Camping Enthusiasts Drawn to 'Camping Gear Design Applications' Boom in Gumi

Graph of camping equipment design application status from 2016 to the first half of 2021. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] As non-face-to-face culture becomes widespread amid the spread of COVID-19, the number of people enjoying camping is also increasing. In fact, the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute estimates that the domestic camping population reached 7 million last year. The so-called increase in camping enthusiasts seems to be invigorating design applications for camping-related products.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 22nd, design applications related to camping products increased by 54.5%, from 143 cases in 2019 to 221 cases last year.

Over the past five years, the number of related design applications has shown an average annual growth rate of 16.3%, and in the first half of this year alone, 166 design applications related to camping products were filed, indicating that the increase in design applications in this field is expected to continue for the time being.

In the ranking of the most frequently applied products over the past five years, tents ranked first with 250 cases, followed by poles and pegs (145 cases), and camping tables and other storage products (102 cases).

In particular, last year saw a notable increase in design applications for camping storage products, camping car products, and heating products.

The number of design applications by product increased from 11 to 37 for camping tables and other storage products, from 9 to 28 for camping cars and related products, from 17 to 25 for heating products such as camping fire pits, and from 2 to 9 for sunshades.

Example materials of vehicle tent design applications recently gaining popularity. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

Above all, recently, design applications for vehicle tents that can be installed directly or indirectly on vehicles have been steadily increasing. This is interpreted as an effect of the rising popularity of ‘chabak’ camping, where individuals use vehicles to avoid contact with others while simultaneously solving transportation and accommodation.

The number of design applications related to vehicle tents was 5 in 2017, 7 in 2018, 13 in 2019, 13 last year, and 17 as of the end of June this year.

Among these, 35 applications were for vehicle-connected tents that connect tents to car trunks, 19 for rooftop tents installed on vehicle roofs, and 1 for interior vehicle tents installed inside car trunks.

Shin Dong-seon, an examiner at the Industrial Design Examination Team of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “As overseas travel is restricted due to COVID-19 and difficulties arise in accessing accommodations and restaurants, more people are turning their eyes to camping as a travel method. The recent sharp increase in design applications related to camping products is for the same reason, and design applications related to chabak camping are expected to steadily increase for the time being.”