article: Starting on Sunday, an eight-day surfing safari will take a group of tourists into North Korea to experience its remote, sandy beaches. The expedition, led by Italian champion surfer Nicola Zanella who also coaches China's national surf team, will explore, map and evaluate surf spots along the east coast. But what kind of experience will it really be to surf in the hermit kingdom? A potentially "dangerous one", according to North Korean expert and former Associated Press Pyongyang bureau chief Jean Lee in Washington DC. "The country does have some beautiful, white sandy beaches along its east coast but I can't think of a place that is more antithetical to surfing's 'hang loose' culture." Mr Zanella, who lives in China's island province of Hainan, will be visiting North Korea for the first time. "There are many reasons to surf in North Korea. Waves are empty, un-surfed and they break on pristine beaches where few foreigners have set foot," he said. He also told the BBC that the tour aims to educate young North Koreans on water safety and will help build "a solid local surf culture". The surf tour has received "official approval from the North Korean government" and will kick off in the capital, Pyongyang, according to Andrea Lee, tour group organiser of the US-based Uri Tours which regularly takes groups to the North. Surfers will be taken to several prominent monuments to pay respects to late leaders Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung as part of "official protocol", she explained, before the sport begins. "We are always looking to diversify our tour offerings to give travellers unique ways to experience North Korea. We are also big proponents of sports tourism; our past tours included skiing and running in the Pyongyang Marathon and that allowed our tourists the greatest interaction with locals." She also told the BBC the response so far had been "overwhelming and encouraging". "We've been contacted by surfers from all over the world who want to join the tour so we already have a pretty diverse group of all skill levels." The heavily patrolled waters of North Korea's east coast lie between the seas of Japan and Russia. Satellite images show the remote coastal communities of Sijung and Hamhung, both dotted by outlying islands and boasting clear blue seas. But according to Jean Lee, North Korean waters wouldn't deliver any "promising surf". "I've gone swimming at Majon beach and have been to Sijung; this isn't big surf. The waves are pretty flat this time of year." She also said that while some North Koreans love going to the beach, she has never seen a surfer. "Most of the people I met at the public beaches were factory workers or farmers who were visiting for the day. There are fisherman working along the coast too, but they don't live at the beach," she said. "Korea may be a peninsula but watersports isn't part of tradition. But if North Korea wants surfers, they'll certainly assign that challenge to their young athletes so that they're catching waves by September." North Korea has
summary: Forget Namibia, Antarctica or even England's Severn Estuary; is North Korea about to become one of the world's most unusual surf destinations?