New Jersey-Based Travel Company Uri Tours To Organize The First North Korea Surf Camp And Expedition In Sijung And Hamhŭng Beaches
A week long surf camp and expedition will be held on Sept 13 at North Korea's east coast beaches, where 20 foreign surfers from around the world, as well as locals, will take part in the first ever North Korea Surf Camp and Expedition.
The Guardian has reported on Wednesday that the event will be led by Italian surfer and Chinese national surfing team coach Nicola Zanella alongside chief executive of US travel company Uri Tours Andrea Lee. With the relationship established by the travel company with North Korea's tourism board, the event has already been granted a green light by the government.
"We will not be the first to go surging surf in North Korea - a group already surfed last year with some locals," says Zanella. "But no one has yet done it with the intention of opening the country to surfing tourism - or to do surfing reconnaissance."
The North Korea Surf Camp and Expedition has conducted an in-depth analysis of the country's coastline in order to identify which beaches are best suitable for beginner and intermediate surfers, as well as to determine potential evacuation points and weather conditions for the week-long event. The study is paramount to organizing a safe and successful event in order to culminate North Korea's surf tourism.
Based on the research conducted by Zanella, he has found out that the Sijung and Hamhŭng beaches are the perfect spots for surfing.
"It looks like there are wild forests that lead to pink- or yellow-sand bays," says Zanella. "It is promising for surfing, as the cliffs protect the bay from wind coming off the ocean, but at the same time leaves the bay completely exposed to coastal storms."
The $2,750 trip - wherein locals will escort surfers - include surfing lessons, bonfire, dinner by the beach and a tour of Pyongyang and the demilitarized zone.
"Some people will come because it's the one place their friends have not been to," Lee has written in her email, as reported by CNBC on Aug 7. "Others genuinely want to learn more about a country that is so mysterious to the world. Whatever the reason, our clients are usually worldly, open-minded and adventurous travelers looking for more than an average vacation."
Talks of another possible North Korea Surf Camp and Expedition for 2016 are underway, but tourists and surfers have to wait until official announcement.
