Skip the ticket scramble with 'reverse homecoming' travel

Sales open Friday at 10 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis

KTX group-of-four one-way set available for 99,000 won

A KTX train [Korea Railroad Corporation]
A KTX train [Korea Railroad Corporation]

Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) is offering discounts of up to 50 percent on remaining seats for trains running during the Chuseok holiday period.

Korail said it will begin selling special discounted tickets for KTX and conventional trains Friday at 10 a.m. The discounts target travelers who could not secure tickets home for the holiday, giving them a way to instead invite family members to visit — a practice known as "reverse homecoming" — by sharply cutting fares on available seats.

The promotion covers 793 trains with available seats operating over four days of the Chuseok special transport period — Sept. 23 through Sept. 27, excluding Chuseok day itself on Sept. 25.

Remaining seats on KTX and conventional trains — including ITX-Saemaul, ITX-Maeum and Mugunghwa services — will be discounted between 30 and 50 percent.

Korail is also selling a group package called the "Four-Person 99,000-won Set," which lets four passengers travel one way on KTX for 99,000 won ($72) combined. On the Gangneung and Jungbu Inland lines, the KTX-Eum version of the package is priced at 49,000 won for a group of four.

Discounted tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis through the Korail website and its mobile app, Korail+. Each customer may purchase up to six individual tickets — or one group-of-four set — per transaction, with a total cap of 12 individual tickets, or three group-of-four sets.

Tickets purchased through Korail+ can be forwarded to others via text message or KakaoTalk using the app's ticket-transfer feature. Further details are available on the Korail website or by contacting the railroad customer center.

"We are offering special discounts on remaining seats for the Chuseok holiday, and we hope passengers will make the most of them for family gatherings and holiday travel to enjoy a full and festive Chuseok," said Lee Min-seong, head of Korail's passenger business division.


terry@heraldcorp.com