Korea has a long history, three of its borders covered in coastline and an island, yet surfing is not thought to have been popularized there until the early 2000s – about 50 years after the U.S. and Australian surf booms in the 1950s. Korea is not known for its massive breaks, perhaps because it is tucked between Japan and China, the two buffering its breaks. The lack of big, rolling, and consistent waves in Korea may have kept surfing from entering popular culture sooner. Today, the city of Yangyang in the Gangwon province has recently emerged as South Korea’s surfing mecca. Busan, Pohang, and Jeju Island are also considered top surfing spots in the country, but Yangyang is closest to Seoul where half (50.2% as of 2020) of South Korea’s population resides (McGill, Kim 7). Therefore, Yangyang is relatively more convenient for Seoulites to visit and surf there often. The adoption of surfing in Korea today resembles the later part of the surf boom in the United States.
Some people who visit Yangyang to surf end up moving there. For one of the episodes of the Korean documentary series, At Work Today (2021), the hosts interview one of the surfers who relocated to Yangyang, Mun Lee Na. Mun, the first female Korean national longboard surfer as of 2021, and the first Asian to place top three at the Gliding Barnacles surf competition held in 2019, introduces the hosts to surfing. Mun explains that she is a longboard surfer. Longboarding is better suited for the gentle waves common in Korea. She also explains that how long you can stay on one wave is important. The messaging is reminiscent of the long “perfect wave” Robert August and Mike Hynson rode on longboards off of Cape St. Francis in South Africa in Endless Summer.
Mun Lee Na expresses her rebellion from conformity in her pursuits to become a surfer and to continue surfing. In South Korea, the work culture is demanding, ranking above the US, Canada, and Japan in hours worked per year, and expectations for financial success are high (OECD). There is also pressure for individuals to meet specific beauty standards in Korea, pale skin being the most basic and “necessary” beauty trait. The fact that Mun abandons efforts to conform to these critical societal expectations is, therefore, especially deviant. She said used to live in the city and have pale skin and now she lives in Yangyang, tan and fully immersed in the surfing lifestyle. Shifting so dramatically from conformity to a state of rebellion, it is understandable that Mun considers surfing to be a turning point in her life. Mun is so in love with surfing that she cannot imagine a day without it. Mun says, “[Surfing] is currently my everything” (Jung 14:10). This is consistent with the attitude of American surfers who have embraced the surfing culture. Mun wants to continue surfing well into her eighties and become that “cool grandma” who surfs.
Although most surfing spots in Korea were not previously populated by native surfers, people who migrate to those areas to surf are not easily accepted by the locals. The locals of the rural seaside towns are generally just as, if not more so, conformist to the mainstream Korean culture as those in other parts of the country. At popular surfing spots, many native locals, often elderly, considered “the inbound migration of ‘young’ male surfers…, with easily noticeable nonconforming appearances (long hair, extremely tanned, and tattooed), [to be] strange and eccentric…” (Kim 8). The elderly villagers viewed these surfers to be “deviants or potential losers who did nothing worthwhile in cities and ended up moving to rural villages.” These rural people perceived surfing as “‘indolent, wasteful, selfish, and [an] institutionally unanchored pastime’” (Kim 9). Surfers are often non-conformist, but in order for these Korean surfers to become established local surfers they must become accepted by the local community. Surfers engaged in community service such as, “environmental preservation, safety rescue activities, and educational activities” in order for them to be perceived well and accepted (Kim 11). It’s understood that local acceptance is likely to take 5-20 years (Kim 9).
The negative attitudes most Koreans have of surfers is similarly reflected in the depiction of surfers in the books Gidget (1957) and Barbarian Days (2015). Whether or not surfing is ultimately accepted as a worthy lifestyle, surfing is seen as a form of rebellion from mainstream society. The average “surf bum” is perceived as caring about nothing but themselves and the waves. Surf bums often reject superficial societal standards out of indifference or disgust. No one can tell them what they “should” be doing because there is no other life that seems more rewarding; the world around them is either so insignificant and/or so perverse in comparison. In Gidget, Kahoona was happy just chasing the waves around the world even if it meant living frugally and being dependent on his friends’ sponsorships. This lifestyle would never be considered “successful” by the average American (or Korean). In Barbarian Days, William Finnegan dropped out of college to focus on surfing and traveling, spending four years abroad to chase the waves. Although Mun Lee Na does not travel the world in pursuit of waves and seems rather content in Yangyang, she similarly departs from the high expectations of her culture to pursue a surfing-focused lifestyle. Largely she is understood and respected by the surfing community. Mun also garners respect from the typical Korean because of her title as a national athlete, which is substantiated by the interview hosts’ intrigue and awe.
Surfing is integral to Mun Lee Na’s daily life, but in order to pay for her surf competitions and living expenses she still has to work a traditional job. Even as a Korean national surfer her income is unstable. She now runs a surf shop in Yangyang to pay for competitions. However, she notes that surfing became something she could only squeeze in in the mornings. Finding the perfect “work-surf” balance is challenging. Different surfers find different solutions to the problem. Some surfers go pro, and some choose more flexible careers. William Finnegan, author of Barbarian Days, found balance in writing for his day job and surfing. Mun similarly has a day job and surfs not only for fun, but to compete. Mun would be happy to do away with more of her responsibilities to surf more often if she didn’t feel it would jeopardize her ability to take care of herself and go to surf competitions. Mun says when she sees a nice wave during her surfing classes, she gets tempted to ditch her class and go surf it.
Twenty years after Korea’s “surf boom,” popular media started to feature surfing in their films and dramas (Kim 1). Mun’s presence on At Work Today is indicative of surfing’s rising popularity and acceptance. The host mentions how surfing is popular now, and some Korean celebrities have been seen surfing. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) and Lovestruck in the City (2020) are popular Korean dramas that include or emphasize surfing in the plot. In the last few years, surfing in Korea is breaking through into popular culture similar to how the book (1957) and movie (1959) Gidget contributed to the breakthrough of surfing into American popular culture. John Engle would classify these surf films and dramas as “fictional studio surfing features” (Engle 208). Korean dramas and Gidget were not directed towards a surfing audience. Instead, surfing is presented as something someone does when they leave the hustle and bustle of the city, whether for vacation or to start a new life.
There are some other relatively popular Korean surf films and dramas that may be considered as entertainment for the surfer as well as the general non-surfing audience such as, Jukdo Surfing Diary (2020), The Boy from Nowhere (2020), and the variety show Surfing House (2019). Each of these films and shows seem to feature surfing as the central focus rather than the context for a predictable romantic plot. When surfing is more realistically portrayed in films and shows, the cinematic language more effectively communicates the visceral feelings associated with the surfer and the waves. Without watching beyond the trailers of these films and shows it is hard to say how much they are directed at the surfing audience rather than the general non-surfing audience. The trailers indicate that they are closer to Blue Crush, a surf film that can be enjoyed by both surfers and non-surfers alike. They are not quite like Endless Summer, a surf film intended for surfers; the main character is the “perfect wave,” and it treats surfing “like it’s all that matters in the world” (Engle 209).
Korea’s adoption of surfing is likely to be similar in its aspects of rebellion, work-surf balance, and presence in popular culture to that of the United States. However, Korea’s geography and beginnings of their surf history currently taking place may give rise to interesting uniquely Korean surf culture developments in the future. There is certainly a lot more to be understood about Korean surf culture between the details of its origins to the way Koreans may use surfing as a platform for environmental and social activism. In the counterculture there is a budding push for the adoption of more sustainable practices and the indiscriminate use of casual and equal language. Mun provided a key insight into the world of Korean surfing, but her interview is only the tip of the iceberg.
Works Cited
Brown, Bruce, director. Endless Summer. Bruce Brown, 1966.
Engle, John. Surfing in the Movies: A Critical History. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2015.
Finnegan, William. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life. Penguin Publishing Group, 2016.
Kim, Hanbeom, and Sun-Yong Kwon. “Working for a Sustainable Surfing Community: Becoming a Local Surfer at a New Home Destination.” Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 17, MDPI AG, 2020, p. 6865–, https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176865.
Kohner, Frederick. Gidget. Berkley Books, 2001.
Jung, Da Woon, creator. At Work Today. 2021. Kocowa, https://www.kocowa.com/en_us/season/27798036/at-work-today.
McGill, Bobby. “Riding the Korean Wave - Surfing Culture in Korea.” Branding in Asia Magazine, 21 September 2015, https://www.brandinginasia.com/riding-the-korean-wave-surfing-culture-in-korea/. Accessed 15 May 2022.
OCED. “Employment - Hours worked.” OECD Data, https://data.oecd.org/emp/hours-worked.htm. Accessed 15 May 2022.
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