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Fines imposed for drunk surfing in South Korea

Surfing: riding waves while drunk will be a crime in South Korea from 2025 | Photo: Shutterstock

It's probably a unique, unprecedented decision. Starting in June 2025, surfing while under the influence of alcohol will be officially outlawed in South Korea.

South Korea has around 9,500 miles (15,300 kilometers) of coastline, i.e., around ten times more than Portugal.

Although fairly shadowed by Pacific swells by Japan, it still gets plenty of surf generated in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.

As a result, there are plenty of rideable waves around the Korean Peninsula and even a wave pool in Seoul.

Recently, there have been reports of links between booze and wave-riding that don't necessarily involve the real South Korean surfing community but people who visit Yangyang, a well-known surf town.

Yangyang, home to some of the country's best surf breaks, is becoming a party hotspot and even earning the controversial reputation of a "one-night stand mecca."

Alcohol-fueled nightlife, provocative social media portrayals, and associated activities like "hunting" (seeking casual encounters) have overshadowed its once vibrant surf culture.

Consequently, the degradation of the town's essence is deterring genuine surfers and tourists, harming the local economy and displacing its original identity.

A Growing Number of Accidents

Coincidently, or maybe not, the Korean Coast Guard announced that amendments to the law governing water-related recreational activities will take effect on June 21, 2025.

These changes will extend the ban on riding watercraft drunk to include non-motorized equipment like surfboards and kayaks, in addition to the current restriction on motorized vehicles like jet skis.

Under the updated regulations, individuals caught operating a surfboard while intoxicated - defined as having a blood alcohol level of 0.03 percent or higher - could face fines of up to one million won ($685).

Similarly, those who refuse to undergo alcohol testing will also face the same penalty.

The revised law was introduced in response to a growing number of accidents involving alcohol-impaired wave riders, according to the Korean Coast Guard.

"With the revision of the law, we will continue to identify unreasonable rules with regard to public safety and strengthen penalties realistically," said Kim Jong-wook, head of the local Coast Guard.

Pull Over, Surfer

Surfing drunk has never been a statistically relevant issue anywhere in the world, and it's actually a surprisingly odd and unusual association.

Nevertheless, the South Korean authorities believe that consuming alcohol before engaging in activities like surfing or kayaking heightens the risk of accidents by impairing sensory perception, judgment, and reaction speed.

While it's true that surfboards could be dangerous weapons that can cause harm and injury, it might be hard for someone who is drunk to catch a wave and then hit another person.

However, there should be a good reason or relevant figures that were not disclosed for surfers to be targets of alcohol tests. Is night surfing at Yangyang a problem?

One question arises, though: based on which criteria will authorities pick individuals in a lineup or at the beach for checking drinking abuse levels?

Logistically, it could become an impractical nightmare.


Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com



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