Camping

[douweg]

Hi

Does anyone know how camping works in Korea.  Can you only camp in parks or do towns also have camping facilities and do most most towns have them?

[tommynomad]

I dunno about parks/towns/campgrounds.  But I do know a few people who have simply walked up mountains and pitched a tent for the night.  The only time that was a problem was when some local hikers informed my friend that he was camped on a helicopter landing pad.

[cad123]

I have a question along these same lines. Can you camp on the beach? Can you have a fire on the beach? I live near Ilsan beach and I see tents out there all the time, but I have never seen a fire, just wonder if anybody knew the actual rules.

[RufusW]

Down in Busan there's a couple beaches you can have a fire on (Dadaepo, Seong-Jung) because there's not much civilisation close and nobody really cares.  However, you couldn't have a fire on Haeundae or Gwangali because there's too many people and maybe even some type of patrol.

It depends on whether there's people near (you also need to find a beach with wood near it).  Nothing will happen if they tell you to put it out though.

Same thing applies to camping anywhere else, if nobody's about nobody will care.  Can't do it in national parks though.

[injuredeagle]

From what I've been told, very few Koreans actually camp out a whole night. Usually they bring lots of camping gear to a big mountain area and stay for the day until it gets dark. But those who do camp, usually just pick a spot off the beaten path and set up a tent. Now, this is all heard second-hand and there may be some miscommunication, but it seems like camping isn't necessarily sactioned or illegal. As long as you don't bother anyone, they let you. But they did say absolutely no fires in the mountains.

I heard there are camping stores that let you rent camping gear. It might be good to ask about that.

[shhowse]

I live in Mokpo and on weekends over the summer we usually head out into the Shinan Islands for some camping. It's totally relaxed out there; no one is keeping tabs on you. We set up our gear on the beach or pretty much wherever we want really and no one bothers us. We actually had a cop stop by our "campground" once just to warn us that there was going to be a huge ajjeoshi party down the beach in a minbak, and he apologized to us for the noise! We never had anyone mention the bonfires and there is always evidence of other people having lit fires themselves. I would definitely recommend the Shinan islands - great beaches, great fishing, great fun!

I should also mention that on some of the beaches they are starting to set up tents on platforms for people to use. I have never seen anyone come by to charge you for the use of them. During one stay there was a pretty nasty storm that came out of no where. We just picked up out little tent and put it inside one of their platform tents, drew the curtains around and then we were safe and sound for the rest of the night. Again, no one seemed to notice or care.

[aramella]

I live in Pohang and we went camping numerous times over the summer.  We camped on Chilpo beach, lit fires and had a good time with no complaints. 

Happy Camping! 

[waygookshawn]

I agree with shhowse...the islands near Mokpo are super chill.  Camping on the beach is free with no hassles.  Campfires are allowed.

[nakdong]

Camping is really popular here in Korea, particularly of course in the summer.
Within the mountains it is OK to camp anywhere EXCEPT in National Parks, where its only permitted in the designated, and usually pretty good campgrounds - but they are pretty much always at the park entrance and not too far up the mountain.
Outside of National Parks there are Korean Forest Service campgrounds (자연휴영님) which have camping platforms and also cabins for rent.
At the beach the general rule is no fires, but this is fairly flexible - you'll occasionally be told to put them out by locals, particularly if theyre large.