"Are the Elderly Expected to Stand in Line Themselves?"... 700,000 Waiting Online, Unable to Get Chuseok Train Tickets, They Head to Seoul Station

As of June, 91.1% of Tickets Issued Online
Expert: "This Must Be Seen as an Issue of Mobility Rights"

As the Chuseok holiday approaches, many travelers returning to their hometowns have tried to reserve train tickets in advance using their mobile phones. However, it was reported on September 11, 2026, that there are still a significant number of digitally vulnerable people, such as the elderly and disabled, who visit Seoul Station early in the morning because they are unable to secure tickets online.

Passengers returning home and travelers are walking to the platform to board the train at Seoul Station. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

KORAIL (Korea Railroad Corporation) announced that from September 7 to September 11, it sold Chuseok holiday train tickets for each route on different dates using a non-face-to-face system. On September 3 and 4, KORAIL held advance reservations by phone and online specifically for transportation-vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled.

Those who failed to get tickets during the advance reservation period formed lines at Seoul Station, hoping for tickets through on-site sales. Just about seven minutes after on-site sales began, an announcement reportedly informed people that “only standing tickets for certain time slots are available.”

One passenger in their 70s, who failed to book online even with their child’s help, complained, “The number of people waiting to access the mobile reservation site exceeded 700,000,” adding, “I understand that this is the internet era, but shouldn’t older people also be given some consideration?”

As of June 2026, 91.1% of train ticketing was done online, making non-face-to-face sales the main method. Since Chuseok in 2020, during the widespread COVID-19 outbreak, holiday train tickets have also been sold exclusively through non-face-to-face channels.

KORAIL stated that non-face-to-face reservations have reduced inconvenience such as overnight queuing and long on-site waits. It also explained that it operates a telephone reservation service for digitally vulnerable individuals and provides ticketing instructions on its website and through organizations such as the Korean Senior Citizens Association starting two weeks before reservations open. For elderly users, payment deadlines were extended by three extra days compared to standard reservations.

However, since the digitally vulnerable continue to face difficulties with non-face-to-face reservations every holiday and end up having to visit stations only to leave empty-handed, there are calls to review whether the current advance reservation system and related promotion and support mechanisms are working effectively on the ground.

According to the “2025 Digital Information Gap Survey” by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the digital information utilization level of the general population is indexed at 100, but for the elderly it stands at only 71.8%. For people with disabilities, the figure is 84.1%, and for the low-income group, it is 97%.

Junsu Heo, a social welfare professor at Soongsil University, said, “While digital accessibility among the elderly is improving overall, very elderly individuals and those with low income or educational backgrounds are still experiencing a significant information gap. This should be addressed as an issue of mobility rights and human rights.” He added, “Accurately identifying which groups are experiencing which difficulties should be the first priority, and using existing welfare delivery networks such as senior or disability welfare centers and local community service centers to assist with ticketing or provide outreach services could also be considered.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.