MZ Hiking Wear Trend is 'Gorpcore Look'

Style, Practicality, and Personality Make It Popular Among Young People
Hiking Wear Models Include IU, Park Bo-gum, and Jang Won-young

The Gorpcore look has become a trend among people in their 20s and 30s. Gorpcore is a newly coined term combining GORP, which refers to small-sized snacks eaten to replenish energy during hiking or camping, and NORMCORE, which means pursuing ordinariness.

Traditional hiking clothes, which emphasized functionality, often had strong saturation that felt overwhelming or were excessively dark, giving a dull impression. In contrast, the Gorpcore look is a fashion style that uniquely blends the sensibility of everyday wear. Gorpcore look advertisements also emphasize that the outfits can be worn in daily life. In organizations with flexible corporate cultures, wearing the Gorpcore look is sometimes permitted.

Singer IU. Photo by Black Yak

The outdoor industry is targeting people in their 20s and 30s who seek the Gorpcore look by featuring models such as idols and actors who were not seen in traditional hiking clothing advertisements. Actor Park Bo-gum and Ive member Jang Won-young are models for Eider, while Ahn Yu-jin, who belongs to the same group as Jang Won-young, represents Nepa. Black Yak features actors Son Seok-gu and IU as models. The North Face released a hiking shoe advertisement starring SF9’s Rowoon.

As the Gorpcore look gains popularity, the outdoor industry’s first-quarter sales have also increased significantly, and secondhand transactions have surged. The North Face (Youngone Outdoor) saw its sales and operating profit rise by 40.3% and 37.1%, respectively, compared to the previous year. K2 (K2 Korea) also recorded increases of 5.6% in sales and 12.5% in operating profit during the same period. The secondhand trading application Bungaejangter revealed that during the first quarter (January to March), the secondhand transaction amount for Gorpcore within the fashion category increased more than threefold (213%) compared to the same period last year.