South Korea's cultural exports are everywhere these days, from food and beauty to, of course, K-Pop music and movies (anyone else spot the heaps of Snow Peak gear in the film Parasite btw?). But its outdoor industry remains largely unknown outside of Asia, despite the country's widespread love for the outdoors—activities like hiking, camping, skiing, and basking in nature’s glory have long been popular in the peninsular nation. Recently though, this is changing. The number of outdoor-minded designers on a mission to outfit the people of Korea with gear that’s technical enough for adventuring, yet still appropriate for cities, is growing rapidly.
The trend was supercharged by the pandemic, when people felt a desire to find brands that offered a more unique, targeted perspective than those of Arc’teryx, Patagonia, and The North Face. Independent American brands and European brands certainly sprang up to meet the moment with much fanfare, as did plenty outdoor brands from Japan. But the near-equal deluge of Korean labels rarely gets the same level of attention.
No more. Here, we’ve compiled a list of 12 Korean outdoor brands you must have on your radar, including a handful of crossover brands treading the line between outdoor and lifestyle, and core outdoor labels focusing on creating the best-in-class functional equipment for all conditions.
