Yangji Pine Resort

Ski slopes at Yangji Pine Resort

Note: Yangji Pine is closed until further notice

Yangji Pine is one of a cluster of three ski hills located in close proximity to each other on the southeastern edge of the Seoul area, just outside the city limits in neighbouring Gyeonggi-do province (the others being Konjiam and Jisan Forest Resort). Yangji Pine and Jisan Forest are in fact only about two miles apart as the crow flies, though it’s much further by road and the public transport access details are completely different (see below).

View from Yangji Pine Resort

Yangji Pine follows the standard Korean resort model, the small ski area being part of a much larger resort concept along with a golf course and a huge hotel/condo development. Despite the proximity to Seoul, access is a little tricky without your own vehicle (the resort has free shuttle buses which are an easy way to get back to Seoul, but a bit hard to arrange to get to the resort if you don’t speak Korean); Yangji Pine also has a bit less to offer from a riding perspective, so for international visitors Konjiam is the most convenient (and largest) option of the three while Jisan is the best choice if you want a decent park. All that said, if you’re looking for somewhere to learn and can find a good deal to stay at the resort with transfers included, Yangji Pine is a reasonable choice.

Ski slopes at Yangji Pine Resort

Yangji Pine: the hill

Mountain stats
Highest lifted point: 420m
Lowest skiable point: 220m
Vertical drop: 200m
Lifts: 6
Runs: 8
Longest run: 1.5km (‘Challenge Plus’)
Terrain park: no

Homepage (Korean), not-very-useful English page, and piste map

Yangji Pine piste map

In terms of the skiing on offer at Yangji Pine, it’s a mediocre hill with 200m of vert in theory, however the top chair is not in use as of the 2018/19 season which means run 7 and the top of run 6 are closed. When I visited in spring 2017 the top was still open, however between then and my subsequent visit early in the 2018/19 season it had already overgrown this much:

Overgrown piste at Yangji Pine Resort

That’s the top of run 6; furthermore, run 2 has been turned into a small waterpark and runs 5 & 9 were completely devoid of snow (these changes are shown on the updated piste map here). Other signs of cost-cutting at Yangji these days are that they no longer run shuttle buses, and they now close at midnight rather than 2am. Given all this, I really can’t recommend Yangji unless you’re staying in the vicinity.

There’s also no terrain park at Yangji; if you specifically want to ride park, Jisan Forest is the best option in the vicinity of Seoul.

For beginners, the bunny hill (with bunny chair) looks like a good place to learn; intermediates will find enough for a reasonably satisfying half day, but advanced riders will have the whole hill skied out in under an hour.

Yangji Pine is good for:

Beginners

40% discount for foreigners (remember to bring your passport to show at the ticket counter)

Judging by the languages overheard on the slopes (and the signs displayed in the windows of all the tour buses in the parking area), Yangji Pine appears to be a popular hill for ski package holidays from Taiwan, China, and SE Asia; if you’re from those areas, want to learn to ski in Korea, and find a good package deal with a travel agent, Yangji Pine is a decent option for you.

Yangji Pine is not so good for:

Size – small even by Korean standards, even more so with the top chair out of action.

Freestyle – no terrain park.

Access. Despite the proximity to Seoul, access isn’t all that convenient without your own vehicle (see below)

Their English website is pretty useless!

Yangji Pine lift tickets

Yangji Pine lift tickets follow the usual system in Korea with the day divided into AM, PM, Evening, and Night slots, with a 90-minute snow grooming break at 5pm. The slopes are open from 9am to midnight.

You can check the rates on their site here, and here’s a photo of the 2019 rates as displayed at the ticket window:

Yangji Pine Resort ticket prices

Yangji Pine: accommodation

The resort offers several accommodation options at the base of the slopes, in the form of two hotels and a hostel. See their accommodation page here (contact details are at the bottom; to make a reservation try calling or emailing them)

If that all seems a bit too difficult, or you’d simply prefer to stay in the city, search for hotel deals in Seoul (though be aware the transportation from Seoul to Yangji Pine is a bit of a fiddle – see below)

Airbnb is also a great choice for Seoul – hosts usually have it set up so you can arrive & check in by yourself without having to wait around or meet anyone, and the housing standards are decent with underfloor heating and excellent internet connections as standard. If you haven’t used Airbnb before, you can get a 35-dollar discount off your first rental by signing up through Snow Guide Korea; simply click on this link and register!

…and you could always stay at one of the love motels in Yangji town, around 20 minutes’ walk down the road (see below!)

How to get to Yangji Pine Resort

The best way is by free shuttle, but for international visitors this is hard to arrange as you have to make a booking on their homepage which requires you to register with a Korean ID – not to mention you’ll need to be able to read it! Update: Yangji Pine is no longer running shuttle buses; you need to use public buses or drive yourself.

The public transportation options aren’t great, and leave you with a long walk or a taxi ride. You can take a bus from the Nambu Bus Terminal (on Seoul Metro line 3) to the town of Yangji; when you get off (at a random-looking bus stop), it’s a 40-minute walk or you can look for a taxi.

You get off at this stop:

Bus stop in Yangji town

It’s a small town and there isn’t much around, though there’s a bunch of random love motels on the way; when you get off the bus, keep going straight over the big intersection and follow that same road up past the love motels until you come to the Yangji Pine Resort sign, then turn right up the access road.

Walk past the motels:

Walking from the bus stop to Yangji Pine Resort

The slopes come into view ahead & to the right:

Walking from the bus stop to Yangji Pine Resort

And eventually you reach the access road:

Entrance to Yangji Pine Resort

(The first time I did this, as I was walking up the access road a passing car pulled over and gave me a ride, which saved me the last 10 minutes of a freezing cold walk; the friendly bloke driving didn’t speak much English, but he taught he how to say “f*** me it’s cold” in Korean, and then we listened to some Michael Jackson)

You don’t have to walk the entire way up though – from the same bus stop where you get off you can take bus number 10 or 11 up to the intersection with the access road (still a 20-minute walk from there though). The #10 & 11 buses originate from Yongin Bus Terminal, so alternatively you can take a bus or the Everline train to Yongin and the local bus (or taxi) to Yangji Pine Resort from there. It takes about 45 minutes from Yongin though, so this is only a good route if you can get to Yongin easily or if you’re coming from Everland theme park.

If you’re going to try one of these bus routes you should download the app KakaoMap and use that to work things out.

To head back to Seoul from Yangji town, wait for the highway bus at the exact same bus stop as where you get off (in the same direction). There’s a lottery ticket shop immediately behind the bus stop where you can buy a ticket (3000 won) as the driver won’t take cash.

It has to be said that due to the lack of a convenient way for non-driving independent visitors to get to Yangji Pine, nearby Konjiam is a better option (or go to Jisan Forest if you want to ride park – though be warned the access for Jisan is also a little long-winded)

Any questions about Yangji Pine Resort? Leave a comment below!

For more Seoul area ski resorts, see here; for full reviews of every Korean ski resort, see here

Also check out the best Korean ski resorts according to various criteria, and this size comparison of Korea’s ski resorts using satellite imagery


12 comments on “Yangji Pine Resort
  1. Amy Lau says:

    Hi I am Amy from Malaysia. Can I know what is the star rating for this Yangji Pine Ski Resort. And also can I have the official website for the hotel in english version? Thanks!

    • Simon Norton says:

      Hi Amy, do you mean the star rating for the hotel? I’m not sure to be honest, but it’s not a luxury resort or anything like that. And I’m afraid there is no English website for the hotel – the links on this page are the only ones I’m aware of, and to book it you’ll need to call them. If that all seems too difficult but you’re wanting to book a ski resort hotel near Seoul, to be honest I think it’s probably better to go to Konjiam (it also has easier access). Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any more questions

  2. Sibe Mennema says:

    Hi Simon,

    we visited Yangji Pine Resort today in glorious weather. Useful tip: if you bring your foreign passport, you get 40% discount on your skipass and gear rental and 30% discount on lessons.

    Currently the piste map as you show it is not quite accurate. The left-hand and highest ski lift is not operational and hence also the upper part of run 6 and 7. The second lift from the left is open, but run 5 and hence also 9 are closed. So, out of runs 5, 6, 7, and 9 currently only the lower 2/3 of 6 is open. The far right hand cable car is also closed and hence run 2 as well.

    There was an enormous queue of school kids for beginners lift 1, otherwise no waiting on a Saturday.

    Hope this helps,

    Sibe.

    • Simon Norton says:

      Hi Sibe,

      So you were there on Saturday? Funny, I was actually just there myself on Thursday! Haven’t had time to upload the pics & update the page properly yet. How did you get there? The lack of shuttle buses to get home was an unwelcome surprise, I had to walk back down to town to catch a highway bus.

      Was my first visit since 2017, amazing to see how fast that unused bit of piste at the top of run 6 has become overgrown – that was completely in operation last time. Also as you noted, run 2 is no longer open now… if you look at the first picture on this page you can see it was in use then, but now it’s been turned into some sort of water park. Along with the fact they’ve completely stopped running shuttle buses, there’s a lot of signs of cost-cutting at Yangji. Looks like they’re struggling to compete with Konjiam & Jisan Forest; it’s still a popular golf resort, but it definitely seems like they’re deprioritising their ski operations. I was also at Bearstown & Konjiam last week and they’re clearly dong much better.

      Anyway, thanks for the update, cheers!

      • Sibe Mennema says:

        Hi Simon,

        It seems we have just missed eachother. If we would have been there on the same day we might actually have noticed each other, since I didn’t see any other non-Koreans (or perhaps non-Asians).

        We have a car over here, so it’s a convenient half an hour drive from the Seongnam area (where we’ll be living, we haven’t quite settled in yet). Over the coming weeks we’ll definitely be checking out Konjiam and Jisan Forest – I’ll let you know if I come across anything that might be useful info.

        Thanks – Sibe.

        • Simon Norton says:

          Haha yeah I’m yet to see another non-Asian foreigner at Yangji, though there’ve been large groups of Chinese-speaking, Thai, and Filipino tourists each time I’ve been.

          Having a car is a big help – from Seongnam you’re probably only about 20 or 30 minutes from Konjiam. You’re also quite well-placed for Oak Valley and Vivaldi Park, should be able to hit either in under 90 minutes.

          Haven’t been to Jisan yet this season, let me know what you make of it! Cheers

  3. Chelsea Williams says:

    This is great information, thank you so much! Do you happen to know if that have ski/snowboard rentals at the hill, or is it similar to other ski resorts in Korea where you get the rentals from various shops around town? Also do you know if they have rentals for young children (3 year olds)?

    • Simon Norton says:

      Hi Chelsea, yes there are rentals at the resort, and also some independent rental shops on the road up. I’m not sure about gear for 3-year olds though, sorry

  4. Assaf says:

    Hi Simon
    I have a day off tomorrow and I want to go snowboard someplace. I am staying in Pangyo Seongnam , can you please recommend a better place to go then pineresort?
    Thanks 🙂
    Assaf

    • Simon Norton says:

      Hi Assaf,

      Go to Konjiam, you have a direct train (blue line) from Pangyo to Gonjiam Station & then there’s a free shuttle bus from the station to the resort. See here for details

  5. Fitz says:

    Yangji is not operating this winter.

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Hi I’m Simon, British snowboard addict & travel blogger presently based in NE Asia. I run this site to help international visitors plan their trips to Korean ski resorts; you might also be interested in my travel blog, especially the Korea sightseeing and Japan snowboarding content

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