What the....Surfing in North Korea is a thing?!

 On 13 September, North Korea will join the ranks of the world’s surfing destinations when 20 tourists (mostly advanced surfers from the US, plus people from Italy and Germany) as well as locals will embark on the first North Korea Surf Camp and Expedition on the beaches of Sijung and Hamh?ng on the country’s east coast. The week-long camp will be led by Nicola Zanella, Italian surfer and Chinese national surfing team coach, and Andrea Lee, chief executive of US travel company Uri Tours.

The trip has obtained permission from the North Korean government, thanks mostly to connections Uri Tours has developed with the country’s tourism board.

“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.”

By “surfing reconnaissance,” he means that in order to determine which areas might be best suited to beginner and intermediate surfers, the surf camp will study the country’s coastline in depth, analysing the beaches and the seabed, pinpointing potential evacuation points and estimating which kinds of weather produce ideal surf conditions, and where. The study is integral for developing the country’s surf tourism; that it’s being done by foreigners is highly unusual for hermetic North Korea.