This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A professional surfer who coaches the Chinese national surf team, and a tourism agency in New Jersey, Uri Tours, plan a surfing expedition and training camp in North Korea in September, touting its pristine beaches, virgin waves and potential to become an international wave-riding destination.

Nik Zanella, an Italian who coaches Chinese surfers and is a representative of the International Surfing Association, said the decision to hold the surfing camp for a small group of North Koreans and foreign tourists along the east coast came after a year of studying the area to assess wave and weather conditions.

“The DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] will not become the next Malibu but it receives enough swells to sustain a vast surf community,” said Zanella.

“Our goal is to evaluate the resources and make them available to local surfers in a sustainable and safe way. We are not there to simply go surf, brag about it and then bail.”

The expedition has been approved by the North Korean government, which is eager to boost its small but developing tourism sector.

Andrea Lee, the head of Uri Tours, which is organising the excursion, said it would be used to map out the coastline for prime surfing locations, take risk assessments and develop evacuation and safety plans.

Though most North Koreans do not have the means or leisure time to devote to recreational hobbies, the government was keen to get the mapping data and to draw tourists.

“We want to open the DPRK as a surfing destination on a larger scale,” she said. “The hope is to create a foundation and to pave the way for future surfers.”