Tour2Korea.com (T2K), a Korea travel portal website for foreigners operated by Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO), recently launched in its reservation section a “Korea Accommodation Price Comparison & Search Service” for foreign tourists. As part of the service, KNTO sponsors a surprise event in which participants can place a minimum bid of US$ 1 for a super deluxe hotel voucher, an offer that has already stirred considerable interest.

In the event, called Crazy Auction, participants are invited to place a bid of between 1 and 5 dollars for one-night’s stay at a super deluxe hotel in Korea. The entrant whose bid is closest to the price already set by the Auction Master of T2K wins the voucher for one night’s lodging at that hotel. All T2K members are eligible to apply for the event.

Crazy Auction will be held every two weeks until the end of the year. In the first auction (July 19 to August 2, 2004), the prize was a one-night voucher at the Renaissance Hotel, a super deluxe hotel in Seoul. The winner was a Japanese woman living in Chiba City, Japan, who came within 10 Korean won of the set price.