Rock Climbing in Korea

After rock climbing became popular as a sport in Europe and the U.S.A., the manufacture and design of rock climbing walls has evolved. Climbing is considered to be an exciting and energetic challenge that has been gradually shifted to gyms as a medium for exercise.

A rock climbing wall is the best solution to your regular gym woes, as it is considered exercise for the whole body. It is a fantastic workout, with maximum pressure laid on an athlete’s back and overall physique.

Climbing is physically demanding.
Climbing is physically demanding.

Climbing is physically demanding. It requires strength, dynamism, balance, power, speed, endurance and focus. It is an activity that would challenge even the most-in-shape people. Going climbing is fulfilling though, because it is the act of conquering an obstacle.

In addition, sport climbing is a lifetime activity. It provides enough levels of skill that it can never be mastered. It is not a high impact or contact activity, so you can continue doing it until you reach an older age. It thus is never too late to begin climbing.

If you are looking for a way to include this exercise in your daily routine and do not have enough time to do so, the best possible option is to bring the exercise home. All you need to do is to erect and maintain a rock-climbing wall at home. Now mobile sport climbing walls are available. They can be moved from any location and offer a great deal of freedom to anyone thinking of organizing a climbing event or festival. The walls can be set up in less than 10 minutes.

In South Korea, physical fitness is a primary fashion statement for youth, harabojis and ajummas, as an increased number of weekend warriors have taken up rock climbing as their sport. This is in turn beginning to translate into a big business opportunity. Adventure sports-themed companies are growing steadily and the sports equipment manufacturers assert that sales have increased by as much as 10 times over the past five years.

Korean sport climbers have achieved top positions in World and Asian Championships. As a result, many schools have included the activity in the sports curriculum and climbing walls have been popping up like mushrooms all over the country. It is heartening that young female climbers are on par with young male climbers. Also, the corporate sector has embraced outward-bound style leadership programs to enthuse confidence and team spirit.

In our own city of Gwangju, there are many sport climbing walls. One popular wall is in Unam-dong, Bug-ku, managed by Lee Yoon Jae. With his ingenuity, Lee has converted an apartment into a climbing space, featuring challenging endurance-style bouldering problems to conquer.

In the nearby province of Gyeonggi-do, there are scores of walls that suit everybody and their varying skills. The Korean and foreign communities frequent these walls both for physical exercise and for quality time with family and friends.

Due to its inherent advantages and enthusiastic participants, sports climbing has a great future in Korea.

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