Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) will begin selling train tickets for the Chuseok holiday on Sept. 3. This year's Chuseok ticket sales period runs from Sept. 3 to 11, two days longer than before.
KORAIL said on the 14th that it will sell Chuseok tickets for trains running from Sept. 23 to 27. Sales will be conducted remotely via the mobile app "KORAIL+" and the holiday ticketing webpage on the website.
Priority sales for transportation-vulnerable riders will take place on Sept. 3-4. Eligible groups are seniors 65 and older, registered persons with disabilities, national merit honorees (transportation support recipients), and pregnant women. KORAIL included pregnant women in the priority group starting this Chuseok, in line with low birthrate policies.
On the 3rd, tickets for the Gyeongbu, Gyeongjeon, Donghae, Jungbunaeryuk, Gyeongbuk, Daegu, Chungbuk, and Gyoeoseon lines can be booked, and on the 4th, tickets for the Honam, Jeolla, Jungang, Gangneung, Janghang, Yeongdong, Taebaek, Seohae, Gyeongchun, and Mokpo-Boseong lines can be booked. Booking is available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Priority booking must be completed within five minutes after accessing the dedicated webpage. Persons with severe disabilities can book for 30 minutes. If using the internet is difficult, phone booking is available through the holiday ticketing customer center (1544-8545).
General sales for all residents will run from Sept. 7 to 11, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. KORAIL extended the general sales period from three days to five and split the schedule by route and train type to ensure smooth booking.
On Sept. 7, general trains on all routes can be booked. On the 8th, KTX on the Gyeongjeon, Gangneung, Donghae, Jungang, and Jungbunaeryuk lines; on the 9th, KTX on the Honam and Jeolla lines. On the 10th, KTX on the Gyeongbu, Gyeongjeon, Donghae, Honam, and Jeolla lines departing from or arriving at Suseo Station; and on the 11th, KTX on the Gyeongbu line can be booked.
Payment for Chuseok tickets will be available starting at 12 a.m. on Sept. 12. General-sale tickets must be paid for by the 15th, and priority-sale tickets for transportation-vulnerable riders by the 18th. Tickets not paid within the deadline will be automatically canceled and assigned to those on the waitlist.
KORAIL will also tighten its crackdown on scalping of holiday tickets. It will operate "mystery shoppers" and a "scalping report channel" year-round, remove illegal sellers from railway membership, and refer suspected scalping cases to related agencies, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the police, for investigation.
KIM Tae-seung, KORAIL president, said, "As this is the first major holiday transport since the high-speed rail integration, we are doing everything we can to prepare the ticketing system," and added, "We will thoroughly prepare the entire process, from ticket sales to holiday transport, so that all residents can travel to their hometowns with confidence and comfort."