By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
Like the Eurail, Eurostar, BritRail and Japan Rail passes, Korea will make its unlimited train travel tickets more easily accessible to foreign tourists.
Rep. Kim Sung-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party said Thursday foreigners should enjoy travelling in Korea through inexpensive train passes.
He made the remark in response to a Korea Times article on the KR Pass.
Referring to a controversial clause that states they must be purchased five days before entry into Korea, Kim said the unnecessary condition should be removed.
"The ticket should be readily available to any foreign tourist whether they are in Korea or about to arrive here," he said. "I believe the pass will greatly help the country attract more tourists and boost the industry."
The lawmaker said that he would bring the issue up at the upcoming parliamentary inspection of government offices and public firms next month.
Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yoo In-chon said he would look into the matter and try to fix the flaws of the KR Pass.
Choi Eun-seok, a general manager of business development at the Korea Railroad (KORAIL) and the creator of the KR Pass, said KORAIL will ease the rules from next year so that foreigners can buy a KR Pass one day prior to entry.
He said KORAIL is willing to issue a KR Pass, on a case-by-case basis, if foreigners who have stayed in Korea less than six months contact his office.
In the July 23 article, headlined "KR Pass, World's Hottest, Least Discovered Rail Deal," The Korea Times pointed out difficulties in purchasing the foreigner-exclusive pass.
KORAIL and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) had not properly addressed the conditions of purchasing the ticket on their Web site and had not furnished publicity material.
The KTO apologized for failing to provide essential information and immediately updated the organization's Web site. KORAIL also promised to revamp its English Web site, but it has yet to do so.
STA Travel is virtually the exclusive-offline KR Pass dealer with only three other travel agencies authorized to offer it.
However, no information on the KR Pass is available on its Web site, which extensively introduces its well-known counterparts in other countries.
Purchasing a KR Pass from the world's largest youth travel organization is not easy. When this newspaper made inquiries to three STA London branches listed as official sellers of the KR Pass on KORAIL's Web site, none of the sales representatives were aware they were the authorized seller.
Even if tourists succeed in purchasing a ticket from an STA agency, they must travel to a local tourist office in Seoul to exchange it as a voucher and go to one of the main train stations or back to Incheon International Airport to finally receive one.
In addition, inquiries to KORAIL's call center revealed that it was unaware the passes existed.
The ticket was launched in 1999, but sales have been staggeringly low compared to those offered in Europe and Japan.
Only 4,860 were sold last year, with Korea welcoming nearly seven million foreign travelers. In comparison, nearly 500,000 Eurorail Passes were sold.
The KR Pass is far cheaper and its coverage is more comprehensive than those in other countries - for 60,700 won ($50), young travelers can hop on any passenger train in Korea, including KTX bullet trains, for three days of travel without any limits. For those 26 years or older, the price is 75,900 won.
A round-trip from Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan by KTX costs 102,400 won.
leeth@koreatimes.co.kr
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