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Yes! You can surf in Korea and it takes just 4 hours from Seoul. The waves are not amazing but when the conditions are good I have surfed pretty decent waves of 1.5-2 meters.
Jukdo and Ingu are the names of 2 beaches located on the north east coast of South Korea. From 1 to the other it takes just 5 minutes walking.
Jukdo Beach
Accommodation
Hostels
There are many cheap hostels around. I stayed in 3 different ones and I like Surfari the most. It is located just in front of Ingu beach.
The price is 15,000 won per night. There are 2 big dormitories of 10 people, one for men and other for women.
For that price you can’t ask anything more. They offer a decent bed, toilet and shower. Their rental equipment is also good, especially the wetsuits. They have a nice terrace, where you can chill and enjoy a beer after surfing.
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Camping
You can also camp. There are camping areas in front of both beaches. As far as I know, you are free to camp without paying anything.
Camping in Ingu Beach
Surf Rental
There are many places surf rental stores. All accommodations offer surf rentals at similar prices so I guess the most convenient is to rent the equipment in the place that you are staying.
If you are going for a day trip, I would recommend renting the boards at Tayler Surf. The owner is a really nice guy who brought us to the beach by car and picked us up after surfing. He even cooked a Korean pancake and offered us some makgeolli (Korean liqueur) after surfing.
Al the surf rentals changing rooms, showers and they will take care of your stuff while you surf.
Where to eat?
There is a lovely old style restaurant run by very nice old women. They serve pork belly or a spicy dish made of chicken and squid. As most of the restaurants in the countryside, they offer a big variety of high quality and fresh side dishes. The meat is great and the portions are generous.
The restaurant is located in the same street as the bus stop. Check out the picture to find the place:
How to get there
You have to take 2 busses to go to Jukdo from Seoul.
1. Bus to Yang Yang
I guess there are busses from every bus terminal in Seoul. I know 2 routes. It takes about 3 hours from both:
- From Express Bus Terminal
- From Gangbyeon Terminal
2. From Yang Yang to Jukdo
You can take the bus from Yang Yang Bus Termintal, which is exactly in the same place where you get off. It takes 30 minutes.
*The total cost from Seoul is around 20,000 won.
What else?
Between the 2 beaches, there is a small mountain. You can have a nice 30 minutes walk and enjoy a beautiful view.
If you have any questions just write on the comments section! 🙂
Search for accommodation:
Booking.com
9 Comments
Thanks for the info Bruno! How about April/May? What is the average height of waves around that time period?
Hi Nick! Thanks for the message and sorry for the late reply. I’d say if you are lucky you can have some days with 1.2-1.5 meters. Magicseaweed works quite well from my experience.
Hey Bruno! First off, big thanks for all the info above! I’m headed to Seoul next week and wanted to escape to Jukdo for a day or two. If you wouldn’t mind answering the following questions it would be really great 🙂
– Do you know what variety of boards are up for rent? Or is it only foamies?
– How reliable is magicseaweed for conditions?
Cheers mate!
Hi Paul!
– You have a big variety of boards of all sizes and materials. Some shops might not rent short boards, they do in Tayler Surf.
– From my experience it is quite accurate, I also use magicseaweed. I think if you call to some guesthouse before booking they might have a better forecast.
Hope this helps! Thanks for your comment
Genial post, muchas gracias Bruno!
Hey Bruno, thanks so much for the info. Am definitely going to try and definitely going to get the booties and hoodie! Hope you catch some waves yourself wherever you are! Cheers, Jeremy
Hi, am coming to Korea on work and wluld love to squeeze in a surf over Easter. What are the conditions, crowds and water temp likely to be like at the end of March? Are the rental suits good enough? With thanks, Jeremy
Hi Jeremy! You might be able to catch some good waves in March if you are lucky. You can check the forecast and the water temperature here https://magicseaweed.com/Jukdo-Surf-Report/4543/. During summer the beach is packed but in March the people won’t be a problem. If the surf is good, there will be some guys out there but it would be fine. The rental suits are very good and you can rent boots, gloves and hoods if you need them (probably you need boots in March). I hope you have good luck and you can catch some nice waves in Korea.
Thanks for this article! Came across this because I am itching to go surfing soon…wondering what it’s like this time of the year. ? Hoping I could get some good waves