Hopefully, this is helpful to fellow travelers. Before we went, there wasn't enough information about the resort or skiing at Yangji. I've posted this on the Forum in response, and this post covers both the reviews of the Resort as well as skiing at Yangji.
We chose Yangji as it was close enough to Seoul. A quick 40-50 min drive, traffic dependent, will get you there. Our bookings were made via a travel agency in Seoul, and the price we paid was less than half of what was in the above post dated 26 Dec 2010. Be warned that the Resort does not take reservations from foreigners directly. Even if they did, you can only make reservations 2 weeks before the intended date of arrival. The travel agent who handled my booking was efficient, and emailed in good English. My bookings were all in order before we left. We toyed with the idea of catching the shuttle bus from Seoul. But with luggage and 2 kids, we decided against it. Instead, we hired the transport company that the hotel used to do our airport to/from transfers. If anyone needs the contact, please message me and I will be happy to pass this on. With the booking and our own private transport, we were free to arrive and depart at our own convenience, and at a very reasonable price. Note that check in is at 2pm, check out at 12pm.
The room we got was enough for 5 persons. Our Queen Bed, 1 Single Bed, and 2 futons. The futons were comfortable, and with the balcony glass doors slightly ajar, the heated floors made for a cozy sleep. Temperatures during our stay ranged from 0 degrees to -6 degrees Celcius. We stayed 3 nights in total, and while little English is spoken at Reception, we managed to make ourselves understood much of the time.
The apartment was what we expected of a 'condotel'. While they did not come in for daily cleaning, they changed our towels. You can take out the trash and place it in the bins at the end of each corridor. The apartment was clean, the utensils were nothing to complain about. Nothing a simple wash couldn't fix. Dishwashing liquid is provided. Most people are there to ski anyway, not to stay in the apartment all day.
There is a fairly well-equipped Family Mart in the Basement, and BBQ Chicken Restaurant, an indoor pool and sauna and a gym. For some reason, free wifi is available in the Lobby. Or you could rent computer time in the Computer Rm for a small fee.
The Skiing Itself:
You need a ski pass to use the slopes. Here, there are 5 time periods a day; 9am to 1pm (morning), 1pm to 5pm (afternoon), 6.30 to 11pm (evening), 10pm to 2 am (night) and midnight to 5 am (all night). You can buy a pass for just one period or a combination of time periods. Of course buying a combined pass gets you discounts, and if you rent ski equipment as well, you get discounts on rental.
Passes start from 48,000 KRW for an adult and 31,000 KRW a child. Rental for ski equipment start at 29,000 KRW for an adult and 21,000 KRW for a child. Ski lessons can be conducted on a 1 to 1, up to 1 to 7 teacher student ratio starting from 220,000 KRW for every 2 hours for adults and 170,000 KRW for 2 hours for a child. Ski kit rental is 10,000 KRW.
Our 6.30pm lesson for 2 hours for 2 adults and 1 child cost 191,000 KRW for the pass, kit (adult) and ski equipment. The lesson cost another 200,000 KRW.
We tried to book a 9 am lesson at 8 am, but were told that all lessons were full till 6 pm, which we booked eventually. We tried to book for the next day at 9am but strangely we were told that since we had already booked for the evening, we could turn up at 9 am to book and have our lesson then. Yes, go figure.
The information room will issue you a booking form, in Korean of course, with the confirmed lesson booking. You will need to wait till 6.30 pm (very close to your lesson time) to book your passes and tickets.
Once you get your passes and ski rental and kit rental tickets, you need to go to the ski equipment counter and exchange your ski rental tickets for a set of equipment per person.
The rental counter is situated in a large room with lockers, seats for putting on your boots and a boot measuring block, like what you may find in a shoe shop. Follow the instructions on the block as to how to measure your foot and inform the counter staff. I would advise that you do not report the number of the line that your toes just reach, eg, if your toes reach the 200 line, report 210 or even 220 instead as your thick socks will seriously dislocate your ankle in trying to force your foot into the boot. I had to upsize as well as for my kids. I cannot emphasize enough that your boot must be snug but not overly tight and yet should not be loose. You need the snugness in order to control the skis and also avoid breaking your ankles should you fall. You also need to make sure that your socks do not bunch up so they end up hurting you as you tighten the boots.
The counter staff also need the correct boot size to adjust the mechanisms on the skis to grip the boot correctly.
As a foreigner, you would need to present your passport as well in exchange for the equipment. You will get it back when you return your equipment.
Once your equipment is checked out, your tickets will be torn in half and you keep the customer's half. (Keep it safe!)
Then you take your equipment half and proceed to the kit counter to exchange for a full set of a jacket and pants. You need to present your half ski equipment ticket.
Once fully changed, we reported to the information centre where the teachers were waiting. They took our ski passes, which were stickers with the correct date and pasted them on metal fasteners which can be attached to the eye of zips on your jacket. This is important because the operators manning the ski lifts will look out for these stickers to let you on.
We were led out to the entrance to the beginners' slope and the lesson began. After the lesson, we returned the kit, got the equipment ticket back, and then returned the ski equipment and got our passport back.
As for our lessons, though we were warned that there were no English speakers, the teacher assigned to us did have enough English like “Good” “No Good” “stop!” “A-shape”, “turn right like this” “turn left like this” and sign language that we got the basics for a peaceful ski downhill (with minimal falling) after 2 hours and did not need another lesson.
We would return again next winter, if the opportunity permits to try the intermediate slope and maybe snowboarding. Or maybe try a different Resort, just for fun.
The full rates for their equipment rental, including snowboarding, and lessons are in their Winter Season Guide Book, which is free and available in the lobby, but you will end up asking the staff for information anyway.
