Busan man returns from global circumnavigation solo

A Busan man arrived back Tuesday after completing an epic trip around the globe alone.

Yoon Tae-geun took 20-months to complete the round-the-world journey and sailed into Busan port where he had begun the trip.

The 49-year-old yachtsman left for his high seas adventure in October 2009 and sailed about 57,400 kilometers to fulfill his dream.

Yoon is the first Korean solo circumnavigator to begin and end the trip in the country’s biggest port. He sailed into ports in Japan, Taiwan and South Asian countries and passed through the Indian sea, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean and the Atlantic Sea. Then he headed south to the southern tip of South America and crossed the Pacific Sea and reached Busan on an 11.3 meter yacht.

“It was a long journey that seemed to have no end. It was also a very difficult process but now I feel really great about having completed (the circumnavigation solo),” Yoon told Yonhap. The trip was not a non-stop sailing voyage. He visited many cities in 28 countries for supplies of fuel, food and medication and to repair the yacht.

Asked about the most difficult part of the journey, Yoon said it was loneliness that he feared most.

“The first night after I left Busan was the most difficult time for me. I had to sleep while navigating alone,” he said. The father of three sons thought of giving up his personal challenge when hearing from his family that they were pinched for money.

But he continued the trip, enduring the strain by picturing himself reaching Gwangan Bridge in Busan.

“I burst into tears when I got closer to Gwangan Bridge. I almost didn’t sleep the day before I reached Busan.”

The middle-aged man prepared the solo circumnavigation for seven years. There was no book on it translated into Korean to read so he had to learn everything himself. Yacht sailing is not as popular in Korea as it is in some Western countries.

“I had a dream to sail around the world on a boat. The reality told me to give up but the passion led me to here.”

The round-the-globe journey cost him 150 million won ($138,000): 100 million for the yacht and the rest for essentials during the trip, Yoon said.

Greeted by friends and family at Busan port on Tuesday, Yoon said next he wants to go to Alaska and the Antarctic. “But first, I want to deliver this experience of traveling around the world to people who wish to learn at my yacht school in Masan.”

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)