South Korea

Where to surf in South Korea

The South Korea mainland picks up NE swells out of the Sea of Japan head-on, which suggests more waves in the cold winter, but typhoon season welcomes waves from SSE to SSW for the east and south-facing coasts.

Mainland

Best spot on the NE coast is right on the 38th Parallel which used to denote the North/South border before the war. Now it’s a consistent, swell-pulling beachbreak with surf shop and some crowds on small summer weekends. Most of the east coast is empty through winter down to Busan, where a clutch of breaks around Haeundae help support the fast growing scene of surf schools, shops, shapers and a large local longboard contingent.

The west coast in the Yellow Sea is pretty uninspiring windchop and on the rare occasions when swell comes up from the south the multitude of steep islets filter out swell. Try the Anmyeon-do resort beaches SW of Seoul if desperate.

Jeju Do

The south coast is also a maze of volcanic islands so just make the jump out to Jeju Do where there is plenty more surf.