Skiing Muju Resort, SouthKorea & Camping In The Snow

Muju is the closest ski resort in our province (Jeollabukdo) and is a 2 hour drive from Buan. If you travel bus bus you need to get to Jeonju and from there take a bus to Muju. Then there are local buses and shuttles, or even taxi's which will take you the rest of the way to the resort where the slopes are.

We decided it would be a great idea to camp (trying to be as spend thrifty as possible) and while we all survived the cold, it was pretty darn freezing. We were no where near equipped to deal with the sub zero temperatures, and felt rather ashamed when we looked at our neighbours setups. When Koreans camp they camp properly, with no messing about. Luckily, our neighbours were such kind people and offered us tent pegs and a hammer to get our tent set up. We were also brought steaming hot citrus tea in the morning, they really must have felt sorry for us during the night. BUT it was an adventure and that's what we were after (dog included!).

There are about 7 camp sites, 6 of which you have to reserve online or by calling (click here for more information...the website is in Korean so you may need a co-worker/friend to help you). BUT the site we camped at was on a first come first served bases. Here is a map of the area highlighting the camp site & the resort (left hand side: 무주 리조트):

It cost us W13 000 to camp for the night. The camp site also has caravans (auto homes) to rent out and camp sites with electricity if you need it. The bathrooms were great, had showers and most importantly had heaters all over the place to keep you toasty when you have to leave your tent in the middle of the night.

Another thing to bear in mind is that the slopes are closed in between sessions for the snow ploughs to do their thing and get the slopes ready for the next session. Each session is between 3 & 4 hours long. Here are the session times, as of February 2015. Please confirm these times with the website by clicking here.

Early Morning 06:30~08:30 (During the weekends and holidays only, except on Chinese new year’s day)
Morning 08:30~12:30
Afternoon 12:30~16:30
Evening 18:30~22:00
Night 22:00~24:00
Midnight 24:00~02:00

At the entrance to the slopes there are a few coffee shops and plenty of restaurants. There is also a JimJilBang (public bath house) for you to warm up and shower after your ski sessions. They only offer the baths and a small section for relaxing in, you CAN'T sleep here as they close at 10/11pm.

We did an evening ski session (18h30 - 22h00) which was amazing! Farmboy and I have skiied a few times all over Korea and we love the night sessions the most. It's cold, but there are fewer people.

Click here for more information on the ski session prices. If you have an NH or KB card you automatically get up to 50% off the prices...so for the 3 of us to ski one session, lift passes & equipment included it only cost W53 000 each. Ski jackets and pants are available for rent at about W10 000 a day each. The only things you can't rent are gloves & goggles so make sure to remember to pack those.

Here are some more photographs of the area around our camp site, including a photograph of me standing in front of the most amazing Korean camp set up. And yes, that is a chimney to the right of the roof top tent. It was really beautiful in the early morning, and we will definitely be going back for Summer.