South Korea’s Sports & Outdoor Market 2025 Trends

Published on: May 7, 2025

South Korea’s sports and outdoor market has raced past ₩5.3 trillion KRW (about US$3.9 billion) in 2024, and the pace isn’t easing.

Think floodlit fairways buzzing at midnight, hiking trails that double as social hubs, and rooftop tents popping up across Seoul like beer gardens in July. This isn’t survivalist hardship. It’s tech-savvy leisure where fitness, fashion, and fun collide.

For global brands, it’s a rare chance to get in early on booming niches before the bandwagon gets too crowded. Here’s where (and how) you move in before everyone else does.

Overview:

Why Golf Culture in South Korea Is Going Digital & After Dark

South Korea has long been a golf-loving nation.

It’s the 3rd-largest golf market in the world after USA and Japan, and now, it’s evolving in ways most Western brands didn’t see coming.

Night Golf Becomes Prime Time

Forget early tee times. In Korea, golf’s new golden hour is after dark.

Picture clocking out at 8 pm, grabbing your clubs, and teeing off under floodlights instead of the midday sun. Sky72 Golf & Resort runs 24/7 on 36 holes with 2,700 LEDs — and welcomes over 50,000 players a month. That kind of traffic brings in ₩310 billion (US$236 million) a year.

Right now, 1 in 5 courses nationwide offers night golf. Around Seoul, it’s closer to 1 in 3.

These aren’t just sleepy late-night rounds either. These are prime-time slots packed with young professionals squeezing in a round after work. Add in self-driving buggies and remote-controlled caddies, and you’ve got golf reimagined for the digital age.

Screen Golf Engages New Players

Not everyone is chasing a full 18. That’s where screen golf comes in.

This isn’t just a simulator in a sports shop. These are tech-heavy lounges scattered across city centres and suburbs — part virtual driving range, part karaoke room, part cocktail bar. It’s where 64% of new golfers get started.

And it’s not just for casual swings. There’s a full-on pro screen golf league, nationally televised and backed by major sponsors. Over US$12 million in prize money has been handed out since 2012.

People show up for dates, team-building, or just to beat their boss’s score on a Tuesday night.

For Western golf brands, opportunity is wide open.

Korea’s golf crowd is young, image-conscious, and ready to spend — especially on premium gear that blends performance and tech. There’s real opportunity here for brands who can show up on both turf and touchscreen.

South Korea Hiking Culture Meets Fashion & Social Media

If golf rules the night, hiking owns the day.

In South Korea, hiking has gone from retiree pastime to millennial must-do. The country’s mountain trails now buzz with twenty- and thirty-somethings in designer boots, GPS watches, and outfits that cost more than some rent.

According to Embrain’s Mountaineering Culture survey published in early 2025, 42.6% of Korean hikers aged 20–39 share their hikes on Instagram. That’s fuelled a 67% jump in premium hiking gear sales.

And it’s not just Koreans hitting the trails. 1 in 3 visitors to Seoul’s city-run hiking centres are tourists, per the Seoul Tourism Foundation.

Easy Access Trails Fuel Hiker Growth

What’s behind the boom? Ease.

Popular peaks like Namsan (남산) and Inwangsan (인왕산) are practically built into Seoul’s skyline. You can be at your desk one minute and halfway up a trail the next. The city’s hiking centres offer rentals, lockers, changing rooms — basically, everything short of a personal sherpa. No gear? No excuse.

And the hike is only half the plan. Post-trail, it’s straight to a nearby cafe or restaurant to refuel and maybe even a drink or 2. It’s cardio with a social twist, wrapped in great views.

What Outdoor Brands Should Offer

Hiking is a style statement.

Young urban hikers in South Korea want gear that can survive the trail and turn heads in town. The “Gorpcore” trend where outdoor wear becomes everyday fashion is already mainstream. Over 60% of hiking apparel in Korea is now worn daily, not just on the weekends.

For Western outdoor brands, the opportunity is clear: if your kit looks sharp, performs well, and fits the pace of city life, Korea’s ready for it.

Why Ship Halfway Around the World?

Global economic uncertainty has inventory stuck and brands stalled. If you’re already manufacturing in Asia, why send your products 15,000 km away and hope for stability? Demand in Korea, Japan, and China is sky high, and it’s right next door. WPIC gets you moving with local teams, smart logistics, advanced warehousing capabilities, and market expertise.

Book a strategy call

Urban Camping in Korea Creates City Adventure Market

Post-pandemic, South Korea’s urban camping market has exploded. It topped ₩500 billion KRW (US$370 million) in 2023, and it’s only getting bigger.

Forget remote forests. Camping here isn’t about escaping civilisation. It is civilisation.

Think tents pitched in city parks, rooftop terraces, even riverside lawns. With green space scarce, city-run campsites are the new escape hatch. By 2025, the government plans to roll out over 500 of them. All tucked into parks, tourism spots, and even high-rises.

Take the Seocho District in Seoul where rooftop campsites offer climate-controlled tents and skyline views. Some are booked out months in advance, with occupancy rates hitting 98%.

Tech Convenience Raises Campsite Appeal

The appeal? All the fun of camping, none of the hassle.

These sites are wired for convenience: app-based bookings, drone-delivered snacks, automated tent setups. It’s less wilderness survival, more urban staycation with fairy lights and foldable cookware.

Older campers like the comfort. Younger ones like the novelty and the chance to host rooftop BBQs or stream their dance parties. Camping, in Korea, is equal parts leisure, tech, and lifestyle branding.

Products for Rooftop and Park Campers

There’s real room here for Western outdoor and lifestyle brands. Space-saving, eye-catching products — think collapsible chairs, portable grills, and stylish storage gear — fit the urban camper’s wishlist.

Want visibility?

Sponsor a city camping festival or partner with local campsite operators. Just make sure your gear looks good on a rooftop and fits in a taxi trunk.

Local Outdoor Brands Set the Pace & How Yours Can Compete

Some Korean brands are already sprinting ahead.

Kolon Sport, for example, is a local heavyweight known for weatherproof fabrics that actually breathe in Korea’s sticky summers. Their Urban Explorer line bridges the gap between trail gear and street style, complete with reflective bits for night safety. It’s functional, fashionable, and unmistakably Korean.

For Western sports and outdoor brands eyeing Korea, the lesson is clear: don’t play safe.

If you want to stand out, don’t just stick your gear on a shelf. Get it into people’s lives. Sponsor a screen golf tournament or host a rooftop cookout with your gear front and centre. Or better still, integrate tech: 60% of young Korean hikers want jackets with built-in NFC navigation. That’s not a gimmick; that’s genuine consumer appetite.

In Korea, the outdoor market moves fast — physically, socially, and culturally. It’s traditional values plugged into tomorrow’s tech. Generic won’t cut it here. Your gear needs to keep pace: stylish enough for the city, smart enough for the trails, versatile enough for midnight golf.

And timing? Timing’s everything. Trends move fast, loyalty locks in quickly, and if you’re late, you’re invisible.

At WPIC, we help you move with the market, not chase it. From influencer partnerships to platform builds to boots-on-the-ground rollouts, we make sure your expansion actually sticks.

Because in Korea? “Later” might mean too late.

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