Hanging Ten at Yang Yang

A while ago I posted a great video of winter surfing in South Korea presented by YESiSURF.com & Another Day.
Very inspirational!

The other day I went on a road trip to the east coast to seek out those very waves. Not quite winter but the beginning of Autumn.
First stop was Sokcho and it was great to sea the ocean again but the waves weren't really surfing friendly. A nice swell but it was all beach break. No bars seemed to be evident. Having said that it was really nice to get wet and roll around in the swell.

It was heading south toward Gangneung that the real gold was discovered.
Just little fishing villages and seaside towns are where it is really at.

Hajodae was a beautiful sleepy town that had a promising point break and a big stretch of beach heading up to the north. A bit choppy on the day but good size. There were a few places that had boards, mainly for hire dotted around the point. But this was out of season so most were closed.

Further south is Yang Yang and a couple of little towns around here seemed to be the place.

Gisamun on the 38th parallel was were the mushroom navigation light in the video lives. Mainly a fishing village but there were surf shops dotting up to! They had some really nice boards for sale and hire and lots of paraphernalia. Chatted to a local or too and they had some interesting yarns to weave.
But of all things on this day the swell was too big. 3 meter and it was crashing over the breakwall. The evening before  there had been a number of people out getting some waves but I arrived just on dusk. Too late.

checking some of the hardware

That magic mushroom

quite a large swell that day!

 A bit further south is another sleepy town that also has some good breaks but I was just passing through this one.

 

All of these places are overpopulated in the height of summer but at this time you had the run of the joint. Gotta get back and this time have a surf but in the mean time I will just keep watching that video and dreaming. Not that I want to do the snow thing but in season it looks like a great place for a wave and really promising for a country that is just at the beginning of its surfing history.

Postscript: if you want the ultimate in uncrowded waves there is a group that organises surfing tours of the North Korean East Coast!!!!!   check it out here  just scroll down for some English 

Videos that are a Gas #13

Where passions collide. Surfing in Sth Korea, who would've thought and so freak'n perfect though rather cold! Sit back and enjoy this one, most definantly a GAS!

The Winter Surf from AnotherDay on Vimeo.

Presented by YESiSURF.com & Another Day

"The Winter Surf" is a film shot in South Korea in winter, 2014.
It is directed, filmed and edited by a few dedicated surfers.
This film’s vision is to showcase surfing in Korea.
The Winter Surf includes two parts.
The first part captures the beauty of winter surf in Korea.
The second part shows how fun winter surf can be, especially to those who have never surfed in cold conditions.
Please enjoy the film. And if you like it, please share.
Thank You
-KWS project crew-
The Winter Surf 는 2014년 겨울, 대한민국 에서 촬영된 영상입니다.
이 영상은 한국의 겨울 서핑을 국내외에 알리기위한 목적으로 비영리로 진행되었으며
촬영부터 감독, 편집 등의 모든 과정이 서퍼들의 손에 이루어졌습니다.
The Winter Surf 는 크게 두 개의 파트로 이루어져 있습니다.
첫 번째 파트에는 한국 겨울 서핑의 아름다움을 담았으며,
두 번째 파트에서는 겨울 서핑이 얼마나 즐거울 수 있는지 보여드리려고 노력했습니다.
이번 영상 제작에 큰 도움을 주신 후원 업체 배럴, 지프코리아와 협력 브랜드인 서프코드, 롱로드에 진심으로 감사드립니다.
그리고 영화로 치면 주인공이나 마찬가지인 8명의 서퍼분들께 모두 감사의 말씀을 전합니다.
마지막으로 촬영기간 내내 많은 분들이 응원해주신 덕에 추운 날씨에도 즐거운 마음으로 촬영에 임할 수 있었으며 그것이 이 영상 제작의 가장 큰 원동력이 되었습니다.
즐겁게 감상하시고 많은 공유를 통해 한국 서핑을 널리 알려주시기 바랍니다.
감사합니다.
-KWS 프로젝트 크루 일동-

Yangyang is where this is at, up the top of the East Coast

The Waveform Monitor

I'm fascinated by waves.
The only consistent physical manifestation of energy that we can touch, feel and see.
I find surf beaches mesmerising.  I watch them, ride them and swim them too.
The Rhythm, the sound, the smell but really it's the visual.
The sight of of approaching swell, corduroy!
A wave forming, building, peaking and breaking.
Being witness to this is nourishment for the soul. Being amongst it is Heaven.
And the wave is non less perfect than with a stiff offshore wind
and a handsome groundswell to match.

It is with this that I present to you
Day 7, 2013 King George Beach S.A. 35° 37' 16" S x 137° 12' 34" E

 

 

And at the end of the day