Gov't launches summer bus discounts for foreign tourists traveling beyond Seoul to boost regional travel across Korea

Through July 14, inbound travelers booking express and intercity buses on Klook and GO Hanpass can get fare discounts and extra perks as the government promotes tourism outside the capital.

Travelers walk in the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 15. YONHAP

The government has launched a new discount tailored for foreign tourists who use express and intercity buses to encourage them to explore more of Korea outside the capital region during the summer holiday season.

From Monday through July 14, the travel apps Klook and GO Hanpass are offering discounts to inbound travelers who buy bus tickets to destinations outside Seoul. 

For bus tickets, a 5,000 won ($3.30) discount can be applied to those who book buses on either app. GO Hanpass provides an additional 4,000 won discount to its users, and Klook offers free eSIMs, a chip that allows foreign tourists to connect to Korean mobile networks without a physical SIM card, to tourists who book buses on its app.

The promotion comes as part of a government move to ease foreign tourists' access to public transportation in Korea.

A total of 382,000 foreigners used foreign cards to pay for express and intercity buses during the first quarter of this year, up 32.2 percent from the same period last year, but complaints from tourists about the difficulty of accessing related services persisted.

Express and intercity buses are parked outside the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 13. YONHAP

In an effort to raise awareness, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization released multilingual transportation information vouchers on May 29 to promote the online booking system.

“We have hit a record high number of inbound foreign tourists from January to April this year,” said a Culture Ministry official. “The Culture Ministry will continue to cooperate with relevant stakeholders to make tourism in Korea nationwide more accessible for foreign tourists.”

BY LEE JI-WON [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]