Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) offers a variety of lottery contests in celebration of the changing of the Railway Day anniversary date to June 28.
(Photos: KORAIL)

The nation will celebrate the 2019 anniversary of Railway Day on June 28. A ceremony to mark the 120th anniversary of Railway Day will take place in Seoul. The 2018 anniversary of Railway Day fell on June 28 to celebrate the date of the establishment of the nation’s first railway bureau in 1894, during the Joseon Dynasty.

At a cabinet meeting held on May 8, 2018, the government changed the anniversary day from Sept. 18 to June 28. In the previous years, Railway Day was observed in celebration of the Gyeongin Line, the nation’s first 33.2-km-long railway route connecting Noryangjin and Jaemulpo in 1899. Controversy flared up over the celebration of Railway Day to mark the opening of the line, built by Japanese, citing it as a vestige of Japanese colonial rule of Korea.

The celebration of the Railway Day anniversary takes on more significance since June 28 marks the first time the nation laid the groundwork to advance its railway system. Previously the country had been isolated from continental Asia as a kind of island. During the inter-Korean summit on April 27, 2018, South and North Korea recognized the importance of railway connectivity. On June 8, 2018, South Korea became a regular member of the Organization for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD).

KORAIL Holds Anniversary Lottery Event

Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) offers a lottery contest in celebration of the changing of the Railway Day anniversary date to June 28. Initially, for three days between June 26 and June 28, 628 KTX passengers being selected in a random lottery will have ordinary seats upgraded with free special seats. Lottery winners will be notified 30 minutes before their trains depart via a smartphone app.

Out of KTX passengers riding on the anniversary day, June 28, 1,894 winners in a lottery will be offered a 10 percent discount coupon off KTX ticket prices. Winners will be announced on July 4.

One hundred passengers whose birth date matches Railway Day will be drawn in a lottery. Winners will be given two coupons, each giving a 50 percent discount off KTX tickets on the Gangneung Line, dated on Sept. 6.

Cho Hyung-ik, head of the Passenger Business Division at KORAIL, said the events have been arranged to make the new Railway Day date known and extend thanks to passengers. KORAIL will pay back customers’ love by making railway more convenient and safer, he added.

KORAIL Releases Summer Vacation Tourist Products

KORAIL has released summer vacation tourist products via railways.

Nine hotel plus vacation train tourist products – three in Gangwon-do, one in Chungcheong area, three in Jeolla area and one in Gyeongsang area – are put on the market. Buyers of free-style tourist products inclusive round trip train tickets and hotel accommodation coupons will be allowed to pick up the bill a maximum of 30 percent lower than normal prices.