The Korea Times
Hikers heading into Korea’s rugged national parks this summer will no longer need to arrive fully equipped, as the government sharply expands a free safety gear rental program aimed at preventing mountain accidents before they happen. The Korea National Park Service said Wednesday that it had expanded its free hiking equipment rental service to all 20 mountain-based national parks across the country, up from 12 parks last year. Beginning this month, the service added eight more parks, including Naejangsan, Gayasan, Juwangsan, Sobaeksan, Wolchulsan, Byeonsan and Taebaeksan. Geumjeongsan will begin rentals in July. The initiative allows visitors to borrow nine types of hiking safety equipment free of charge, including hiking boots, trekking poles, backpacks, knee protectors, emergency kits, crampons and hot packs. The program was first introduced as a pilot project at Bukhansan National Park in 2021 to reduce accidents caused by unprepared hiking. In 2024, it expanded to six urban-area national parks after being selected as a public service initiative by the Finance Ministry. Another six pa
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