“Let’s make it a surfing beach” local creator suggests… The quiet Yangyang Sea, a hot spot brimming with youth.

– Junggwangjeong Beach, which was only open 45 days a year
– The county actively accepted Mr. Park Jun-gyu’s idea.
– Revitalized as a popular beach through word of mouth
– 1.4 million people visited this year… 102 surfer shops
– “You have to create a reason to come to the sea”

Local creators are local developers and entrepreneurs. Local assets that were previously buried are strengthened through the hands of local creators. This will soon become a driving force in attracting foreigners, and new vitality will be created in the local economy. To find examples of such a virtuous cycle, Kukje Newspaper visited Yangyang, Gangwon-do, which was reborn from an unremarkable beach to a ‘mecca for surfing.’

Men in their 20s walking around Surfy Beach in Yangyang. Surfy Beach is a representative local business that made Yangyang a surfing mecca. Yangyang, Gangwon = Reporter Park Ho-geol

Yangyang was not a ‘surfing mecca’ teeming with young people from the beginning. It was one of those unremarkable fishing villages with a population of 27,000, slightly famous for its pine mushrooms and salmon. Although there were beaches where you could enjoy swimming, tourists headed to Sokcho or Gangneung, which had more content than Yangyang.

The person who changed this Yangyang is local creator Park Jun-gyu (pictured), CEO of Surfy Beach. Representative Park, who is from Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do, was an employee of a credit card company and carried out the smart beach project at Haeundae Beach in Busan from 2011 to 2013. He said, “At that time, I lived in Busan and learned how to connect with the sea and the surrounding commercial districts. “Seeing people coming to the beach and spending money gave me a feeling of confidence,” he explained. The experience in Busan led CEO Park to quit his job and become a local creator whose content included the beach.

After resigning from the company, CEO Park settled down at Junggwangjeong Beach in Yangyang. At that time, the beaches of Gangwon-do, including Yangyang, were only used during the 45-day beach opening period per year. However, surfing equipment is classified as life-saving equipment, and the idea was to use surfing to significantly extend the use period of the beach. In particular, Junggwangjeong Beach is a wide, straight beach with shallow water and waves against the sand, making it suitable for surfing.

He visited Yangyang-gun and announced his business plan. Yangyang-gun was also worried about regional disappearance due to population decline, so it actively accepted CEO Park’s idea. However, this is a military border area, so permission had to be obtained from various places, including Yangyang-gun and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Even though Yangyang-gun actively cooperated, saying, ‘We must do anything as long as it is not illegal,’ the entire permitting process took 5 years.

Surfy Beach first opened at Junggwangjeong Beach in 2015. At that time, there was barbed wire so a soldier had to open the door. Through word of mouth, surfers lined up, and a large company held a large party at Surfy Beach. The barbed wire gradually decreased, and the entire fence was demolished in 2022.

The impact of Surfy Beach on Yangyang was profound. Tourists who were going to Sokcho and Gangneung came to Yangyang. According to Surfy Beach’s own count through the KT base station right next door, there were 1.4 million visitors as of August this year. After Surfy Beach, the number of white sand beaches for surfing in Yangyang increased to five. There are now 102 surf shops, where there were none before. If you look at the Hajodae Beach and Surfy Beach commercial areas in this area, there were 10 surf shops and the number of restaurants from 3 has increased to 20. The number of accommodations, including bed and breakfasts, has more than doubled to over 20 places. Representative Park said, “Because it can only be called a local startup if it includes local contributions, we must also let people know how our business helps the region and residents. “Surphy Beach provides residents with a monthly newsletter containing these points,” he explained.

Weight zone in Surfy Beach. Yangyang, Gangwon = Reporter Park Ho-geol

Surfy Beach adds more reasons to come to Yangyang Beach through change. At first, this place only had surfing party umbrellas, but now it operates five weekly contents, including a surfing zone, a chilling zone, a tanning zone, a yoga zone, and a weight zone. Currently, we are planning a beach running event that utilizes the characteristics of the beaches in this area, which are straight beaches.

The source of this change is investment. Surfy Beach employees are given two months of paid vacation per year, and airfare is subsidized if they go to Bali, Indonesia. This is to constantly change by learning the contents of advanced beaches. CEO Park said, “Trends in the world’s oceans change all the time. “By introducing new content, we need to give visitors a reason to visit our beaches,” he emphasized.

CEO Park advised that understanding the region is necessary for local business. He said, “Yangyang alone has 5 myeons and 130 ri. “To expand localism, it is essential to study local resources and turn them into travel resources,” he said. “There is a need to utilize the endless local assets by utilizing travel research institutes and local entrepreneurship education centers.”

※This article was written with support from the Korea Press Foundation’s 2024 KPF Diploma-Local Journalism Course.