WHEN Dragon Valley was built in 1975 it was denounced as a white elephant. But when the ski boom took off in Korea in the mid-1980s, it became a favoured location for wealthy skiing enthusiasts.
Korea's first and largest ski resort, it was the brainchild of Mr Kim Suk-won, head of Ssangyong, South Korea's sixth largest company, who cultivated a love of skiing while being educated in the US.
With its 16 ski slopes built at an altitude of 1,500 metres, Dragon Valley or Yongp'yeong (by its Korean name) does not match the height or size of European or North American resorts.
But its size is ideal for beginners - it is virtually impossible to get lost and the lower slopes provide easy learning grounds.
At the other end of the scale, die-hards will find a weekend's skiing in Korea much cheaper than skiing in Japan and probably as challenging.
The 215-kilometre trip from Seoul to Dragon Valley can take between three and five hours depending on the notorious traffic.