As the airplane took off, Hong Hyun-sook, a middle-aged skydiving student, had butterflies in her stomach. She reminded herself of her instructions and checked her equipment over and over again.

Finally, the door opened and she became more nervous. She had brief second thoughts, asking herself, “Why am I doing this?”

Moving up to the door to jump, she gave in, telling herself she had no choice. Then she hurled herself into the sky with her eyes clamped shut.

“At that moment, I didn’t think,” Hong recalled. “I didn’t remember what I was doing or whether I was doing a good job.”

After opening her eyes, she felt awesome.

“It was marvelous to be airborne looking down at clouds and the landscape on the ground.”

About 10,000 feet from the ground, her instructor radioed her to get ready for landing. She became restless again but deployed her parachute as she was trained, and landed successfully.

“Phew, I am alive.”

She breathed a sigh of relief and then was overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment, followed by the desire for another try.

“Skydiving has a fear factor but a thrill factor as well. I am fascinated by the latter, which outweighs fear. Skydiving has become a bit addictive,” she said. “It was my eighth jump.”

Hong told The Korea Herald that she used to watch her soldier friends skydive over Misari in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, before her maiden jump in Australia in 2009. It was a tandem jump, in which an inexperienced skydiver is connected to an instructor.

This year, after years of hiatus, she took formal lessons and made her first solo jump on May 4.

When it comes to skydiving, Koreans normally associate it with paratroopers of special warfare units. However, Hong is a 43-year-old housewife who’s never been to the military.

Still, skydiving is not for the faint-hearted. In Korea, it is mostly enjoyed by men. Hong says that she normally sees just one or two women skydive.

Extreme sports, also called action sports or adventure sports, emerged in the United Sates in the 1970s among urban youth. In 1993, they gained a degree of legitimacy when ESPN, a sports-focused American television network, held the first Extreme Games. 

In Korea, extreme sports caught on in the late 1990s. Skateboard ramps were introduced to the public at Seoul’s Olympic Park in November 1999.

The term “extreme sport” has been used to describe a multitude of different activities. So, which sports are considered “extreme” is debatable.

“The definition of an extreme sport is not exact. It is called many different terms and its boundary with non-extreme sports is blurry,” said Ahn Hyun-kyun, professor at the Center for Liberal Arts Education of Sogang University. “Generally speaking, extreme sports refer to challenging feats that require athletes to overcome physical and mental limitations in extreme settings.”

Extreme sports are enjoyed individually by different clubs, so it is difficult to tell which sports are more popular or which are not. In Korea, mountain biking and sports climbing are relatively well known and popular, followed by skateboarding, according to Ahn.

The nation’s population of those who enjoy the adrenalin rush of extreme sports seems to be increasing.

For instance, there are more than 1,600 registered clubs of mountain bikers who descend rugged, narrow mountain trails, according to the website of the Korea Mountain Bike Federation. If unregistered riders are added, the number of mountain bikers will be significantly higher.

Wakeboarding, an aquatic sport which involves riding a board on water, is another extreme sport recently popularized. One can try wakeboarding on the Hangang River for 20,000 won. Beginners can learn to wakeboard for 70,000 won a lesson.

Not only the Hangang River but also some public parks in the capital, such as Boramae, Ttukseom and other Seoul parks, have become a playground for those who do tricks or stunts with inline skates or climb artificial rocks.

Some extreme sports have been either introduced to the public or further popularized by television celebrities rather than athletic events. Two years ago, interest in indoor rock climbing grew explosively, thanks to a scene in the television series “Secret Garden,” which showed a couple enjoying the sport.

More recently, Taemin, a member of boy band SHINee, was seen on TV riding a jet ski with actress Son Na-eun in the entertainment program “We Got Married.” Comedian Kim Byung-man even learned how to skydive at Seoul Skydiving School to prepare for a reality survival show.

Recently, extreme sports in the nation have begun to attract corporate sponsors, though they are still few in number. Red Bull, an Austrian beverage company which sells energy drinks in over 160 countries, has sponsored extreme as well as recreational sporting events. Sponsored by Red Bull, skydiver Felix Baumgartner showed the epitome of extreme sports with a high-profile jump off a helium balloon in the stratosphere. Korea’s Kia Motors also sponsors an extreme motor sports contest.

By nature, extreme sports are potentially deadly. Red Bull has faced scathing criticism over the deaths of some of its sponsored stuntmen. Thirty-eight-year-old Guido Gehrmann lost his life when his small jet crashed during a stunt for the beverage company on May 1. Three others hired by Red Bull died in 2009 while performing extreme stunts.

But enthusiasts who enjoy the thrill of pushing the envelope further do not seem to be worried about potential accidents. They say that safety concerns are exaggerated.

“Mountain biking is an extreme sport, but it’s less dangerous than traditional biking if you take necessary precautions and stick to instructions,” said Yang Tae-yong, a veteran mountain biker. At 49, he is energetic. He enjoys riding his mountain bike, leads a club named KayaMTB, and also sits on a committee of the Korea Off Road Bike Association.

The sport’s relative safety notwithstanding, beginners should receive proper training and safety education from experienced professionals, he added. It is crucial to evaluate one’s ability accurately and choose a route that one can manage.

“In my club, seasoned riders take a longer route and ride at a higher speed, while beginners take a shorter trail and go more slowly. By doing so, the two groups get together near the finishing line,” Yang said.

Riding in groups is important as well for mountain bikers, because when a solitary rider gets injured on a mountain, it can be very difficult for him to get help.

Preventive safety measures cannot be overemphasized for wakeboarding either.

“It is not novices who get hurt frequently. Experienced riders get injured, too. They are injured while doing overly difficult tricks,” said Choi Chang-rok, president of wakeboard club, D. Island. He advises wakeboarders to warm up sufficiently to avoid accidents.

“Like any other sport, wakeboarding will be safe if you warm up your body in advance and wear proper safety gear.” All wakeboarders are required to put on life jackets.

Housewife skydiver Hong agrees.

“My husband worries about my safety, but I am safe if I follow instructions and also if I am perfectly equipped. People may think of skydiving as dangerous because skydivers jump from a height, but it is not as dangerous as people think.”

No matter how dangerous an extreme sport is, the thrill of pushing one’s mental and physical limit is incomparable for enthusiasts.

“No doubt, skydiving is an extreme sport. Ordinary people may find it too difficult to enjoy,” said Lee Dae-ho, an instructor at the Seoul Skydiving School. “Actually, it is very appealing indeed. Once a person is familiarized with skydiving, he or she will become tired of other activities because they look trivial.”

By Chun Sung-woo and Lee Sang-ju
(swchun@heraldcorp.com) (sjlee370@heraldcorp.com)