Songjeong Beach in Busan is the place the official city tourism site calls the starting point of surfing in Korea. If you have never stood on a board, this is one of the beaches where beginners go. This guide collects what the official sources say about lessons, shows you how to reach the beach, and lists the things we could not confirm, including prices.
We checked every source on 2 October 2026. Our sources are Visit Busan, the city’s official tourism site, and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). We did not take a lesson ourselves, so nothing here is a review.
Why Songjeong Is Used for Learning
Visit Busan, the city’s official tourism site, says the sea at Songjeong is not too deep and has endless waves, which it calls optimal for a surfing lesson. It says the beach sits where the East Sea meets the South Sea, so northern and southern winds create what it calls an ideal high tide all year. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) says the beach is 1.2 kilometers long, with a gentle slope and shallow water.
Visit Busan says the shallow water suits beginners and that surfing continues all year. It also names Dadaepo, Gwangalli and Haeundae as other surfing beaches in Busan, and says Songjeong is the most loved by surfers. That last point is the site’s opinion, and we have not measured it.
What a Beginner Lesson Looks Like
Visit Busan describes a typical first lesson on its surfing page. It is a general description of surf schools on this beach, not a booking offer from one named school.
- You start indoors, where the school gives warm-up exercises and basic surfing techniques.
- You then go to the beach to practice the basic standing posture, or to practice yoga on the board.
- After the basic education, which Visit Busan says takes two to three hours, you go out into the sea.
Visit Busan is candid about the learning curve. It says it is not easy to keep your balance at first, and that you may feel like a baby learning to walk. It adds that the more you try, the easier it gets. It also says that compared with other marine leisure sports, surfing is easy and cheaper to experience. We have no prices to check that against, so treat it as the site’s own view.
A School With a Long History
KTO’s listing for Songjeong Surf School (송정서핑학교) says it opened in 1995 as the first surf school on Songjeong Beach. KTO says the school has produced instructors, athletes and young surfers, and that its aim is for students to catch waves on their own, without an instructor’s help, instead of paddling around until the lesson ends.
The listing gives the address as 34-8 Songjeonghaebyeon-ro, Haeundae-gu. In a straight line, that is about 0.4 kilometers from the middle of the beach (our estimate from the listing coordinates). We did not find opening hours, prices, languages spoken or a booking method in KTO’s listing, so we do not say whether it takes walk-ins.
Visit Busan says many surf schools line the beach, so the school above is one of several. Our sources do not rank them and we do not either.
Prices, Rentals and Booking
Visit Busan’s page says surfing lessons and equipment rental differ by time. The page gives no figures. The inquiry number on the page is +82-51-749-5800, the same number Visit Busan gives for the Songjeong Tourist Information Center, and the page lists a Haeundae District website, sunnfun.haeundae.go.kr. We did not open that site’s booking pages, so we cannot say what it offers.
If you want to compare, ask each school three things: the price and what it includes, how long the lesson lasts, and whether it provides a wetsuit. Those questions are our advice, not sourced facts.
Getting There
Visit Busan gives these routes to the beach:
- Donghae Line: Songjeong Station (송정역), then a walk. The surfing page says 20 minutes and the beach page says 17 minutes, so allow 17 to 20.
- Bus 185: Visit Busan’s surfing page lists the intra-city bus 185, then a 3-minute walk from the entrance to Gwangeogol (광어골), the restaurant street at the end of the beach.
- Metro and bus: Busan Metro Line 2 to Haeundae Station (해운대역), then a bus such as 39, 40 or 63 to the beach entrance, then about 12 minutes on foot.
Visit Busan says the 1-, 3- and 30-day metro passes are not valid on the Donghae Line. Check your card before you board.
Season and Swimming
Visit Busan lists the 2026 swimming season at Songjeong as 26 June to 31 August. Surf schools are not the same as the swimming season, and Visit Busan says surfing is a year-round activity here. We could not confirm the rules for being in the water outside the official season, or whether schools run lessons every month. Ask the school or the information center before you plan around a date.
Visit Busan also suggests applying plenty of sunblock before you surf.
First-Timer Tips
These are our suggestions, not sourced facts.
- Bring a change of clothes and a towel, and ask what the school provides.
- Confirm the lesson time and the meeting place a day ahead, in writing if you can.
- Plan to eat after the lesson. Our Songjeong beach guide lists two noodle shops near the beach.
FAQ
Is Songjeong a good beach for beginners? Visit Busan says the shallow water makes it a good spot for beginner surfers.
How long is a first lesson? Visit Busan says basic education takes two to three hours before you go out in the sea. Individual schools may differ.
How much does a lesson cost? We could not find a price in our sources.
Which school should I choose? Our sources do not rank schools. Compare a few.
What We Could Not Confirm
- Lesson prices, rental prices and what they include.
- Whether any school accepts walk-ins or has English-speaking instructors.
- Lesson availability and water conditions in each month.
- Swimming rules outside the official 2026 season.
- The content of the Haeundae District website listed by Visit Busan.
Related guides
- Songjeong Beach and Jukdo Park Guide
- Busan’s Beaches: A Visitor’s Guide
- Rainy-Day Ideas in Busan
- Busan Metro for Visitors
We post short first-timer guides on Instagram too: @rolo.koreaguide.
Sources
Checked on 2 Oct 2026.
- Korea Tourism Organization, TourAPI (Korean service): Songjeong Surf School (content ID 2784112) and Songjeong Beach (126080). Photographs from 126080 (KOGL Type 1), used unaltered. The photographs show the beach, not a surf school.
- Visit Busan (official Busan tourism site), “The starting point of Korea’s surfing, Busan Surfing!”: https://www.visitbusan.net/index.do?menuCd=DOM_000000302008001000&uc_seq=338&lang_cd=en ; Songjeong Beach: https://www.visitbusan.net/en/index.do?menuCd=DOM_000000301001001000&uc_seq=280&lang_cd=en ; 2026 beach opening schedule: https://visitbusan.net/index.do?lang_cd=en&menuCd=DOM_000000302002001000&uc_seq=2787 .
- Distances: straight-line calculations from the KTO listing coordinates, not walking routes.
