TJE 30: Enjoying the Rivers of Korea

Feb 9, 2015

Hurray to another travel video! I’ve been trying to finish travelogues while the internet connection is still super fast. (More on that later.)

For the past 3 summers, in 2012 – 2014, I was occasionally wake boarding in the rivers of South Korea. Thanks to one friend, I got to retry this sport and really learned how to do it! Retry? Well, I did quite badly trying it in the Philippines. Not just in 2009 at Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC) in Naga, Camarines, Sur, as shown in the video. There was one other wake park in the country at the time: Lago de Oro in Calatagan, Batangas. I tried it earlier, in June 2008, and sucked. So eventually learning it properly a few years later was to me, overcoming a setback.

Water sports can be done in Hangang (Han River) that cuts across the mega city which is Seoul. Also, when you travel 1-2 hours upstream, in the Gyeonggi-do (Province), you can enjoy the sports with better views. The county of Gapyeong is a popular spot. I first tried it in Yangsu-ri, also in Gyeonggi-do, but nearer Seoul. Later, my friend changed to a better, but farther location: in Cheongpyeong Lake. It’s actually just an enlarged part of the river. Another alternative is Daesong-ri, which is a bit farther than Yangsu-ri, but nearer compared to Cheongpyeong Lake.

As I mentioned in the video, for some reason I have not seen any foreigner, save for those included in our party, do it. So, I’m wondering whether it’s just not popular to the foreign population in Korea, or just little-known. If you are traveling to Korea or are a foreign resident, I really recommend trying water sports in the rivers. If you don’t want to learn them though, you can have fun with banana boat, fly fish, and other similar ‘games.’