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S. Korean sailor to complete solo, non-stop trip around world this weekend

May 14, 2015

(Courtesy of Facebook)

SEJONG, May 14 (Yonhap) — A nearly unknown South Korean sailor will have successfully completed a solo, non-stop trip around the globe this weekend, becoming the world’s sixth person ever to do so, the government said Thursday.

Kim Seung-jin, 53, is scheduled to arrive at a port in Oemok, some 120 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday after a 41,900-kilometer journey around the world all by himself, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The documentary film producer embarked on his long and possibly hideous journey on his 9-ton non-powered yacht, Arapani, from the Oemok port on Oct. 18, 2014.

A non-stop, non-assisted trip means the sailor and his yacht have never touched ground since they left 208 days ago, during which they were never offered any help, including food or water, the ministry said.

“There have been only five people in the world to have completed a solo, non-stop, non-assisted and non-power trip around the world. South Korean Captain Kim Seung-jin will soon be the sixth person ever to do so,” it said in a press release.

Kim’s achievement comes about a year after a passenger ferry, Sewol, sank off the country’s west coast in one of the worst tragic accidents in the country’s history, killing 306 people.

“Captain Kim wanted his journey to be called a sail of hope in that he wished to share the pain of our people and help them recovery, instead of having his sail recorded as a world record,” the ministry said.

A ceremony is scheduled for Kim’s safe and successful return at the Oemok port on Saturday.