance to five ski resorts this winter for 500,000 won in total. Elysian in Chuncheon, Yongpyong Resort in Pyeongchang County, Welli Hilli Park in Hoengseong County — which are all located in Gangwon — and Eden Valley Resort in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang are the partnering ski resorts.

High1 Resort runs a mogul course up until late March, promising an extensive skiing opportunity for skilled skiers. On the other hand, if you would like to warm up at an indoor water facility, you may look up High1 Water World, where the clean waters from the nearby mountain range fill the spacious indoor pool.

@high1_resort265 High1-gil, Sabuk-eup, Jeongseon County, Gangwon (강원도 정선군 사북읍 하이원길265)Operating hours: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is reserved for maintenance)Price:All-day pass, 100,000 won7-hour package, 78,000 won5-hour package, 70,000 won4-hour package, 64,000 won3-hour package, 58,000 wonPhone number: 1588-7789Website: https://www.high1.com/ski_eng/index.do

Phoenix Pyeongchang휘닉스 평창

A snowboarder soars through the air at Phoenix Pyeongchang in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon. [PHOENIX PYEONGCHANG]

Phoenix Pyeongchang in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon, proudly released a slogan this winter: "Feel the differences," referring to its ambitiously arranged array of ski-related benefits.

An All Day Pass Premium offered at 140,000 won may be the best choice for plan-dodgers and schedule-avoiders. You can get a full-day entrance to the ski park as well as get meal vouchers, rental and baggage storage benefits, and last but not least, access to the spa at Blue Canyon, the resort's water theme park. The all-inclusive pass will save you the hassle of sketching out your day.

Meanwhile, if you would rather pay less and stay focused on getting the most out of skiing or snowboarding, you can book a Smart Pass, a six-hour pass at the ski park. Those who stay at Phoenix Pyeongchang overnight can take a free ski class and enter the ski park an hour before the park opens to everyone.

@phoenixhnr

174 Taegi-ro, Bongpyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang County, Gangwon(강원도 평창군 봉평면 태기로 174)Price:All-day Pass Premium, 140,000 won Smart Pass(6 hours), 90,000 won23/24 Season Pass, 520,000 won (Prime Single), 600,000 won (Prime Family)Website: https://phoenixhnr.co.kr/en/page/main/pyeongchang Learn more about Korean university life on K-campus.

BY CHOI SEUNG-PYO, KIM DONG-EUN [kim.dongeun@joongang.co.kr]