About 70 percent of Korea’s territory is mountainous. Its capital city, Seoul, is surrounded by mountains, including Bukhansan, Gwanaksan, Inwangsan, Buaksan and Dobongsan. Ranging from short, simple walks to rock climbing with the necessary equipment, these mountains offer hiking trails of various levels of difficulty so that people can choose a route suitable to their individual level.
On weekends, many Koreans gear up in their hiking clothes and head to the mountains to remove the stress of their daily routines. They enjoy not only clean air and a great view, but also the sharing of food with others they meet on the trail and the pleasure of a sauna after descending the mountain.
Koreans’ love of hiking was recently reported upon in the Washington Post. Writer Chico Harlan focused on the popularity of hiking among Koreans in his article, “In South Korea, hiking has become almost a national identity,” published on July 28, dubbing Koreans as ”weekend warriors” whose sport of choice is hiking.
Quoting a Korean who said hiking is, “almost like an addiction,” the reporter said, “In a typical month, about 1 in 3 Koreans go hiking more than once. The mountainous national park north of Seoul attracts more visitors annually than the Grand Canyon.”
The writer compared Koreans’ passion for the mountains with the, "American veneration for the open spaces of the West." The article explained the background behind the rising popularity of hiking, mentioning the geographic characteristics of Korea: the nation has a large proportion of mountainous areas. Other reasons are the increasing amount of leisure time people have, due to the introduction of a 5-day work week, Koreans' approach to hiking as being just one more object of competition between each other and, finally, their conception of mountains as a place to experience a sense of community by sharing food and doing similar activities together.
The Post reporter introduced the case of Kim Yong-won, a guide who leads weekend groups in Odaesan National Park. Recently, Kim led a group of hikers through the mountains. Among the hikers were women in their 50s who joked they did not feel sore afterward, and others were up for something even more challenging and took an alternate route to add several more kilometers to their hike. Another man in the group said he spent years seeking the toughest climbs, not just in Korea but also overseas, including Mount Fuji, Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu and Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro. His next hiking destination is Tibet.
The writer said that the popularity of hiking in Korea has grown alongside Koreans’ interest in outdoor clothing and camping gear. He said that more than 20 outdoor companies have stores at the foot of Cheongyesan Mountain, a modest peak in southern Seoul. He quotes a statistic from a Korean daily saying that Korea’s outdoor apparel market has grown by almost 500 percent recently. The article said that Koreans wear USD 1,000 worth of garb for a summer hike, citing outdoor apparel retailers.
“High-end gear is so commonplace that Koreans, particularly baby boomers, wear it even when going nowhere near a mountain. It’s suitable for traveling and shopping, restaurants and coffee shops.”
To read the original article, please click on the link below.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/south-korea-where-a-summer-hike-requires-a-1000-outfit/2014/07/27/8a289948-306e-4e24-915b-8eb53a06532d_story.html
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
On weekends, many Koreans gear up in their hiking clothes and head to the mountains to remove the stress of their daily routines. They enjoy not only clean air and a great view, but also the sharing of food with others they meet on the trail and the pleasure of a sauna after descending the mountain.
Koreans’ love of hiking was recently reported upon in the Washington Post. Writer Chico Harlan focused on the popularity of hiking among Koreans in his article, “In South Korea, hiking has become almost a national identity,” published on July 28, dubbing Koreans as ”weekend warriors” whose sport of choice is hiking.
The Washington Post article focused on the rising popularity of hiking in Korea, calling the sport part of the country's national identity.
Quoting a Korean who said hiking is, “almost like an addiction,” the reporter said, “In a typical month, about 1 in 3 Koreans go hiking more than once. The mountainous national park north of Seoul attracts more visitors annually than the Grand Canyon.”
The writer compared Koreans’ passion for the mountains with the, "American veneration for the open spaces of the West." The article explained the background behind the rising popularity of hiking, mentioning the geographic characteristics of Korea: the nation has a large proportion of mountainous areas. Other reasons are the increasing amount of leisure time people have, due to the introduction of a 5-day work week, Koreans' approach to hiking as being just one more object of competition between each other and, finally, their conception of mountains as a place to experience a sense of community by sharing food and doing similar activities together.
The Post reporter introduced the case of Kim Yong-won, a guide who leads weekend groups in Odaesan National Park. Recently, Kim led a group of hikers through the mountains. Among the hikers were women in their 50s who joked they did not feel sore afterward, and others were up for something even more challenging and took an alternate route to add several more kilometers to their hike. Another man in the group said he spent years seeking the toughest climbs, not just in Korea but also overseas, including Mount Fuji, Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu and Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro. His next hiking destination is Tibet.
The Washington Post article mentioned Koreans’ love of nature, their expanded amount of leisure time, their competitiveness and the sense of community as reasons behind Koreans’ passion for hiking.
The writer said that the popularity of hiking in Korea has grown alongside Koreans’ interest in outdoor clothing and camping gear. He said that more than 20 outdoor companies have stores at the foot of Cheongyesan Mountain, a modest peak in southern Seoul. He quotes a statistic from a Korean daily saying that Korea’s outdoor apparel market has grown by almost 500 percent recently. The article said that Koreans wear USD 1,000 worth of garb for a summer hike, citing outdoor apparel retailers.
“High-end gear is so commonplace that Koreans, particularly baby boomers, wear it even when going nowhere near a mountain. It’s suitable for traveling and shopping, restaurants and coffee shops.”
To read the original article, please click on the link below.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/south-korea-where-a-summer-hike-requires-a-1000-outfit/2014/07/27/8a289948-306e-4e24-915b-8eb53a06532d_story.html
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
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