The World Surf League has announced it will hold its first event in South Korea. The inaugural Siheung Korea Open will be held at the Siheung Wave Park from November 17 through 19, 2023. The open will have both Qualifying Series (QS) 3,000 and Longboard Qualifying Series (LQS) 1,000 events, in which competitors will attempt to qualify for the 2024 Challenger Series and World Longboard Tour.
“Surfing’s popularity is rising in South Korea, and we’re looking forward to seeing the response this event will get from fans around the country and to give opportunities to the emerging talent from the region,” said WSL Senior Manager Global Development Tours, Will Hayden-Smith. “Having both Qualifying Series and Longboard Qualifying Series events will ensure great participation, and running the event at the Siheung Wave Park will give our surfers from the Asia region their first opportunity to compete in a wave system. It’s going to be a fantastic event and the start of something really special in this part of the world.”
In addition to being the first Korean WSL event, the Siheung Korea Open will also be the first Asia regional event to take place in a wave pool. This was made possible by the WSL’s decision in November 2022 to sanction wave pool-based events for the Pro Junior, Qualifying Series, and Longboard tiers at the regional level.
The event will be broadcast live on Korea’s largest network TV stations, MBC and OBS, for 3 hours on each day of the competition. Additionally, the contest can be seen live on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL’s YouTube channel, and the WSL app.
