Korea has a thriving hiking and camping culture, with thousands of private, public, and boondocking camping spots. They differentiate themselves from Japanese campers by their preference for glamping and their fondness for pork belly. Outdoor gear manufacturers in Korea have grown up supporting these campers. Their desire for outdoor glamp sessions means more tables, more cookwear, more kbbq specialty gear, and overall gear that is comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, compact, and lightweight.
Helinox was founded in 2009 where they created a brand-new category of lightweight portable furniture using their advanced technical knowledge of tent pole technology. Their products are compact when folded, aesthetically beautiful and comfortable at the same time.
BLACKYAK – debuted its second global collection and made its first major push into the US market at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market this year, impressing our editors as well as the rest of the media.
Kovea – was founded in 1982 and is a market leader in Korea for portable gas appliances. I would venture to say that every Korean household owns a Kovea Butane Gas Range. From there, they gradually expanded into outdoor gear, including camping stoves and lanterns, outdoor cookware, and tents.
CAYL – (Climb As You Love) was founded in 2011 by founder and designer Euijae Lee. Euijae had a clear passion for the outdoors, especially climbing and hiking. Despite not having a traditional background in clothing or fashion. This passion drove him to create products for his personal use, initially out of frustration at not being able to find the products he desired in South Korea at the time.
MinimalWorks – has a huge variety of minimalistic designs. Something unique they have that you don’t see from a lot of outdoor companies is tarps, so you can just chill outside in the shade and enjoy your meal. They have the whole setup to properly relax in nature.
BellRock – BellRock is a Korean outdoor lifestyle retailer that specializes in camping cookware. Who doesn’t love beer? These guys have one of the most beautiful beer cups I’ve seen. Their gorgeous unique selling point is usually a tasteful splash of color in their minimalist designs.
Ithaca – Ithaca is a smaller Korean outdoor furniture brand that has a very small line, but I really like their sleeping pads.
KZM – KZM is Korean outdoor lifestyle brand that sells a complete line of outdoor gear. Sometimes not the most practical designs, but they’re super stylish. Perfect for car camping.
MountRiver – Mount River is an amazing glamping Korean outdoor lifestyle brand. Many of their designs aren’t the most economical in terms of weight and portability, but they make up for it with style and comfort. If you’re pulling up to the campsite with your car and planning to have a KBBQ session outside with your friends this is an amazing brand to choose.
Nomade – Nomade (pronounce “Nomad”) is Korean outdoor lifestyle brand that sells a complete line of outdoor gear. Although I particularly really like their grills, I can easily imagine grilling up a storm with their equipment.
NorthPeak – NORTHPEAK sells spectacular tents I mean look at this baby! You could bring your whole family in one of these with two seperate rooms for the parents and kids or you could do a big family outing, imagine throwing 6 to 8 kids in one of these things, they would have so much fun, I know I would!
Snowline – Snowline is a Korean outdoor lifestyle brand that sells a full line of outdoor lifestyle gear including tents, sleeping bags, camp furniture, camping mattresses, cookware, cooking stoves, and so on.
ZeroGram – As the name suggests they like to make their stuff lightweight. A great add on is that their gear is super stylish. It isn’t the kind of thing you’d take backpacking, but I wouldn’t hesitate to take this backpack everywhere I go. It’s rugged, minimal, and the design in my opinion is spectacular.
