Car Camping Spots Seeking COVID-19 Relief Suffer from Trash Overload

A camping site where people are car camping. The photo is not directly related to the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Amid the spread of COVID-19, 'car camping (chabak),' where people avoid accommodations that involve contact with others and stay overnight in their vehicles, is becoming popular. However, complaints are rising everywhere due to illegal garbage dumping at car camping spots and other camping sites.

According to local governments on the 16th, nationwide car camping hotspots such as Minmeoru Beach in Ganghwa-do, Incheon, Yukbaekmajigi in Pyeongchang, the coast of Gijang in Busan, and Gangcheon Island in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, are successively banning cooking and camping. This is due to problems arising from garbage dumping, illegal parking, and unauthorized cooking related to car camping.

Car camping allows people who own only a vehicle to handle both travel and lodging at once. This convenience and simplicity are why car camping has become the trend during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are 2,356 registered campgrounds nationwide, but the number of registered camping cars in Korea increased sixfold from 4,131 in 2014 to 24,869 in 2019.

Car camping is allowed only in designated areas. However, some travelers disregard this by entering no-entry zones, parking long-term in public parking lots, or parking illegally. For example, a public parking lot on the East Coast decided to close after receiving numerous complaints about long-term parking of camping cars, and the same area also banned cooking and camping altogether. A local government official who imposed the car camping ban said, "On weekends, vehicles line up endlessly along the coast, and complaints from residents about garbage and nighttime noise never stopped. Although we provided car camping sites to promote tourism, car camping will be prohibited for the time being." In Gijang-gun, Busan, despite issuing an administrative order banning coastal camping cars and car camping, 337 cases of illegal camping and car camping were cracked down on over about a month. This area became popular for coastal camping, with hundreds of vehicles parked on weekends. Campers left garbage, drank alcohol, cooked, and sometimes walked around without masks.

There is also concern about forest fires in the dry winter environment. On the 11th, during the Lunar New Year holiday, a fire broke out at a campground in Uljin-gun, Gyeongbuk, burning six out of about 30 facilities including caravans and glamping sites, and was extinguished in about 1 hour and 20 minutes. According to the Forest Act, camping is generally allowed on shared mountain land not designated as a park, but cooking with fire is restricted. Using fire in non-camping areas can easily lead to forest fires. Kang Il-ho (37), a camper who has enjoyed car camping since last year, said, "Just because we keep distance from others doesn't mean we should ignore safety and manners. I hope a camping culture that respects rules and allows everyone to enjoy together will be established." Gyeonggi-do, which has one-quarter (575) of the nation's campgrounds, plans to promote a 'Fair Camping Culture Project.' They will distribute plaques indicating registered facilities to registered campgrounds to encourage restrictions on unregistered campgrounds. They also plan to disclose safety inspection results and information on various illegal and improper acts to eradicate illegal activities within campgrounds.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.