As the Seollal (Korean Lunar New Year) holiday approaches, travelers tensely await the race for train tickets. Similar to neighboring China, Lunar New Year transport peaks with the highest number of annual passengers at around 35 million purchases. To avoid excessive traffic on the website, KTX (Korea Train Express) devised a policy to limit transactions to those with a KoRail membership.
While the strategy aimed to ban spam accounts and reduce website congestion, even the free sign-up process failed to prevent server overload. Money Today reported that at one point in time, the number of people on the server reached approximately 65,000.
Moreover, many found a loophole akin to concert ticketing approaches – use multiple devices, wait until ticket sales begin, and then try to click as fast as possible.
The processes for these two competitive ticketing events – live concerts and train transport – closely resemble each other. “So when you go to the train app, a few weeks prior to the break, they give us a notification: ‘You should buy the ticket at this time specifically.” And so I join at the exact time, like 7 a.m., but there are so many people who are waiting to get the ticket,” Ms. Wang, secondary math teacher at DIS, said.
Even if they fail the first attempt, they try multiple times to check the website to see if anyone has canceled their ticket. “My kids usually come to Daegu without the ticket back to Seoul. So before they leave Daegu, they go on the KTX app frequently to look for canceled tickets,” Mr. Doowon Kim, the Korean Studies director at DIS, said.
Every year, residents of Seoul or those who plan to travel to Seoul go through the laborious process just to see their family, especially on cultural holidays. While highway buses come with a lower price tag and are less prone to selling out, they take two extra hours of travel compared to KTX high speed rail lines. Therefore, people often turn to trains for an efficient service.
The tension tends to be a little bit less in Daegu — unless you are traveling to or from Seoul. “From Daegu to Busan, it’s pretty easy [to get the ticket], so it’s not stressful at all. But if you live in Seoul and travel to Busan, or even from Daegu to Seoul too, it’s going to be really hard.” Ms. Wang said.
Additionally, the elderly especially struggle to purchase due to their unfamiliarity with technology. In particular, the online exclusive tickets during Seollal season leaves senior citizens with no choice but to abandon their plans for family gatherings. “If my kids don’t get me the tickets, then I can’t meet them. They usually succeed, though.” Mr. Kim said.
Recently, the purchasing process went through huge changes. “In the past, if we didn’t get the tickets, we would just get on the train and pay later. Of course, we have to be standing. But nonetheless, we could still take the train.” Mr. Kim said.
Since SRT (Super Rapid Train) tickets, a popular alternative to KTX, become available online later than KTX tickets, some prefer to wait and purchase SRT seats instead. However, they may still fail to secure them, which could force travelers to abandon plans to reunite with their families altogether. Additionally, the SRT often bypasses stations that the KTX serves, such as Seoul Station. Instead, it runs to the more remote Yongsan and Sooseo Stations, different train stops that are far from the central Seoul Station.
Although the KTX ticket purchase system contains several flaws, the consumers are currently left with no choice but to comply. “Good luck going home at whatever time you want to go. Go to the app at 7 a.m. exactly — not even five seconds later, but 7 a.m.,” Ms. Wang said.
In an attempt to lessen the stress, the government decided to designate Monday, January 27th as an additional holiday, which extends Lunar New Year by one day. While such actions deserve acclaim, it remains unclear whether the policy effectively addressed the issue since the enforcement took place after the ticket sales already began.
The celebration of Seollal often involves a family reunion, especially for those that highly values Korean traditions. However, competition for ticket purchases often overshadows the holiday spirit. Improvements in the process and transportation accessibility proves vital to keep Seollal a joyous occasion centered on family reunions.
