Where To Surf In Korea: Surfyy Beach

Surfing and Korea are two words that don’t go hand in hand for most people. Ask around about where to go surfing, and people might think of Australia, California, or Hawaii, but surfing is becoming more and more popular for beach goers in this country that is surrounded on three sides with beaches and waves and Surfyy Beach has been on the forefront of the momentum. Want to have fun this summer in Korea? Here’s where to go!

While it would have been pretty bizarre to see surfers just a decade ago, it’s a trendy sport now. I still remember the first time I saw surfers on the east coast of Korea about five years ago. I remember chuckling a little bit because, yeah, it was pretty strange. Not that the surfers were strange, but the concept seemed so strange here an the waves didn’t seem quite big enough. They’re perfect if you want to give surfing a go though. Trust me!

Want to skip around? Here are the sections to look out for:

How To Get There
Where To Stay
Surfyy Beach Backstory
Instagrammable & Not Just For Surfers
Surf Culture In Korea & Laws
Surfyy Lessons
Party On The Beach At Night
Plan YOUR Visit

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How To Get There

Address: 119 Haean-gil Hajodae, Hyeonbuk-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do (강원 양양군 현북면 하조대해안길 119 서피비치)

By Bus: You can get a bus from Seoul Express Bus Terminal or Dong Seoul Bus Terminal. The express bus from either is around 2 hours and takes you to the Yangyang Express Bus Terminal. Take a taxi about 15 minutes depending on traffic to travel 11km and cost about W17,000. You can even pre-book your intercity bus with Trazy.

This summer, I was invited out to Surfyy Beach (서피비치) in the Yangyang-gun area of Korea on the east coast to learn more about surfing in Korea as well as to participate in a class with one of their instructors. I haven’t been surfing since my trip to Hawai’i a few years ago, so I was interested to see if I could still get up… what do you think? Did I get up?

Where To Stay

Zio Resort

The closest spot to Surfyy is the Zio Resort. While Booking.com will tell you that this property is beachfront, it actually isn’t. But it is the closest to Surfyy and as close as it could be likely due to restrictions from the military previously. From the hotel, just walk down through a tunnel and up the road to the beach. It takes all of 10 minutes so really isn’t bad.

The rooms are comfortable and the owners are very friendly. They also have a kid’s club and play area for families visiting.The rooms are budget friendly and the closest you’ll get to Surfyy in the area so I highly recommend it if you want to stick to the area. Hajodae Beach is a short 10-15 minute walk down from there too where there are more restaurant and cafe options.

Book a stay on Booking.com or on Agoda.com

Hajodae Campingcar

Since last year, this spot has opened for people to stay too. The Hajodae Campingcar option has a bunch of separate units to choose from. This spot is closer to the beach and is just up the beach from Surfyy so another great option. The camping cars are comfortable and a fun option if you want to sleep in a camping car. Book a stay here on Booking.com or on Agoda.com

Surfyy Beach Backstory

Surfyy Beach is a surfers-only beach. This means that you cannot swim on the portion of the beach designated as Surfyy. If you’ve got kids, like I do, don’t let this deter you though. Just south of Surfyy is the beautiful Hajodae Beach, and when I say just south, I mean, you can surf on one side of an imaginary line in the sand, and you can swim on the other. There are lifeguards that will clue you in should it be confusing. But is’t really not.

Surfyy Beach actually opened in the summer of 2015. From then until this summer however, the beach was controlled by the nearby military base that would come in each morning and evening to unlock and lock fences and gates that surrounded the area.

This year is the FIRST year that the fences have been taken down and Surfyy Beach really is the owners of their beachfront property. And what a property it is. If you visited in previous years, you would have noted that all of the Surfyy Beach buildings were set in a lot behind the beach. This year, since the beach is now they’re space, their cool cabanas and bars, etc., have been moved onto the beach.

Instagrammable & Not Just For Surfers

Speaking to the numerous people in Korea that aren’t surf savvy but are definitely interested in trends, the company has made the entire area very Instagrammable with beautiful cabanas to sit under, hammocks to get comfortable in, a giant sign with their name that every visitor feels the need to take a photo with and more. While most of these people may not be surfing, they are getting an inkling of the fun that can be had and maybe they’ll head back later to actually try surfing at some point.

This is a very novice to expert friendly surfing beach to check out in Yangyang-gun, Korea and THE spot if you want to connect with other surfers in the area that have been watching the waves and the breaks for years on this coast.

Surfing Laws To Know

The owners/founders of Surfyy had to jump through quite a few hoops to get Surfyy designated as a surfing beach including meeting with county, village, and military officials. My awesome instructor told me that it’s all very serious. He went surfing a bit more north a few weeks earlier and after an hour, he came in to find six police cars and the chief of police waiting for him because you canNOT just head out to surf anywhere in Korea. He fessed up that it wasn’t the safest of spots to surf as there were rocks in the area, but my instructor noted that he had watched the surf there for months before heading out into the water. If you’re a pro, you still need to know the regulations in Korea and my Canadian instructor needed a little help from the Surfyy beach founders to get out of the jam. Know the rules if you want to surf in Korea, that’s for sure.

Surf Culture In Korea: Korea’s surf culture is a bit different from other parts of the world that have more history with the sport so it’s no wonder that officials and visitors don’t really know what to expect or how to handle everything. Most people coming to Surfyy Beach are just interested in a one time experience and want to have the cool dude/laid back culture they think of when they think of surfing. With the amount of stress people around the country are under, it’s no wonder they just want something chill.

Surfyy Lesson

My instructor was awesome and the first part of the lesson consisted of us sitting beneath a parasol while he talked at length about swells, water movement and how to spot the waves and what to note from above. He said that good surfers will go to the water and watch for a fair amount of time before they even step foot in the water so they can see where the breaks, swells, and all of the other lingo that I haven’t quite picked up but maybe should, are.

The instructor went on at length about safety in the water and how to be safe in this region specifically where the drop off is steep. Everyone here seems very invested, and they are, in making sure everyone has a great, but safe experience on the water. He also talked about surfing etiquette which is something that is kind of missing here since it is such a new sport.

I remember snowboarding a decade ago in Korea and thinking that about the mountains. Koreans would just shoot themselves down these mountains without considering anyone else around them it seemed and it made me much less inclined to board here again. That was a decade ago though, and I’ve heard it’s gotten better. Basically, there’s a similar issue with surfing. There is definite etiquette to be aware of and if you have a good instructor like I did, you will be aware of it. For the etiquette bit, it probably just needs time for people to grasp and for it to become habit.

Surfyy Beach, Yangyang-gung, Korea: Hallie Bradley

One thing I picked up in Hawaii, and again in Surfyy, is that one of the most important things to remember is never to cut off another surfer and to wait your turn. Not only can boards be damaged, but people can too. There are lines, which might not be spotted by novices, and there is an etiquette. Because I am a novice, I don’t go until I’m told to go pretty much. I don’t want to be the person cutting someone off or cutting in line. All was good until it wasn’t for me.

All the etiquette went out the window near the end of my lesson when a new group of surfers came into the water with instructors that apparently didn’t know the rules. I was next up, started paddling, got onto the wave to find two guys on either side of me. Both of their boards I could touch with my arms, which I did as I reached out to shove them away from me.

I ended the lesson after that because I’m not interested in competing for space. I had had a good two hours at that point though, so it was a good time to get out of the water. Suffice to say, request Jake as your instructor and you’ll be good to go. Because surfing has become a bit trendy, he said that the club brings in instructors that don’t necessarily have real world surfing experience, but can teach the onslaught of people that come during summer high season. The experience was GREAT all in all.

Party On The Beach At Night

One reason Surfyy is a pretty anyone-friendly spot is because it’s both a surfing club and a party venue. “Surf All Day! Party All Night!” is their motto and it’s definitely fitting. The beachfront itself is gorgeous much like other beach areas in the region. Some of my all time favorite beaches to visit in the area have been Gyeongpo Beach, Naksan Beach, and the smaller but lovely Sungeut Beach.

Where Surfyy is, is quite special because it was closed off for the past 40 years or so due to the military base that is nearby so it is very clean. Really, Yangyang-gun does an amazing job at keeping their beaches clean especially in high season. While many people flock to the beaches down in Busan, I personally find the beaches in this northeastern region to be so much better. Less crowds, beautiful sand, and emerald blue water. There’s nothing not to love.

After surfing the waves on Surfyy Beach, head into the surf beach pub and lounge. Get a Corona beer, a mojito, or other perfect beach side cocktail to watch the colors change in the sky as the sun sets. Just as people are clearing out of the water, the lights and sounds from the party area will start making those toes tap and booties bounce, or whatever the kids do these days. DJs are brought in throughout the summer to keep the party going.

Beach Clean Up

Something else I found super appealing was the awareness the beach founders have going on. Walk in to find a sign that says “No Smoking. No Trash”. Walk further in and see an installation that looks like an ocean wave that has been made entirely out of plastic trash. Want to enjoy the waves? Well, you need to protect the oceans to keep doing it and I appreciate that they’re promoting that and giving people reasons to do it. I have been to beaches in Korea, mostly in the Incheon area, that were just strewn with trash and it just meant more people bringing stuff were more inclined to leave their own stuff behind. Don’t do it people.

Plan Your Visit

Do be aware that the area directly near Surfyy Beach is still not built up so there isn’t much around it but walk just 10 minutes up the road to Hajodae and there are more options in terms of restaurants and cafes. We had a great time visiting Surfyy Beach and were thrilled to be invited out. The beach was gorgeous, the people kind, and the fun was immense. We would definitely go back to enjoy the beaches here and the surfing fun with everything included.

Book Surf Lessons

Surfyy.com has all of the info to register for a lesson. They also have all of the gear and wet suits you’ll need for rental as well so don’t worry about that. Book your lesson online if you can read Korean or have the translator plug-in. Otherwise, DM Surfyy through their Instagram page to get connected with their foreign staff ready to help you.

Where To Eat

As mentioned, other than Surfyy, there isn’t much around Surfyy in the immediate area just yet so if you want more options and want to walk just a bit, head down the beach to Hajodae where there are a few more options. There’s a spot called Singlefin Alehouse which is just a street back from the beach that has beers and pub food. Great atmosphere for a relaxed evening. Another spot we checked out was Hello Peace which has pizza and paninis and hotdogs and lots of beanbag chairs to sit on in the grassy area.

Where To Take The Kids

If you’re like me and have a kiddo too, do be aware that there is a steep drop off on the coast in this area. All along the east coast really so you need to watch those kids like a hawk. They can easily be pulled out and lose footing. If you head to Surfyy for fun, have the kids built sandcastles and hang out up in the cabana areas. Once you’re done surfing, walk down to Hajodae Beach where this is a grouping of rocks that make for some great pools of water that are perfect for the little ones to splash around in safely.