Ali George Hinkins is a UK-based writer and consultant, who has worked with brands including Berghaus, C.P. Company, On, Merrell, and 1TRL. Follow him on Instagram @aligeorgehinkins.
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.
12 Korean Outdoor Brands Every Lover of Good Design and the Great Outdoors Should Know
Photo courtesy CAYL
CAYL
Year Founded: 2011 Niche: Purpose-built clothing for the stylish Instagram: @cayl_official
CAYL, or Climb As You Love, is a frontrunner in Korea’s emerging wave of young, talented designers looking to combine their love of outdoor activities with technical clothing. Euijae Lee founded CAYL in 2011, despite having no background in fashion. What he did have was a love of hiking, camping, and biking, and a deep understanding of what he wanted from his clothing. His first designs were made for himself, then shared with friends and family. Soon, CAYL was born.
The brand champions well-built functional clothing that can withstand the elements, utilizing performance materials and technologies like Pertex and Primaloft, which are equally useful in the city as in nature. Styles such as lightweight shell jackets, vented trousers permitting air flow, multi-day packs, and Polartec fleece tops all hold their own against offerings from competing brands looking to cash in on the rise in outdoor-inspired clothing. Their climbing pants have long been a favorite at FM HQ as well. Price wise, CAYL’s product offering lands at a nice middle ground—not quite cheap but certainly not prohibitievely expensive—with shell jackets starting at $265, not dissimilar from a brand like Montbell, and prices climbing wink for down jackets and other crowning pieces.
Photo courtesy BLACKYAK
BLACKYAK
Year Founded: 1973 Niche: Outdoor clothing and footwear for all activities Instagram: @blackyak.official
At home in the mountains and nature, BLACKYAK was founded in 1973 by Tae Sun Kang, who opened a small shop selling imported outdoor clothing and equipment in Seoul’s Garment District. Surrounded by countless options from overseas, Sun Kang used this as fuel to create BLACKYAK, a domestic label that is now one of the most recognized Korean labels in the global outdoor industry. In 1994, BLACKYAK received a license to use GORE-TEX products and technologies, and has since gone on to work with partners like Re-Down, Cordura, Kevlar, PrimaLoft, and POLARTEC. Some personal favourite products from the BLACKYAK universe include its pullover tops made using lightweight fabrics, with perforated holes for increased air flow, the 343 Light Step GTX, a sleek outdoor trainer, and its roomy Himalayan Cargo Shorts. Adding to its credibility, the company has a polished online identity, with an Instagram feed brimming with products worn in their intended environment.
Photo courtesy JEONGLI
JEONGLI
Year Founded: 2021 Niche: A uniform for a life that involves the city and the forest Instagram: @jeongli_official
Led by eponymous designer Jeong Li, JEONGLI operates in a similar fashion to CAYL, again flying the flag for Korea’s new crop of technically-minded designers. Sitting somewhere between function and fashion, Jeong Li’s namesake was started a mere four years ago in 2021, causing a fair bit of commotion in the right circles at the time. The brand focuses its attention on a concept it defines as "Innovative City-Wear," which envisions a city where the buildings, forests, and nature coexist, and the uniform you’d wear there. This idea informs the majority of JEONGLI’s designs, ranging from shell trousers with exposed taping to jackets constructed using three-layer fabrications. While not an outdoor brand in the traditional sense, it borrows technical nuances from the genre and integrates them into clean, versatile silhouettes.
Photo courtesy San San Gear
SAN SAN GEAR
Year Founded: 2019 Niche: Inspired technical wear with a youthful energy Instagram: @sansan_gear
SAN SAN GEAR launched in 2019 and has attracted attention domestically and overseas for its intriguing fabrics, diverse apparel offerings, and off-piste collaborations. Where core outdoor brands tend to be fairly clean-cut and down the middle in terms of styling and silhouettes, SAN SAN GEAR goes against that, adapting its designs to be functional yet experimental, allowing them to be worn in outdoor and urban settings alike. While its focus has shifted slightly in recent years, SAN SAN GEAR still takes inspiration from technical outdoors clothing, borrowing its fabrics, silhouettes, and technologies and integrating them into modern clothing silhouettes. Young and ambitious, SAN SAN GEAR counts Puma, ASICS, and League of Legends as some of its collaborators, looking to partner with those outside of the general scope. Some of its creations include the Dual-Shade Jacket, Capri Pants, and NBC Protective Jacket.
Photo courtesy Kolon Sport
Kolon Sport
Year Founded: 1973 Niche: Somewhere between a Korean REI and Veilance Instagram: @_kolonsport
Kolon Sport is a classic Korean outdoor brand, established in 1973. Its clothes excel in a wide range of activities, including hiking, trail running, and backpacking. But the company doesn’t just make apparel—they make plenty of mountaineering and camping equipment, too. You can think of it like the Korean REI Co-op brand.
In 2020, the outdoor giant re-launched LTEKS, its minimal and technical capsule inspired by the retailer's rich history. Carrying the DNA of mainline Kolon Sports, the collection serves as a bridge between outdoor wear and everyday clothing, infusing elements of the former with versatile apparel styles that can be worn to the office in the week and by the coast at the weekend. Trousers and outerwear are constructed using waterproof fabrics and feature an abundance of pockets while maintaining a versatile silhouette, and bags are designed with ergonomics in mind to hug the body.
More recently, Kolon Sports enlisted the aid of designer Jean-Luc Ambridge Lavelle to put a modernist spin on functional archetypes, producing an array of technical jackets, trousers, tops and more with Lavelle’s signature pattern-cutting and organic shapes.
