A dog owner and her dog ride the surfboard together during the Surf Doggies competition at Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
Surf's up, pup! For dog owners, few things beat sharing a new adventure with their four-legged companions. And in Yangyang County, Gangwon — widely regarded as Korea’s surfing mecca — that meant hitting the waves together.
The Surf Doggies competition — organized by Keep Surfing, a local content creator that produces surfing videos on YouTube — is now in its third year.
The event combines surfing and pet culture and serves as the main attraction at an annual festival of the same name sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Yangyang County.
“Surfers are always heading out to sea to catch waves, while their dogs have traditionally had to stay home waiting for their owners to return,” Kim A-young, CEO of Keep Surfing, said. “We wanted to introduce people to surfing with their dogs and show that spending time on the waves together can be another way for owners and their pets to bond and have fun.”
Alongside the canine companion competition main event, the festival featured a beach treasure hunt, a talent show and consultations with experts on dog behavior and training.
Once the surfing began, keepers and their pups raced excitedly into the water as teams.
A participant and their dog ride the surfboard during the Surf Doggies event at Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
Three internationally certified surfing judges from the Yangyang Surfing Association evaluated competitors through the preliminary, semifinal and final rounds.
“We’ll be looking primarily at the chemistry between the dog and owner, their timing in catching the waves and how much fun they’re having out there,” said chief judge Cho Jwa-gyeom.
Each team paddled out to the lineup and waited for the right wave.
“Today’s waves are expected to be around shoulder height — by dachshund standards,” the announcer joked as the crowd laughed along.
A woman holds a small dog wearing red sunglasses at Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, during the dog-and-owner surfing festival, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
Some dogs confidently planted their front paws at the nose of the board and rode the waves with impressive balance. Others decided the ocean simply wasn’t for them and quickly jumped overboard.
After a fiercely contested competition, Titi, a 7-year-old Pomeranian, took the crown.
“This was Titi’s first time ever on a surfboard,” Titi’s owner Park Jae-yoon said. “Titi is usually pretty timid, so seeing Titi overcome those waves made me so proud I could cry.”
Dog owners and their pets sit on the sand together during the Surf Doggies competition at Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
A participant and their dog ride a surfboard together during the Surf Doggies event at Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
A participant and his dog wade through the water during the Surf Doggies event at Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
A dog wears a colorful headband during an event in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
Participants hold their dog at the Surf Doggies competition on Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
The dog owners and their pets who finished in the top three pose together during the Surf Doggies competition at Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
Dog owners and their pets pose for a group photo at the Surf Doggies competition on Dongsan Beach in Yangyang County, Gangwon, on Sept. 12.JANG JIN-YOUNG
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative Al tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. AlI Al-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
