There are 1.2 million surfing people in Korea...Safety Accident Warning

[Anchor]
The number of people who enjoy surfing throughout the four seasons has increased rapidly, and the domestic surfing population has exceeded 1.2 million.

However, as the surfing population increases, safety accidents are also increasing, so caution is needed.

Reporter Song Se-hyuk reports.

[Reporter]
Jukdo Beach in Yangyang, which is considered a popular surfing spot.

Surfers slide on the surface of the water in waves.

It is easy to think of surfing as a sport that is only enjoyed in summer, but if there is a wave, you can always enjoy it in a surf suit.

Since its adoption as an official Olympic event in 2021, the number of domestic surfing populations has soared from 400,000 five years ago to 1.2 million.

[Lee Ji-hyang / Bokdae-dong, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do: Surfing is an extreme sport, so the speed was really good when you climbed the waves once. It's fun....]

As the surfing population increases, safety accidents are also increasing.

Over the past seven years, 821 patients have visited the emergency room of Gangneung Asan Hospital, with an average of 117 annually.

When looking at the type of injury, the most common lacerations occurred when the skin was torn by hitting the board, followed by bruises, sprains, and fractures.

Last year, a 30-year-old surfing man was killed in a sudden lightning accident on Yangyang Beach, and five people were injured.

[Heo Seok-jin / Professor of emergency medicine at Gangneung Asan Hospital: Wash the wounded area with clean water and if you have clean gauze, you'd better stop it with gauze or a towel before coming to the hospital.]

Experts stress that it is important to receive sufficient pre-training and choose waves that match your skills to prevent accidents.

In addition, if you hear thunder within 30 seconds of lightning, you should immediately evacuate to a safe place and follow the "30-30 Lightning Accident Safety Rules" for 30 minutes after the last thunder.

I'm YTN's Song Sehyuk.

Filmmaker: Kim Dong-cheol
Design: Park Yoo-dong