Korail ticket site crashes amid Chuseok rush

Sep 17, 2025, 09:45 am

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A screenshot shows Korail’s Chuseok ticketing page frozen during peak demand on Sept. 17. / Source: Korail

Korail’s Chuseok ticket-reservation website went down Wednesday morning as a surge of users tried to book seats at once.

Korail opened sales for general members at 7 a.m. for the Gyeongbu, Gyeongjeon and other lines, but many users reported the site would not advance beyond the first screen from the very start.

Even when connections were made, the virtual queue swelled to around 1.1 million people, making smooth reservations impossible.

Frustrated customers vented on Korail’s YouTube account: “I’ve never felt this angry in 10 years of booking,” “How can you tell us to reserve when you can’t even manage servers?” and “After waiting an hour I finally saw the booking page—only to find I couldn’t do anything.”

Korail said sales for the affected routes will continue until 1 p.m. today.

On Sept. 18, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., sales will open for the Honam, Jeolla, Gangneung and Jungang lines.

The Chuseok ticketing page allows reservations only; customers must complete payment later via the Korail Talk app or the Korail website.

#Korail #Chuseok