South Korea books 84% of train tickets for Chuseok
In South Korea, rail operator Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail) issued 1.8 million train tickets for the Chuseok holiday period over seven days of bookings that began on September 3. The booking rate stood at 84%, The Korea Herald reports.
This year, Chuseok, known as the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, will last from September 24 to 27. The booking rate increased by 21.3 percentage points from 62.7% last year. Officials said it also significantly exceeded the roughly 60% recorded during major holidays over the previous three years.
Most popular routes
The highest booking rate was recorded on the Gyeongjeon line, at 94.2%. It was followed by the Gyeongbu line at 91.3%, the Jungang line at 112.7%, the Jeolla line at 90.6%, the Honam line at 87.9%, the Donghae line at 81.4%, and the Gangneung line at 70.9%.
Tickets for KTX high-speed trains were in particularly high demand: 1.48 million such tickets were booked, with the booking rate reaching 92.7%. For regular trains, 321,000 tickets were booked, or 58.6% of available seats.
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Payment and anti-resale measures
Payment for Chuseok tickets opens at midnight on Saturday. Tickets booked through the general process must be paid for by Tuesday. For passengers eligible for advance bookings on September 3-4, including people aged 65 and older, people with disabilities, veterans and pregnant women, the payment deadline is September 18.
Korail is strengthening efforts to combat ticket resale. Company employees, posing as buyers, check listings on the Karrot and Bungaejangter online platforms and purchase tickets that may be resold in order to identify sellers.
The operator has also launched a channel on its website for reporting ticket resale. A report that helps confirm a case of illegal resale qualifies for a coupon offering a 50% fare discount. Korail said accounts of users caught selling such tickets will be immediately closed, while cases are planned to be referred to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the National Police Agency for investigation.
