Could a new surf expedition, run in conjunction with the North Korea tourist board, help introduce the sport to the country?

On 13 September, North Korea will join the ranks of the world’s surfing destinations when 20 tourists (mostly advanced surfers from the US, plus people from Italy and Germany) as well as locals will embark on the first North Korea Surf Camp and Expedition on the beaches of Sijung and Hamhŭng on the country’s east coast. The week-long camp will be led by Nicola Zanella, Italian surfer and Chinese national surfing team coach, and Andrea Lee, chief executive of US travel company Uri Tours.

The trip has obtained permission from the North Korean government, thanks mostly to connections Uri Tours has developed with the country’s tourism board.

“We will not be the first to go surging surf in North Korea – a group already surfed last year with some locals,” says Zanella. “But no one has yet done it with the intention of opening the country to surfing tourism – or to do surfing reconnaissance.”

By “surfing reconnaissance,” he means that in order to determine which areas might be best suited to beginner and intermediate surfers, the surf camp will study the country’s coastline in depth, analysing the beaches and the seabed, pinpointing potential evacuation points and estimating which kinds of weather produce ideal surf conditions, and where. The study is integral for developing the country’s surf tourism; that it’s being done by foreigners is highly unusual for hermetic North Korea.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The week-long North Korea camp will be led by Nicola Zanella. Photograph: Emiliano Mazzoni

From research Zanella has done with Google Maps, he thinks the areas of Sijung and Hamhŭng, each a bumpy, six-hour drive north-east from Pyongyang, might be perfect for surfing. “It looks like there are wild forests that lead to pink- or yellow-sand bays,” he says. “It is promising for surfing, as the cliffs protect the bay from wind coming off the ocean, but at the same time leaves the bay completely exposed to coastal storms.”

The camp is being held in September because Zanella hopes to benefit from wind and waves from the north-east and east, possibly from a monsoon that could blow from Japan.

Aside from surfing lessons, a bonfire and dinner on the beach, the $2,750 trip will offer participants a ride on Pyongyang’s metro, a visit to the demilitarised zone and – as required on any tour of the country – bowing before the statues of former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Flights to and from Shanghai, where the group will meet, are not included; the flight to Pyongyang is with Air Koryo (recently named worst airline in the world, for the fourth year running), and accommodation is in three- and four-star hotels in Pyongyang, Sijung and Hamhŭng. Local guides will escort the surfers for the entire trip.

As to the ethical issues of travelling in North Korea, Lee of Uri Tours says: “We wrestle with ethical issues every day in our business, but ultimately we believe in what we do. Tourism does benefit the local economy in North Korea: it creates jobs and opportunities for a wide spectrum of people.”

There have already have been discussions about the possibility of another camp in 2016. For now, though, the programme’s future is not yet scheduled.

“I would be lying if I said that surfing will become a rapidly growing market in North Korea,” Zanella says. “I imagine the first step will be a surf school with professional surf instructors teaching locals. If they need help with that, I would be there to help them.”

As for the big question of why go surfing in North Korea at all, Zanella doesn’t hesitate: “Surfing is not just an American or a Hawaiian sport. It is a human right. I think that North Korea deserves it as much as other countries.”