Surfers confused by Korean laws

By John Redmond

When one thinks of the sport of surfing, for most people, the image is of hot sunny beaches and crystal clear waters with sparkling knee-high waves and gentle white foam being ridden by bronzed youths.

For the most part, this image is typical of an average summer holiday at the beach. But, for the more dedicated surfer, the search for the perfect wave becomes a bit more of a challenge and often involves venturing into dangerous conditions. Conditions such as typhoons, known for generating big swells.

Korea has a notorious typhoon season that destroys parts of the nation, leaving people dead and homeless in its wake. Weather conditions not to be messed around with.

For this reason the sea police and 119 regularly issue public bans for people entering the water at many popular beaches, such as Haeundae Beach in Busan.

Recently the host of an international surfing competition, the international heats of the event had to be called off due to a ban issued by the sea police, even though there was no typhoon warning.

With no communication between organizers Korean Surfing Association (KSA) and police, people began to ask questions.

Cheryl Kim of the KSA explained the situation as best she could.

"Whether surfers are allowed in the water is up to the sea police,” she said in an interview with The Korea Times.

“The current rule is that if there is a typhoon warning, surfers are not allowed in the water. If there is a high surf warning they can go in, but they must register with sea police headquarters for the beach they will surf at. If they change beaches they must re-register.

“Yachting also has a lot of trouble as the boats aren't allowed out if the wind is gusting over 35 knots. Korea has a very conservative approach to marine sports, not just surfing.”

Commenting on the cost to the marine sport industry, she said a lot of it comes from liability laws.

“In the end it just ends up hurting the whole marine sport industry and the potential for tourism ... especially since the beaches are closed to most marine sports during high season in the summer and it's still technically illegal to be in the water when it is not beach season. Most of the problem comes from the liability laws here, which are different from other countries. If someone gets injured, lawsuits can be launched against the government, sea police, 119 and anyone else responsible for the area, which is why the 119 guys are so strict about the swimming lines and people staying out of the water after 6 p.m. There's no 'at your own risk' here."

Other areas are also subject to the same laws.

Melvin Palmiano, a local surf shop manager in Gangwon Province, surfs at Gangneung Beach and has a similar response.

“I tried going out for a dawn session and even before I could make it into the water, there was someone who told me the beach was closed. There were overhead sets and no wind. We've had bigger days and it was okay for us to get into the water. I know it wasn't his fault. Just following orders from the chain of command,” Palmiano said in an email.

With many Koreans travelling to places like Australia _ as a cheaper alternative to America _ to further their English skills, exposure and participation to surfing naturally led to the sport being imported to Korea.

Many, however, state the strict marine laws are limiting the growth of the sport and the marine leisure industry. Palmiano believes that typhoons need to be categorized in a different manner.

“Something needs to be done in terms of categorizing or educating the higher ups about typhoons. Not all typhoons have the same strength.”