If you want to go hiking in South Korea, you’re going to have to spend a substantial amount of money on stand-out designer gear if you want to blend in.
While jeans and a T-shirt will draw attention — mainly in the form of thinly-disguised pity — a US$650 North Face jacket with the latest ultra-light, three-ply Gore-Tex technology, will barely merit a second glance.
Hiking is close to a national pastime in South Korea, and millions throng the country’s many mountain parks and trails every weekend.
Photo: AFP
Their ages, stamina and motivation may vary wildly, but one thing that binds the vast majority together is a near-obsession with having the latest brand-name outdoors clothing and equipment.
Although Seoul’s highest peak, Mount Bukhansan, is a modest 836 meters (2,744 feet) above sea level, the hordes of hikers who swarm its slopes on a daily basis look dressed for a lengthy assault on the North Face of the Eiger.
“It’s not cheap, but everyone dresses this way and I don’t want to look out of place,” said Chung Da-Hee, a middle-aged housewife decked out in branded gear, right down to a pair of brightly-colored fingerless gloves.
“Anyway, it’s good quality and comfortable,” Chung said.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
South Korea experienced an initial surge in the popularity of outdoor activities in the late 1980s as living standards improved and people were inspired by the country’s hosting of the 1988 summer Olympic Games.
According to Jung Juno, who heads the grandly-named World Walking Headquarters based in Seoul, a second boom was triggered by an unlikely source — the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The crisis hit South Korea extremely hard and resulted in mass lay-offs, especially of middle-aged men who suddenly found themselves at a loose end.
“They had nowhere to go in the daytime,” Jung told AFP. “At that time, the slogan was for South Koreans to ‘remain healthy for comeback,’ so a lot of them went walking in the hills and mountains.”
The national and local governments have encouraged the trend, opening up trails and creating new hiking courses all over a country that boasts spectacular mountain and coastal scenery.
South Koreans take their hobbies and pastimes seriously and the spectacular growth of what is now Asia’s fourth-largest economy means they have the disposable income to spend money on what they enjoy.
As a result, the outdoor apparel market has exploded from US$1.1 billion in 2006 to US$5.3 billion in 2012.
Seoul is surrounded by mountains, and every major trailhead is approached through a mass of retail outlets selling global brand wear like Merrell, North Face and Berghaus, as well as Korean makes like Black Yak and K2.
Yang Moon-Young of Kolon Industry, a leading South Korean outdoors manufacturer, said the boom was partly attributable to the fact that most companies now allowed staff two full days off a week, rather than one-and a half days as in the past.
The increase in leisure time combined with higher incomes had fuelled the market surge over the past five years, Yang said.
She also highlighted how some of the more stylish hiking gear had been adopted as street wear by young, fashion-conscious South Koreans.
“A widening range of age groups, especially younger consumers, are wearing them because of the casual look sportswear brings,” Yang said.
“Outdoor garments have come down from hills and mountains to occupy the streets,” she added.
Kim Mi-Hye, a 53-year-old high school teacher who hikes the different ridges and peaks of Mount Bukhansan on most weekends, admitted she had a substantial wardrobe of hiking gear.
“Some of the lines are nice and stylish, and there’s a great color and design choice,” Kim said.
“I keep telling myself I have enough, but then I see another jacket and I can’t help myself,” she added.
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
It’s hard to know where to begin with Mark Tovell’s Taiwan: Roads Above the Clouds. Having published a travelogue myself, as well as having contributed to several guidebooks, at first glance Tovell’s book appears to inhabit a middle ground — the kind of hard-to-sell nowheresville publishers detest. Leaf through the pages and you’ll find them suffuse with the purple prose best associated with travel literature: “When the sun is low on a warm, clear morning, and with the heat already rising, we stand at the riverside bike path leading south from Sanxia’s old cobble streets.” Hardly the stuff of your
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist