Gear Up for the Outdoors: A Guide to Shopping for Camping Supplies in Korea

Jason Ebersole
May 26
6 min read

Korea is a land of many natural wonders, making the outdoors a very pleasant and popular place during your time here. Day activities like hiking and picnics are very common, but so are things like camping. Most of us have likely spent a few nights under the stars back in the United States, not counting field exercises. Koreans also enjoy camping, albeit a more refined version aka “glamping.”

Korea’s love of the outdoors makes camping relatively common. As a result, adding to or building your camping closet can be relatively easy during your tour in the Land of the Morning Calm. In this article, we’ll explore some of the options for gear shopping, from glamping to more technical to little gems in places you may not expect.

We’ll start with the more common types of camping supplies in Korea, these stores focus more on the typical Korean style of camping. This style tends to focus on creature comforts and is best described as car camping, glamour camping, or simply put, glamping. If you like your outdoors to be enjoyed in a comfy chair with lights and even entertainment, this is for you.

Car Camping/Glamping Stores

Gorilla Camping, Camping Stores Korea — Gorilla Camping

The first store we’ll explore is a chain called Gorilla Camping. These are interesting stores, often defined by two separate showrooms – one with tents, the other with all the other gear. My first experience with Gorilla Camping was at the Pyeongtaek location. As mentioned, one building focuses on tents, usually large family-sized ones with multiple rooms. If you like having a covered common area but separate sleeping areas, these are for you. Sometimes, you can find smaller tents mixed in, even ones that fit on top of cots. The other building usually has all the other gear.

This is where the real fun begins as you explore everything from sleeping bags to several styles of chairs, cooking tables, and everything you need to equip the tent you saw in the other building. In most cases, the various items tend to focus on car camping, less the more technical backpacking style. Even so, you may find small items such as utensil sets that compact down or little tools and gadgets. In most cases, the gear tends to be fairly affordable as well, especially given exchange rates at times.

Camping Trunk Store in Pyeongtaek — Camping Trunk Pyeongtaek

A similar store, at least in the Pyeongtaek area, is a place off the beaten path called Camping Trunk. I first came across this one while on a Scout hike between Pyeongtaek City Hall and Camp Humphreys. I eventually found my way back while on one of many gear hunts. Unlike Gorilla, Camping Trunk is all one building but has similar gear to outfit a typical Korean campsite. Large tents are displayed at one end, while shelves at the other hold various bits of gear. As with Gorilla, most gear is pretty affordable and appears to be pretty decent quality. I’ve often found myself stopping at both while looking for gear.

Another one I found in the Cheonan area is a smaller store called Camping Cody. This one is located on the 4th floor of a building with lots of sports-related businesses. Similar in many ways to Gorilla and Camping Trunk, Camping Cody offers a variety of gear for mostly car camping/glamping, but also some items suitable for backpacking. They certainly pack a lot of stuff into their showroom as well.

These stores are great places to start for general camping gear or even just good backyard gear, each carrying a variety of Korean brands. I would make a small word of caution – just remember your weight limits, as it could be easy to stock up, but make the scale a little tight when you leave Korea.

Moving to a different store, Korea does have a few of its own local brands with their own showrooms. One of the more common ones I’ve seen is a branch called Snowline. Snowline has some decent gear covering most needs. For tents, their lines range from car tents to large family tents, all the way down to one to two-person tents. While their stores may not have as much gear as Gorilla or Camping Trunk, they still have very good gear that spans the car camping crowd to the more technical crowd. One thing to note about Snowline is that they tend to be seasonal, with some products switching based on the current catalog season. This means things, especially tents, will change, sometimes making it hard to find specific products year to year. In one case, one of our Scout leaders found a nice two-person tent, which is now “out of season.” Having visited two stores, you may also find slightly different components at different stores, such as a vestibule for one of the smaller tents. You may also find Snowline products at other stores.

Technical Camping in Korea

For this category, I’ll start off by defining this as more focused on weight and size such as backpacking or even cycle camping, compared to car camping where larger tents, for example, are fine. I’ve found this type of gear a little harder to find, at least around Pyeongtaek.

While on a hunt for new one and two-person tents for my gear, I stumbled across a store near Suwon that truly fit the bill for the more technical crowd. Yaho Camping is a wonderland for those needing lightweight, high-end gear. With more common international brands, this store has almost everything a backpacker would need, at least for the camping components. I was able to finally find a good two-person tent here, choosing from the largest selection of such tents I’ve found in Korea. I will caution shoppers, though. Unlike Gorilla and Camping Trunk, the prices reflect the quality. That said, they do have sales, and I highly recommend getting a membership, as some prices will drop between 10% to almost 50% depending on the item. All they need is your name and phone number. Yaho does also carry gear suitable for more car or family camping as well, with some different gems compared to other stores.

Hidden Gems

The specialized stores are the best places to start, especially for things like tents and larger items. However, there are a few places where you might find little gems of camping gear. I previously wrote about Daiso stores here in Korea. Surprisingly, each one typically has a small section for outdoor/camping items. These are usually things like plates, small pans, utensils, and cases for spices and such. With good prices, it’s the place to add affordable gear.

Outdoor Camping in Korea — Camping in Korea

Other places to look are EMart and HomePlus department stores. For example, the HomePlus near Songtan has a small outdoor gear shop on the second floor with backpacks, tents, cooking gear, and even apparel. I visited another HomePlus, which did not have the same shop-within-a-shop though. EMart is a little more hit and miss, and seasonal, but sometimes you can find a few things.

First Village outlet mall towards Asan has several outdoor stores on the first floor. Most of these will be dedicated to apparel and shoes, but a few may have some gear tucked away. AK Plaza in downtown Pyeongtaek also has some higher end stores, again most for apparel, but at least one had actual camping gear, albeit some of it was on the higher end of the budget.

Korea has many options for camping while you are here. Even if you didn’t come prepared to camp, either from saving PCS weight or just not being sure what to expect, there are many shopping options. If you are into camping or just want to explore, I would check out the many stores and see what you find.