Bouldering has become a trendy sport for those in their 20s and 30s. The hashtag "#okeulwan" -- a portmanteau of the Korean words meaning "today's climb completed" and a variation of the massively popular "today's workout completed" -- has been spreading on Instagram with more than 40,000 posts.
Bouldering is a style of climbing involving free climbing without a rope and usually only 2-3 meters off the ground. Walk into a bouldering gym, and you will find that visitors share the floor with filming equipment.
Kim Gyeong-min, a 24-year-old bouldering enthusiast, discovered the sport through an acquaintance about a year ago. He has now switched from a weight-training routine to climbing sessions, and made a separate Instagram account to post strictly about his bouldering progress.
“By recording my sessions, I can check whether my form was correct and spot any mistakes I made during a climb. Posting them on Instagram is a fun way for me to document my progress and growth on the way,” Kim explained.
Unlike other sports that require some training to start, bouldering’s grading system ensures that people can enjoy the sport regardless of their skill level. A numbered or colored label will indicate which level a certain route on the wall is.
The competitive aspect of completing a route and working towards a higher grade is one main reason many climbers enjoy bouldering over other sports. While the sport is both physically and mentally challenging, climbers love the sense of gratification they get when reaching their goal.
Professional athlete Kim Min-sun, a member of The North Face’s Korean climbing team and senior instructor at one of Korea’s largest bouldering gym chains, started climbing when she was only 10 years old. While the colorful climbing holds were what first caught her attention as a child, the sense of accomplishment felt in climbing is what has kept her and many others on the wall.
“Climbing is a sport in which problems are given and solved. There is no set answer to a problem, and I think that the biggest charm of climbing is finding your own way to the top and growing in that process,” the athlete said.
“The entry level for bouldering is quite low and it looks easy, but when you actually try climbing, you realize that solving a bouldering problem is not as simple as it looks," climber Kim Gyeong-min added. "So you have to challenge yourself over and over again, but when you finally complete a problem, the sense of fulfillment is indescribable."
Climbing the popularity charts
In an attempt to keep up with the soaring demand for more walls to climb, new bouldering gyms seem to sprout from Seoul’s concrete overnight.
Kim Min-sun, too, has seen a gradual increase in popularity over the years.
“Climbing used to be an unfamiliar sport that was difficult to practice. With so many new bouldering gyms, accessibility has improved and climbing has become something you can enjoy lightheartedly,” the athlete said.
Even Korea’s largest multiplex cinema chain, CGV, hopped on the trend by opening climbing gyms in its multiplexes under the brand, “Peakers,” in an attempt to lure moviegoers back amid the waning of COVID-19.
While local reports indicate that Seoul housed approximately 60 climbing gyms in 2020, Kakao Map, Kakao's map and navigation service app, now lists over 140 bouldering gyms.
Naver Datalab, a keyword trend analytics tool, showed a steep increase in searches related to climbing in summer 2021. Data from a Shinhan Card report also revealed that climbing-related expenses from 2020 to 2021 skyrocketed 183 percent.
A major contributor to the increase in awareness about the existence of bouldering was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – which was postponed to the summer of 2021 due to COVID-19 – when sport climbing made its first appearance as an Olympic sport.
Kim Gyeong-min notes that the South Korean hit "Exit" not only achieved commercial success but also played a pivotal role in popularizing climbing as a sport. The 2019 action-comedy film revolves around a former college rock climbing standout and his old crush, both skilled boulderers, whose climbing abilities become vital for survival during a citywide crisis.
“People are discovering the charms of climbing, and so many around me are recommending or being recommended climbing,” Kim Min-sun said.
Kim Gyeong-min feels hopeful about the prospects of bouldering continuing to be a trend. “As climbing venues continue to increase, and the sport is being more frequently represented in the media, I think that climbing will become even more popular than it is now,” he said.
Strengthening body and soul
When asked about the benefits of climbing, many climbers mention the social aspect. While some might enjoy bouldering alone, many climbers meet new friends by joining one of many bouldering clubs. As most of a climber’s time is spent on the ground thinking of their next strategy, there is ample time to chat with fellow climbers and exchange tips.
“When you complete a route, your team cheers you on, and if you don’t succeed, they give you feedback. Bouldering with a group gives me an extra boost of energy and inspires me to work harder,” 22-year-old Cho, who currently has a climbing crew of 99 members, explained.
Lone climbers can easily join a club through interest-based community platforms such as Munto and Somoim. These apps let users filter groups by hobby, age and location. After signing up for a club, the members can participate in group activities.
At the close of the previous year, Munto reported that, following hiking, bouldering was the most popular hobby among those in their 20s and 30s in 2023.
Not only can bouldering have its social perks, but bouldering is also a full-body workout that can burn up to 700 calories in one hour of active climbing.
“In order to climb a wall, you have to activate muscles in every part of your body: your back, shoulders, core and lower body. You especially work muscles in your forearms and fingers that usually aren’t trained,” Cho said.
