Travel YongPyong: Mountaintop Ski Paradise!

Speaking about K-pop, it all started from Korean dramas for example Autumn in My Heart, Full House, Stairway to Heaven and of course the ever famous Winter Sonata. One of Winter Sonata's famous shooting spot apart from Nami Island was YongPyong Ski Resort - the top recommended site to visit Korea during winter!

Since it's a hot spot where all the locals go during Winter, I went to Yong Pyong ski resort as well! I'm not a Winter Sonata fan, but I'm a ski fan! I'm a fan of ski who doesn't know how to ski before I arrived! Haha! But trust me, the weather during January is perfect to learn ski and to ski to your heart's content!

I went on a 3 days 2 nights trip at Yong Pyong and stayed at Swiss Chalet, the prettiest accommodation I've ever stayed in!

My YongPyong Ski Itinerary:
DAY 1
1. Bus to from Jamsil Station, Seoul to Yong Pyong (3 hours journey)
2. Ski attire and ski gear rental from Bing Ha Shi Dae
3. Take YongPyong cable car from Dragon Plaza up to Dragon Peak of Mt Balwang
4. Return to pension and dinner at Shabu Shabu

DAY 2
1. 2 hour ski lesson with handsome teacher :P
2. Free time to ski
3. Visit Mt Seoraksan (1 hour journey from YongPyong)
4. Dinner at pension

DAY 3
Free and easy and left for Seoul by 1pm


JOURNEY TO DRAGON PEAK
From Dragon Plaza, it'll take approximately 20 minutes cable car ride up to Dragon peak of Mt. Balwang (1459m). Throughout that 20 minutes what will be greeting you are nothing more than beautiful scenery of the wide white snowy Yong Pyong. Once a while when you'll get to pass by some slopes see professional skiers or snowboarders who easily traveled downhill. Left, right, left, right! At moment like those your heart will itch and can't wait to ski like them! That's how I felt when I was in the cable car, I can't wait for the next day to arrive! You are not advised to ski on the same day you arrived at YongPyong especially if you are new, because you'll be tired from the long journey, and you don't have much time since you'll be arriving around noon. ;)

Once you reach the top, you'll see the exact same peak that we saw in "Winter Sonata"! A 2-story Swiss style building will be greeting you in awe. It felt really serene looking at it meters away. This is the peak where most professional skiers or snowboarders will travel down. Usually beginners aren't allow to take this slope.

Since it was a sightseeing moment, we walked further up to check out. It was really breath-taking for someone who haven't experienced Winter before - like me! It'll be a nice time to spend up there if only you are in the right attire - so make sure you are well bundle up if you ever visit there!

MY SKI EXPERIENCE :)

We started off with a 2 hours lesson with this tall, handsome, tanned Korean coach name Jung. He has been training people to ski for 7 years! Learning was ski was quite easy for me. They'll teach you how to get onto the gears, how to get up if you fall, how to fall right, and also how to ski straight and how to turn left and right. The tedious part is usually after every slope you have to take the ski-lift up again so you have to line up for that. But thankfully the lines aren't super packed, because the ski-lifts are quite fast I must say :)

Important note - If you have weak legs and weak balancing, you might not be able to ski or snowboard well.

Another important note - Be brave and just charge forward! Falling in the snow is fun some times! You have your helmets with you so don't worry. ;)

Another more important note - Dress in bright colours so you don't camouflage with the snow. If your attire is similar to the snow, sometimes it's hard to find you if you happen to fall. I'm not kidding! You don't want your family or friends to spend extra time looking for someone dress in white, among the white background right?

I really loved skiing! I loved feeling the thrill of going down the steep slope, feeling the cold refreshing breeze brushing through my skin and also loved it when sometimes I was nearly knocking into someone and I can't stop - I shouted "AH!!!!!!!", and they would turn right away. Hahaha!

MY STAY - SWISS CHALET

The prettiest place I've ever stayed in my entire life so far! I would write another post on this accommodation specifically soon :) Everything here is lovely placed, every person here is so lovely and kind and helpful, and they are also very funny and love to spend the night with you over great rice wine and drinking games!

More photos at Her Korean Things Facebook page, click!

DID YOU KNOW:

• YongPyong will be the home of the upcoming Winter Olympics?
• If you made a hole while falling down, you must cover it up?
• YongPyong has the largest slope in the country - 180m!
• YongPyong has 31 different slopes altogether!
• YongPyong was the shooting spot for Drama Winter Sonata!

TIPS FOR TRAVELERS:
Who should go?
Anyone who loves skiing, snowboarding, thrill, fun or just marveling at snowscapes!

When is best to go?
January and February are the best months to ski!

More info about YongPyong
Feel free to check out their official website. If you would want someone to plan everything for you well, check out Winterfriend, you can also customize your package. They are quite friendly to negotiate things with you.