Korea Rail Pass

The Korea Rail Pass (Korean: 한국 철도패스; Hangug Cheoldo Paeseu, or Korean: 코리아 레일 패스; Kolia Leil Paeseu), also commonly called the KR Pass (Korean: KR패스; KR Paeseu), is a rail pass offered by Korail (Korea Railroad Corporation), the national railway operator of South Korea. The pass is offered exclusively to foreign visitors and is valid for most of the rail lines operated by Korail in the designated period, including KTX, the high-speed railway in South Korea. However, the pass is not valid for subways and tourist trains, even when they are also operated by Korail (e.g. the subway and commuter lines in Seoul operated by Korail).

The pass was first issued in late 1999 by Korean National Railroad (대한민국 철도청), the predecessor of Korail. The pass was initially launched for visitors from the United States, but it was sold also to Japanese visitors in 2000. Therefore, selling points were set up only in these two countries. In 2001, Korean National Railroad started to set up selling points in other countries, with 15 more countries added to the list in late 2001. The pass is available to all foreign visitors now.

At first, the pass is a hand-written ticket, but it was changed to a magnetic ticket when KTX opened, so that the tickets can be used at automatic ticket gates. There were only three-, five-, seven- and ten-day passes initially, and a further one-day pass was added in February 2011.

There are three different types of pass, namely, the Normal Pass, the Saver Pass and the Youth Pass. The Saver Pass is for two to five persons travelling together, while the Youth Pass is for persons who are 13 to 25 years old. The price of Saver Pass and Youth Pass is roughly 90% and 80% of the Normal Pass, respectively. For children between four and twelve years old, a Normal Pass can be brought at half of the normal price.

The pass is also offered for various periods of time. Currently, there are passes for one, three, five, seven and ten days. The pass must be used in consecutive days. During the designated period of time, pass holders can travel with nearly all trains operated by Korail, including KTX, without additional charge. Additional charge should be paid, if travellers want to travel with the first class; but the pass also offer a 50% discount for first-class seats reservation.

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Wikipedia