South Korea to control alcohol consumption of surfers and kayakers

Due to a large number of accidents, the South Korean authorities will ban surfing or sea kayaking after drinking too much. A fairly severe restriction which can be exercised from one or two glasses of beer.

In South Korea, drinking or surfing, you now have to choose. The authorities recently decided to change the law, which prohibits surfing and kayaking while drunk.

The new law was announced by the coast guard which supervises the smooth running of all nautical activities in the country. And they explained that they were facing an increase in dangerous accidents at the beach, involving people who had too much to drink.

Until now, they only punished drunk people who drove motorized vehicles at sea. It is therefore prohibited in South Korea to ride a jet-ski, take the helm of a sailboat or drive a zodiac if you have alcohol in your blood or if you have taken drugs. But from June 2025, this ban will extend to all surfers as well as kayakers.

The coast guard will therefore be able to start controlling surfers, particularly if their behavior seems dangerous or suspicious. The legal limit to be allowed to stay in the waves will be 0.03%, or 0.3 grams of alcohol per liter of blood. This is exactly the same rule as for driving in the country, which corresponds to a rather strict limit. Many people will reach this threshold by drinking one or two beers.

If you exceed this alcohol level, you risk a fine of up to 1 million won, or 650 euros. In the event of refusal of the coast guard control, you are exposed to the same fine of 650 euros.

This ban does not extend to snowboarding. There is still no law in South Korea limiting alcohol consumption on the slopes. This is actually quite rare in Asia. Japan – which is also very strict with drunk driving – also has no specific law on the subject for activities in the mountains. However, more and more Japanese resorts are developing their own regulations. Many therefore in theory prohibit skiing while intoxicated or after taking medications that could affect your alertness. But since it is not an official text, they have a lot of difficulty enforcing these rules.