Dragon Boating in Seoul

Well, it's my third post of the day; a record. This may be the only one that directly relates to Korea, although it's still not a Gangwon post. I'm in my classroom at the Minjok camp and listening to BUGS music - a horse with no name. The Nomad encouraged this bit of nostalgia.

Anyway, I found an article in the Herald about dragon boating in Seoul. I have never tried dragon boating but I have raced sprint canoes in Canada. I am even trained (perhaps not well) as a cox for war canoe (a 15 man canoe) and any kind of canoeing is interesting to me. I am sure I would have a lot to learn about dragon boating but I will try to find the place on my next weekend Seoul trip.

The article discusses the importance of being in stroke; of having all the paddles pull at the same time. This is an important point and one that many Gangwon canoe racers seem to miss. It's more than a little amusing to see them chanting, "hana, dul, set, net" in unison while stroking in any old order.

It does not describe where to find the dragon boats nor whether walk-ins can try it.

I found on a real estate site a lot of info for ex-pats in Seoul, including dragonboat contact details and the location. Apparently, it costs 5,000won as a way to break even for the club.

The big question is why the article harps on the ex-pat angle. I know not that many Koreans are into watersports but the article would have you think Koreans are unwelcome.