Trip review: Wave Park Siheung South-Korea
Kimchi, K-pop, Instant noodles, neon-lit streets and…perfect waves. Welcome to South Korea!
T-man headed to Seoul to give the world's smallest wavepool ( Read the Rif010 review here ) a good going over to the world's largest commercial wavegarden (Wave Park). Should you start packing your boardbag and booking plane tickets right away? You'll find out in this review.
Where is the 'largest' commercial Wavegarden located?
The Wavegarden is located on Turtle Island in Siheung. That is a city just outside Seoul that until recently was mainly known for… well, not that much. Siheung is about an hour’s drive from the capital of South Korea and the Wave Garden, or Wave Park, because that is the official name, is part of a new waterfront development of 167,000 m². It is also the largest Wavegarden ever built!
How to get to Wave Park South Korea?
To get there, fly to Incheon International Airport, from where it's another 30 minutes' drive to Wave Park. This can easily be done by taxi. If you're staying in downtown Seoul, expect a two-hour subway journey. Luckily, Seoul's subway system is one of the best in the world, and you can take your surfboard on board. Note that if you're lugging around a triple boardbag full of longboards, it's best to avoid peak hours.
From Seoul, it is best to take the subway to Jeongwang. Cover the last six kilometers to Wave Park with a taxi. Taxi drivers often wait at the exit of the station, and for a meager 2.5 euros you will be dropped off right at the door. Make sure you have a screenshot of the location at hand, because English is still a challenge here.
Returning to Seoul after your surf session is a lot more challenging. There are no taxis waiting at the exit of Wave Park, and the bus drivers I tried to approach didn't speak English either. You can book a taxi in South Korea via the NAVER app, but it cheerfully indicated that there were no available taxis in the area, even though there were a few driving around here and there. So just wave and whistle conspicuously and try to score a taxi back that way.
Tips for check-in
The whole process feels more like entering a high-tech laboratory than a surf spot. It is best to book your session in advance via the Wave Park website, which is also somewhat in English and fairly user-friendly. Please note: paying with a credit card can sometimes be difficult; make sure you have a card that works well internationally. There are two sessions per day for intermediate and advanced levels; the advanced session is the first and last of the day. It is best to just book 1 session. Rebooking on site after your first surf session is a lot cheaper. I rented a board and wetsuit on site for 17 euros. You can pay for that there with a credit card. It didn't work for me, so always bring cash!
After checking in (you do this with your confirmation email, so make sure to keep it handy) you will be assigned one of the 1000 lockers and you will immediately pass the wetsuit area. There you can change and leave all your stuff. There are also showers around the corner. These showers are one big open space. There you will immediately discover that South Koreans are not really prudish. You better take your wallet and towel upstairs, because the distance from the wave pool to the lockers is quite a distance. You will also only find the board rental on the shore of the wave pool.
Quiver galore
South Korea isn’t exactly a premium surfing destination, so I didn’t take any boards on the plane. Instead, I took a chance on Wave Park’s rental quiver, and it was more than fine. They only rent PUKAS and Indio boards, in almost all different sizes and lengths. I opted for a Pukas 69’er evo in 6.2, and that was absolutely the right choice. The wetsuits, unlike the boards, are of a slightly lower quality. They are the typical O’Neill ‘rental suits’ and I found the 3/2 I rented a bit on the cold side. You can also rent a 4/3, but since no one spoke English, that’s a detail I only discovered when checking out.
Crowds @ Wave Park
Wavepools attract surfers all over the world, and South Korea is no exception. During the summer months (July and August) it can get pretty crowded, but off-season – think spring or fall – you’ll have considerably more space. I was there in October, and although the water temperature had dropped considerably, it was definitely worth it.
Facilities and relaxation
On the grounds of Wave Park, so after check in, you can also indulge yourself in culinary delights. There is a coffee bar, because that is a thing in South Korea, and a restaurant with burgers and more fast food. You can pay with your credit card everywhere.
The waves
Wave Park uses the COVE technology of Wavegarden and you notice that immediately when you are surfing. The shape and structure of the wave is exactly the same as the one in Bristol or Zurich, with the only difference being the height and length. It is immediately the largest Wavegarden in the world, and you notice that immediately at the take-off. It takes some getting used to at first. You take off in a corner at the back, mashed between a concrete wall and a kind of open shelter from which the wavegarden generates the waves. The version in Korea uses no less than 56 wave modules and that immediately creates a lot of swell in the corner at the back. The take-off is steep and quite technical in the advanced setting and a bit comparable to a late take-off on a reef break. Paddling in early is not possible here and it doesn't really take getting used to it either, but once you have taken off you immediately see how big the wave can become. Wave Park can generate up to 1000 waves per hour and during a session of one hour you can easily catch 25 waves. So you never really sit still. During the session the wave also changes shape, starting with an easier variant and then switching to a more overgrown barreling version of almost 2 meters after 20 minutes with enough space for my entire (limited) arsenal of maneuvers. Of course you can also opt for the beginner and intermediate sessions and you can also book surfing lessons. Here you have to take into account a challenging language barrier…
Practical information about Wave Park South Korea
- There are daily flights from Brussels to Seoul (Incheon International Airport). I chose Lufthansa and paid just under 600 euros.
- A visit to Wave Park is best combined with a stay in Seoul (and a tour of South Korea). Seoul, and by extension South Korea is definitely worth it!
- An Advanced session for Wave Park costs 80 dollars and lasts one hour. You can book a cheaper option on the day itself. Intermediate and beginner sessions can be booked for 60 dollars.
- You need an international credit card. I used a Mastercard but still had some problems. Make sure you always have cash on hand.
- Google doesn't really work very well in South Korea. So definitely download the Naver app in advance (that's the Korean version of Google maps).
- Buy a data SIM card upon arrival (at the airport). This way you can still help yourself everywhere, because navigating South Korea without internet is quite a challenge.
- I chose not to bring my own boards and wetsuit and that turned out to be the right choice.
- With the metro from Seoul, you best choose the stop 'Jeongwang', which you can best reach with the blue line. PLEASE NOTE, avoid the yellow line because it causes an extra travel time of no less than 30 minutes.
The Wave Park South Korea website: