Hobbies for Middle-Aged and Older? MZ Generation Obsessed with Hiking Like "Let's Go See Danpung"

New Terms Deungrini and Sanrini... MZ Generation Shares Easy-to-Start Mountain Hiking Info
‘Non-Hiking-Looking Hiking Clothes’ Popular as Everyday Wear

A citizen is taking photos of autumn leaves at Bukhansan./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] Ms. A, a woman in her 20s who has been working for one year, climbs a mountain once a month. Ms. A, who often hiked while preparing for employment, said, "I like it because I can relieve stress and breathe clean air." She added, "I plan to hike again this weekend to see the autumn leaves."

Recently, the number of young people visiting mountains has been increasing. Unlike the past when hiking was recognized as a hobby activity for people in their 40s and 50s, it is spreading as a leisure activity among the MZ generation. As social distancing began due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making outdoor activities difficult, the MZ generation started seeking relatively safe mountains.

While hiking, they can gain small but certain achievements and also upload photos taken on the mountain to social networking services (SNS) to show the goal of 'reaching the summit.' In fact, keywords like 'hiking star gram' and 'deungnini' (hiking beginner) are easily found among young people on SNS. As of September 2022, Instagram recorded about 150,000 posts for 'sanrini' (mountain beginner), 5 million for 'hiking,' and 140,000 for 'hiking gram.'

In the leisure industry section of the report "Social Impact of COVID-19 Based on Search and Shopping Data" published by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), self-directed leisure activities such as camping and hiking have increased mainly among young people. Experts analyzed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a greater impact on the younger generation, who suffered more economic damage than the older generation, and that the demand of young people who stayed home shifted to leisure industries such as camping and hiking.

Accordingly, posts containing mountain information and hiking routes for MZ generation beginners have been shared. Hyundai Motor Company's Young Hyundai reporter group created a post titled "Top 5 Hiking Courses Loved by the MZ Generation," explaining course difficulty according to mountain location and height. They also describe various courses and organize photo spots and night view attractions.

Survey on Autumn Foliage Hiking Preferences in 2022 Conducted by Frip. Photo by Frip

According to the "2022 Autumn Foliage Hiking Preference Survey" conducted by the hobby and leisure platform Frip on 650 men and women in their 20s and 30s, Bukhansan Mountain (24.6%) ranked first as the most preferred hiking destination in the metropolitan area, while Seoraksan Mountain ranked first outside the metropolitan area with 22.5%. The reasons for hiking were overwhelmingly 'beautiful scenery' at 72.1%, followed by overcoming daily stress (47.4%), wanting to take life shots (27.3%), and health improvement through exercise (23.5%).

Products targeting one of the reasons young people hike, "to wear pretty clothes and take photos," are also emerging. Outdoor wear that is "not like typical hiking clothes," moving away from past fluorescent designs to outdoor wear that can be worn as everyday clothes, is popular. Recently, Black Yak eliminated the distinction between outdoor and casual looks and collaborated with the popular young brand Covernat to release a limited edition.

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