Pyeongchang travel info

Pyeongchang is a highland county with an average elevation of about 700 m. Everyone knows the name from the 2018 Winter Olympics, but on the ground the mountains come first. In front of Woljeongsa Temple on Mt. Odaesan, a path lined with fir trees runs for almost a kilometre, and up toward Daegwallyeong, sheep graze on a windy grassland.

The food comes from the hills: buckwheat noodles, grilled dried pollock, trout sashimi, hanu beef, potato cakes and corn. In winter the crowds head for the Alpensia and Yongpyong slopes; from spring to autumn the same slopes turn into grass and wildflowers. Even at midday in summer it stays cool, and that is what city visitors notice first.

From Seoul, the KTX-Eum reaches Jinbu Station in a little over an hour and a half. The county is more than twice the size of Seoul, though, and the sights are spread out, so it pays to decide where you're headed before you step off the train. Group Woljeongsa and Odaesan around Jinbu, the sheep ranches and ski resorts around Hoengye (Daegwallyeong), and the buckwheat flower fields around Bongpyeong.

From Seoul (KTX)

From Gangneung and the east coast (KTX)

From Incheon Airport (ICN)