The reason why people these days don’t go camping as often as they used to is probably due to a combination of many complex factors. Clearly, camping is a great activity that allows you to heal and enjoy romance in nature, but it is also a hobby that requires a lot of time, money, and effort. Let’s take a look at the main reasons why people are reluctant to go camping, and examine the current trends in camping culture.
1. Expensive campsite usage fees
These days, most campsites charge 60,000 to 80,000 won per night on weekends, and if the facilities are a little better, they often charge more than 100,000 won. This is comparable to the prices of most motels or small resorts. Even more ridiculous is the check-in and check-out times. Check-in is at 2 p.m., and check-out is at 11 a.m. the next day. The actual time spent at the campsite is less than half a day. Since the time spent is short compared to the cost, you can’t help but think, “Why am I being chased out like this after paying my own money?”
2. Too high a barrier for beginner campers – the burden of equipment costs
If you are just starting out with camping, the basic equipment you need, such as a tent, tarp, camping table/chair, stove/burner, sleeping bag/mat, etc., will easily cost over 1 million won if you purchase the essential equipment based on branded products. For beginners who want to follow the cool camping scenes on YouTube or Instagram, this price range feels like a high barrier to entry. Of course, there are many cheap and good value-for-money items on Coupang, AliExpress, Daiso, etc., but beginners can’t help but get confused about which products are good and what the real differences in functions are. Even though there are many options, many people give up because they don’t know what to choose.
3. Camping can become labor rather than healing.
Camping has a strong image of ‘healing’, but in reality, everything is quite labor-intensive, including preparing equipment, loading/unloading luggage, setting up and dismantling tents, preparing food, and washing dishes. Especially in the case of family camping with children, mom and dad do not go to rest but work almost all day. When returning home after camping, it is often more accurate to say “I am exhausted” rather than “I came back well rested”.
Camping, time to go back to simplicity
Camping is originally an activity to escape the complex city and find rest in nature. You should be able to enjoy it enough even if you don’t have expensive equipment or a high-end campsite. Day camping rather than 1-night 2-day camping, equipment composition centered on cost-effective items rather than brands, camping centered on your own healing rather than SNS emotions. How about returning camping to a ‘light hobby’ with this approach?