‘Winter Wonderland’ features music, snow and mud packs

Among the expatriate community, the International Ski Festival at Yongpyeong is one of the most popular sporting events. But this year, a few weeks before the festival, the town in Gangwon province will be the site of another event, one with an upstart’s hip attitude.
“Winter Wonderland,” organized by Groovetrek and dmX Productions, includes some 20 DJs spinning everything from funk to ambient, progressive house and trance music, as well as snowboarding and a jacuzzi. For the event, the organizers have rented a resort near Yongpyeong for the weekend of Jan. 28.
“Winter Wonderland” is more of a winter party in the guise of going away to snowboard. There will be two separate styles of music on Friday and Saturday and a pajama party on Saturday night.
The jacuzzi, which can hold up to 70 people, is free for partygoers from midnight to 5 a.m.; otherwise it costs 5,000 won an hour. The spa will be set up with lounge music, with mud packs for 5,000 won.
“There are a lot of people who won’t go skiing,” said Mike Holliday of Groovetrek. “They just want to eat, drink and hang out.”
For snowboarders, the organizers have worked out a deal for lift tickets, board and boot rentals for 50,000 won on Saturday.
Buses will leave for the venue on Friday, Jan. 28 from 7 p.m. to midnight, and depart for Seoul on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
When it comes to partying, the organizers have a solid background. Groovetrek helped organize an outdoor party on Anmyeon Island a year ago, while dmX has been hosting a slew of parties all over Seoul.
“This is the same concept as the Anmyeondo Beach party,” Mr. Holliday said. “It’s a mystery location. We just went looking for a place and happened to get lucky. It just opened and they offered to let us rent the whole place.”
The resort can accommodate 400 people, and a professional chef will be brought in to cater the event.
“It’s a nice way to get out of the city, and have a couple of fun things to do and meet people,” Mr. Holliday said. But, chances are the event, if successful, won’t be hosted at the same location again. After all, that detracts from the mystery.

by Joe Yonghee

For information, visit www.winterwonderland2005.com. The price of 100,000 won covers bus, lodging and admission to the parties.