The 74th FICC International Rally in Korea
The 74th international camping and caravanning rally, organized by FICC (Federation International de Camping et de Caravanning), was held in Gapyeong, Gyounggi State, Korea from July 25 to August 3, 2008. It was attended by about 400 campers from overseas including Asia and about 1,500 campers from Korea, who enjoyed building international friendships through special events, short trips, parties and other fun activities.
The rally venue was Gapyeong Jaraseom Camping Resort, which had newly opened just two months before the Rally. The peninsula where the resort is located juts into the Han River and is designated as a nature reserve. It is therefore prohibited to construct any buildings with foundations. For this reason, campsite facilities such as cottages, cookhouses, and restrooms are all made movable. A nice-looking, glassy building called Burge House, which is used as clubhouse, also floats on the water.
The Opening Ceremony and other events were held every night at the main stage, built under a huge roof, including a concert of Koreafs philharmonic orchestra and variety show of Korean singers and idol groups.
At the central square of the Rally site, the Cooking Olympics were held. The rule is to cook one dish within the time limit using beef and vegetables given by the organizer. To win the first prize, which is $500 worth of Korean marinated beef ribs, thirty-three participants from various countries competed and showed off their cooking skills.
At Japan Party, Japanese representatives welcomed those from other countries with sake and snacks brought from Japan, plus Japanese cuisine cooked using local ingredients. As an attraction, Yuta Nakagawa (age 14) demonstrated his Taekwondo skills. He kicked a cigarette off the fingers of the FICC President in an instant.
Since the 64th FICC Rally was held in Tonghae, Korea in 2002, the number of campers has been steadily increasing in Korea, and many Korean campers participated in this latest Rally. Korean camping style seems to be no different from Japanese camping style, except that relatively expensive tents, such as those made by the Japanese manufacturers Snow Peak and Ogawa Campal, are popular in Korea. Also, most of their camping cars use vehicles of Hyundai, a Korean manufacturer, as the basis. It is expected that this Rally will facilitate full development of the auto-camping in Korea.
