Senior Editor
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Uh... yes please.

Uh… yes please. Photo: Arctic Surf


The Inertia

North Korea isn’t exactly the first place one thinks of when they think where to go on their next surf trip. There are a few reasons for this. The most obvious, of course, is the fact that North Korea’s strict tourism rules aren’t exactly the easiest to navigate. That, coupled with a history of secrecy, makes for a place that might (or might not be) one of the last bastions of empty, perfect surf.

“Very few journalists are allowed into North Korea,” reads a North Korean travel company’s website, “so the amazing experiences you will embrace there are rarely publicized.” But in an effort to attract tourism, the country has opened three new resorts along its 1,500 mile coastline, and the Korea International Travel Company is offering four-day, five-night surf tours. What’s interesting, though is that travel restrictions are still in place. Visitors to the DPRK must be accompanied almost everywhere they go, and a lot of the country is off-limits, even to diplomats. And if a diplomat can’t see it, chances aren’t great that a visiting surfer can either. Because of North Korea’s military control of the coastline, it’s not the most ideal place for the search – unless you only plan on searching a very defined stretch of heavily regulated coastline.

This is a pretty giant step in North Korea’s policy toward the outside world. Although there are still more barriers to tourism there than most other places, it might just be an indicator that North Korea is getting with the times. And you can bet that if Kim Jong Il were still around, he’d hold every record for anything to do with surfing.

 
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