DAEJEON — Ridership on the "Love for Local Regions" rail travel program run by Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail) has surged this year.
Korail said on the 15th that 237,000 people had used the program through September, far surpassing the 220,000 recorded for all of 2025.
The figure is up 67% from about 142,000 in the same period a year earlier.
Monthly average users have risen steadily, from 10,000 in the program's first year to 20,000 in 2025 and 26,000 this year.
The most visited destinations were again Namwon, with 22,600 visitors, and Miryang, with 22,500, while Samcheok emerged as a new draw with 16,000. Among individual packages, the two-day "Miryang-Busan Inland Tour" and the "Yeongdong Winery Tour" proved popular, the latter drawing about 5,600 users.
By season, the spring travel months of April and May accounted for about 119,000 users, or half the total. Monthly average ridership in that period was roughly 3.5 times the level of the other seven months.
In January and February, travelers mainly headed to Taebaek for its snow festival, while in summer 20% of all program users visited Yeongdong, where they can tour cool wine caves.
To sustain demand this autumn, Korail is running rail packages tied to the government's "Travel Month" campaign that let travelers take in regional festivals.
The Mindungsan Silver Eulalia Festival, running through Nov. 8 in Jeongseon, Gangwon State, offers mountain scenery covered in silver-hued silver grass. Taking the Jeongseon Arirang Train from Jecheon Station makes for an especially memorable trip.
In Iksan, Jeonbuk State, the Ten Million Chrysanthemums Festival runs from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, and the Korea Chrysanthemum Fair will be held at Hampyeong Expo Park in Jeollanam-do from Oct. 23 to Nov. 8.
Korail is also extending discounts to ease travel costs. Fares on five theme train lines, including the Baekdudaegan Canyon Train, the West Gold Train and the Jeongseon Arirang Train, are being cut by 50%, and the Naeilro pass, a discount rail pass popular with young travelers, is reduced by 20,000 won.
Travelers who verify visits to tourist sites in any of 41 designated population-declining regions nationwide can receive the full train fare back in the form of discount coupons.
"We will develop a range of packages so that rail travelers can help breathe life into regional economies," said Lee Min-sung, head of Korail's passenger business division.