Hoengseong Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort

It’s the only ski resort I’ve been to in Asia. Compared to US & EU it’s similar. Of course it has unique qualities. The sub levels were not as modern, yet filled with activities not found in other places. For example I was able to practice archery in their full sized range. The rooms were nice but didn’t have traditional beds like in the US…well at least ours didn’t. Rather the floors were heated and we slept on thick fold out pads. Just different. I suspect that’s a nod to the traditional Korean Hanok (old style house). I love Korean food and I’m experimental…but the food buffet was something I wasn’t fond of. The mountain itself was nice as were the views. These were not the biggest, but still fun. To me they seemed on par with east coast ranges of the US. A gave 4 stars because it was a fun resort with lively hills, interesting activities, and everything was clean. It’s not a very far drive or train ride from Seoul. One last tid bit, a fun side adventure. Try to stop at the various gas stations en route and sample the regional eats in the adjacent food courts. It’s nothing like in the US or EU. Maybe it’s a little like rolling up to a grouping of trendy food trucks. Roll that up into your trip plans and you might add some spice figuratively & literally. South Korea might only be the size of the US state of Indiana, however the experience is huge.

First time experiencing korea and skiing, but the experience of the resort itself is pretty good. Came on off-season 9-10march, so the tickets were cheaper, but the slopes were not as good. Made many mistakes coming here, so here's a general guideline of how to get here directly from ICN airport for an inexperienced tourist like me. 1. Arrive in ICN on a morning flight 2. Take the AREX train from ICN to seoul station (~2,000won) 3. Buy KTX tickets to Dunnae station on the second floor. the earliest train for me was 140pm (~ 18,000) 4. Cab from Dunnae station to resort. I used kakao. (~8,000won) Hotel Pros: Despite language barriers, the receptionist was able to effeciently communicate using translating apps The room was clean and included many household items like cups,plates,bowls,pans, and soju glasses. The heating was good. There was even a room for drying Cons: Limited food options, but that was to be expected This place is confusing for tourists purely because of language. A majority of visitors and staff here only speak korean Slopes: Rental was very cheap on off-season, I think 1/3 of full price. I got a 4 hour ticket and rental for 21,000won and 5,000won respectively Only 1 green, 2 blue, and 1.5 black slopes and 1 half pipe was open, the people there were very friendly Rental skiis felt not bad, but I've never skiied before this It's better to bring your own ski goggles Snow is overly soft and mushy on green slopes, hard and grainy on blue and blacks, but pretty manageable Most people here are intermediate or advanced, I think I only saw a handful of beginners. Everything accounted for as a tourist, this is probably one of the cheapest places to ski in from Southeast Asia

They will not let you ski bike here. They would listen to me or give me a chance to ride and prove myself. They kicked me out of the ski resort after I talked with 7 different employees at once. They said ski bikes were against their policies but it says nothing against it.

Wellihilli park is a great place to ski! Helpful staff and great slopes, can’t wait to be back here again during my next trip!! 😄😄

Very odd experience. Are all Korean ski resorts like this or is this place particularly weird? While waiting for my kid to finish her lesson by the ski school area, I was told by patrols several times to "get off the snow, since you are not wearing ski gear". I said I was waiting to pick up my child at the instructions of your ski instructor and they said "patrol is a different division from the ski school" (so they don't care). I have never been told that it is wrong to step on snow at a ski resort. Is this normal? When I asked why I couldn't the patrol said he wasn't sure but was just following orders. He speculated that the "clean snow may become dirty". I was not blocking anyone's path, just standing at the ski school meeting place. Also, all lift passes must be purchased on the day (no multi-day passes) and the passes are for 2,4, 6 or 8 hours since the time of purchase. So if you want so ski a whole day and night, you must go to the ticket office twice to buy tickets at least for the night ski. Rentals are another problem - you can only rent up to 2 days max. If you are staying 4 days, you must return all of your gear and then re-rent by standing in line at the ticket office! No feel of a fun resort at all. While employees were friendly, they clearly had no idea what was going on (just following orders blindly). The lifts open at 8:30am and the ticket office (where you have to purchase rental tickets as well) open at 8:20am. The only explanation I could come up with is that they don't care about casual skiiers. They only cater to people who buy season passes and have their own gear. Which perhaps would make sense if the slopes were good - but no... very boring and less than average. Also, if you take lessons at the ski school there, "by policy" no matter if you take 1x1 lessons and are quite advanced, they will not take you up to the top on the gondola. Is it because the slopes are too advanced? Absolutely not. It's "just policy". Food in general at ski resorts is bad in Korea so I think they rank "average". Overall, of all the ski resorts in the world I've been to... it really was the worst experience.

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good