

By Lee Kyung-min



Korail, the state-run railway operator, is facing criticism for failing to accommodate foreigner visitors who have purchased unlimited train passes to enjoy the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Many have bought 5-day passes for 168,000 won ($155) and 7-day passes for 195,000 won since last October for trains connecting Seoul and Gangneung, a neighboring city to Pyeongchang where 2,925 athletes from 29 countries will participate in the Games.

But they are expressing frustration over low train capacity and the fact that their queries seeking assistance have largely been ignored since mid-January. Korail only posted answers to questions recently, following critical media reports.

"I thought I was alone until I read all the comments here. We have a child who is participating in the winter Olympics and as of now, our family traveling with two elderly parents can't return to Seoul after the late event," said an internet user with the moniker "Shame on you, Korea."

"The person who is in charge of the family hospitality for the Olympics athletes has NEVER returned my emails just like the folks who are in charge of this Korail system. So irresponsible, incompetent, inconsiderate, inept, discourteous and not cool!! Shame, shame on you, Korea!"

Another user with an id "answer seeker" called the pass a scam, adding the company sold the tickets to locals first for the upcoming Seollal holiday.

"Your Pyeongchang Korail pass is a big scam! Offering that we could travel as much as we want then giving the seats to Koreans first then putting restrictions on seat reservations. Plus, it is impossible to get answers from you. Horrible customer service!"

Imposing a blackout period for foreigners to prioritize Koreans buying tickets for the upcoming national holiday between Feb 15 and 18 was discriminatory, others said.

"Our unlimited pass has a blackout period and we cannot reserve seats until all our Korean friends have first pick for Seolloal holiday. Most _ if not all _ seat reservations are gone within 30 minutes or less. This was never mentioned in the pass information," another comment read. "Pass holders had to wait eight hours and all seats are gone. So much for unlimited travel."

The complainant said the pass was worthless if it did not offer seats needed to get to where the games are held.

"We have tickets that we cannot use to get to the venues. And a new plan offered by Korail allows us to buy only up to six seats per person during the holiday event. I, like my many supporters of the winter Olympics, have purchased several event tickets per day but KORAIL only allows us three round trips. What happened to our unlimited seats? Korail you are 100 percent at fault. You sold us a pass which we cannot use."

Some internet users said they will file a complaint with the Korea Tourism Organization, a culture ministry-supervised organization, at its website touristcomplaint.or.kr

A KORAIL official said he was sorry for the inconvenience, adding the company was preparing for measures to improve customer service and traveler experience. "We cannot say anything for certain at this point. We will consider issuing a statement after reviewing complaints."



