Suffering in the Ski Resort

Daemyung Resort located in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon on the morning of January 4.

In front of a lift of ‘beginner’ course, many people stood in a queue of over 10m. 19 students of an elementary school next to the long queue stood quivering from cold. They were waiting for one disappeared student in the same group. A instructor said, “They must wait until that we have to find him.” After 20 minutes, the student in question came back and said “I went to a toilet.” Students of the group were in the skiing ground for two hours in the morning, but they never skied even once.

Lee Yu-bin, (4th year student of Hwagok elementary school, Seoul) said curtly, “I didn’t ski properly, but I caught a nose and throat cold. I will never come here again.” A business trick of the ski camp promoter broke a dream of students who expected a speeding of a snowfield. Students of elementary school and middle school who want to participate in the ski camp have increased in number. However, most of them didn’t enjoy skiing. According to the industry, there are 8,000 students who participate in the ski camp per day for a high-demand season. There are various types of accommodation such as a direct operation of the resort or a rent by an event and travel agencies.

The problem is a lack of the ski camp instructors. It is reasonable that one instructor takes care of 10 students. However, the most of ski camp allots one instructor for 20 students. Because of it, instructors pay attention to the students control not a technical guidance. They hae also wasted time to gather students.

Another problem is the lack of a separate course for trainees. Trainees must use the popular beginner course. Because of it, whenever they take the lift, they have to wait. Finally, the trainees have skied once in the morning and afternoon respectively.

The participants of the ski camp have paid costs of 150,000 won for 2 nights and 3 days, but they are treated discriminatingly out of the skiing ground.

The resort prohibits the use of the accommodation elevators of trainees. Kim Hyun-a (fourth year student of Dongma elementary school, Seongnam) said, “I have a sore foot because I ascended the stairs to the room seven stories.” Only general users can use the ski depository, and so the participants must keep their skis in their rooms 100m far from the skiing ground.

When trainees came back to the accommodation, they must face to a war of bed again.

12 students must sleep in the room of 9 Pyong, and 15 students must sleep in the one room-typed room of 19 Pyong. Because of a blanket and pillow is not enough, 2~3 students use the blanket as the pillow together, or some of them sleep without the blanket.

The official of the ski camp advised, “When a competition of the ski camp is overheated, companies dumped the costs and the event and travel agencies intended to gain an interim margin. So, there are a lot of damages of trainees. Students must inquire into many conditions carefully when they go to the ski camp.”

Jin-Young Hwang buddy@donga.com