Korail Tourism Development is offering K League fans — both away and home supporters — affordable travel packages that bundle transportation, accommodation and tourism into a single product.
The company announced it will officially launch "2026 K League Trip Day," a sports-focused travel product linking regional professional football clubs with local tourism attractions, starting Saturday. The program is being run in partnership with the Korea Tourism Organization and the Korea Professional Football League.
The initiative builds on a pilot program conducted in May covering six clubs — FC Seoul, Incheon United, Ulsan HD, Daejeon Hana Citizen, Jeonbuk Hyundai and Gangwon FC. Korail Tourism Development was selected as the implementing agency for the Korea Tourism Organization's K League Trip Day project and will now roll out the program on a nationwide scale in the second half of the year.
The program runs for five weeks from Saturday through Aug. 29, targeting K League home cities outside the Greater Seoul area. Backed by Korea Tourism Organization support, the packages are designed to ease the cost of travel and accommodation for fans while offering stay-based tourism products at reasonable prices, with commemorative gifts also included.
Each match will accommodate about 100 fans. The program offers a "full package" for away fans departing from the Greater Seoul area and a "semi package" for local home fans, allowing supporters of both sides to attend matches in person. Prices start at 59,000 won ($40) per person.
The full package for away fans includes fan engagement events on board the train, round-trip travel by KTX or SRT, connecting transportation, away-section match tickets, free time at local tourist attractions and a guide throughout the trip.
The first itinerary, on Saturday, covers the Busan IPark versus Suwon Samsung Bluewings match. The full package connects ITX-Maeum and SRT services via Daejeon, where participants visit major tourist sites and a traditional market before continuing to Busan. The schedule then includes the match at Busan Gudeok Stadium, one night at Stanford Hotel Busan, a ride on the Blue Line Park beach train and free time in Haeundae.
Lee Woo-hyun, acting chief executive of Korail Tourism Development, said the program goes beyond simple transit by creating "a new tourism platform where football fans can connect" through stay-based travel products that link rail and K League. "We will continue to expand a tourism model that energizes regional economies by activating stay-based tourism in cooperation with local football clubs and regional businesses," he added.
terry@heraldcorp.com
