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Contestants compete quietly in the 2025 Han River Space-Out Competition.

With meditation on the rise, slowing down has never seemed so attractive. But what if you took it to the next level? Imagine this: sitting perfectly quiet for 90 minutes straight (the length of a typical movie): no talking, no laughing, no looking at your phone, and definitely no falling asleep. Sounds pretty difficult, right? Now, imagine being surrounded by nearly 100 competitors while attempting this. What are you competing at, you ask? Doing absolutely nothing.

Welcome to the serene, powerful world of “space-out competitions,” a fascinating phenomenon that began in South Korea, and is now sweeping across Asia—and beyond.



What exactly is a space-out competition?

The concept is simple: participants gather in a public space, often sitting on yoga mats, and compete against each other by doing nothing for 90 minutes. Competitors are free to move around and change positions but be warned: although lying on your back is comfortable, it could lead to falling asleep, which warrants immediate disqualification. So does playing music, talking, or laughing.

If players need to use the bathroom, they can raise a colored card to be excused. Judges roam around, carefully monitoring the contestants. At the end of the 90 minutes, the judges choose the ten competitors who seemed the most peaceful. Of those ten, the person whose heart rate graph shows the steadiest downward trend is crowned the winner.


lying down, eyes closed, relaxed, spacing out, grassSpace-out competitions were created to combat burn-out and an overstimulating world. Photo credit: Canva

“It’s the quietest competition in the world,” says the founder of South Korea’s space-out competition, a visual artist who goes by the pseudonym, Woopsyang. In 2014, she was inspired to create the competition after suffering severe burnout, telling CNN, “I wondered why I was so anxious about doing nothing. So, I created a competition thinking that it would be nice to pause all together at the same place at the same time.”

But what began as a quirky art project quickly evolved into something much more profound, with space-out competitions in Asia now regularly attracting thousands of applicants, although only 50-80 people are often selected to participate.


From burnout to breakthrough

Woopsyang’s origin story is, sadly, not unique for her home country of South Korea, where a grueling work culture persists. Known as “pali pali” (빨리빨리), or “hurry hurry” culture, citizens feel pressured to approach life through a turbo-charged lens. Those who succeed, by burning their candle from both ends, simultaneously wear this burn-out badge with honor while deeply resenting the nation’s ethos—one that rewards speed, efficiency, and rapid progress above all else.

yelling, move it, faster, hurry, stress. hurrySouth Korea's "pali pali" culture prizes speed, efficiency, and progress over everything else: even mental health.media3.giphy.com

There are other ways that South Koreans are fighting back against the burnout, like with the rising “sohwakhaeng” movement, which roughly translates to “small but certain happiness.” South Koreans have embraced this philosophy in droves, realizing that delight can exist in any moment: in a freshly baked loaf of bread, neatly folded clothing, or the smell of freshly cut grass. By consciously training ourselves to be aware of life’s smallest beauties, we begin to see the bigger picture and excavate ourselves from the day-to-day toils that seem to drag us down.

“Especially here in Korea, it’s such a competitive country, where people think that if they do nothing that they are a little behind,” says 35-year-old freelance announcer Kwon So-a, who won the 2024 Space-Out Competition in Seoul. “I think everyone has to have their own pace and sometimes just slow down.”

What started in Seoul is now gaining traction across Asia and beyond, with space-out competitions spreading to cities including Beijing, Rotterdam, Taipei, Hong Kong and Tokyo, reports CNN.


The science behind spacing out

“Doing nothing is good for your mental health,” explains Kwon So-a. “Your body has to relax. But your body can only relax when your brain relaxes.”


This mentality, which lead to So-a’s win, exemplifies the principle of ART, or Attention Restoration Theory, which was developed primarily by psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan. The central idea here is that directed attention—the kind channeled towards work, phones, and screens; most of what fills our modern days—fatigues the brain and has “far-reaching consequences.” It’s a radical way of looking at the human attention span: that directed attention, the kind we use to focus on tasks, is a finite resource that gets depleted, minute by minute, second by second.

To combat this, ART argues that natural environments—such as National Parks—and other activities that engage in “soft fascination” allow our directed attention to replenish. It might sound vague, but that’s because it’s meant to. Researchers describe soft fascination as “attention that is less demanding on our mental capacity,” conducted in environments where reflection and daydreaming can run wild. Dr. Kaplan specifically names locations like sitting next to a stream or discovering a quiet place in the forest as places that “capture attention effortlessly,” as opposed to “hard fascination,” found in hyper-arousing video games, movies, or television. Soft fascination supports mental respite and replenishes our attention, rather than depletes it.

Which makes space-out competitions the perfect oases for soft fascination and attention restoration, as participants are allowed to sit quietly in their surroundings, disengaging from the constant distractions of modern life.

man sitting, contemplation, nature, beauty, spacing out, restThere are ways to incorporate spacing out in your daily life, no competition required. Photo credit: Canva


How to space out, no competition required

You don’t need to enter a space-out competition to reap the benefits of attention restoration therapy or simply doing nothing. And you definitely don’t need to do sit quietly for 90 minutes or monitor your heart rate. Here are a few simple ways to incorporate spacing out into your daily life:

  1. Schedule unstructured time: Scan your calendar and reserve a 15 to 30-minute block to just exist. You could walk to a local park and watch the clouds float by, or simply just stare out the window. The only goal here is to feel as unstimulated as possible.
  2. Remove distractions: Put your phone on silent, leave it in another room, and be intentional. This is your space-out time: treat it as sacred.
  3. Boredom is actually good for you: Although it seems like we’re always trying to escape it, try embracing boredom. During space-out moments, it might be tempting to throw yourself into mental planning or thinking about the past or future. Those things will always be there when you return. Gently allow these thoughts to pass.
  4. What’s your soft fascination? Finding what works for you is half the fun. Maybe it’s leaning back in your chair and noticing how your house plant catches the light, or sitting on a calm, chill corner of your block and listening as the birds sing through the trees.
  5. Remember: this is not a waste of time: Well, not in the traditional sense, anyway. “We feel like we’re wasting our time if we don’t do anything while others are keeping busy,” Woopsyang reminds us. “[But] you can waste time a little bit. You deserve it.”



One day, Woopsyang dreams of creating a “World Spacing Out Day,” where everyone on earth stops moving at the same time, just for a short while, she tellsInsideHook. "Wouldn’t it be the world’s largest, quietest festival?” In the meantime, we could all take a page out of Woopsyang’s book, and find ways to quietly engage in our own, mini space-out competitions. After reading this article, why not give it a try?

Race & Ethnicity

South Koreans will soon be the same age as the rest of the world

Their new president is looking to change a long-standing tradition.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Koreans may soon be changing the tradition of how they declare their age.

Can you remember how old you are? As we get older, remembering our actual age can get harder, especially when it begins to take longer and longer to scroll and find your birth year. Now imagine having to keep track of two different ages. For many South Koreans, this is the reality. That's right, based on a tradition that dates back so far no one really knows when it started, most South Koreans are two different ages. But their new president is looking to change the tradition, to make life easier for everyone.



Currently, South Koreans have their "Korean age" and their international age. The "Korean age" is the thing that President Yoon Suk-yeol is looking to change. The way it works is that a person is considered a year old at birth, adding a year every January 1. So if you have a baby born on December 30, on January 1, they're 2 years old, even though they've only been alive two days. The Korean age is mostly used in social situations, while the international age (where you turn 1 on your first birthday) is used for legal purposes.

“If I try to fill out a form at a government office or a foreign embassy, I’m not sure what to put for my age,” Lee Jae-hye, a video producer in Seoul, told The New York Times.

It's worth mentioning there's a third, less common way of defining age: "year age," which is kind of a hybrid of the two other practices. A newborn is considered 0 at birth, but they add the first year on January 1. So again, a December 30 baby would be 2 days old and also 1 year old. This is only used for military service and elementary education. No wonder it's confusing for the citizens.

Lee Yong-ho, chief of the president-elect's transition committee, acknowledged the stress these different ages puts on citizens.

“Due to the different calculations of legal and social age, we have experienced unnecessary social and economic costs from persistent confusion and disputes over calculating age when receiving social, welfare and other administrative services or signing or interpreting various contracts,” he said in a press briefing.

For many South Koreans, keeping track of up to three ages is just too much of a pain. Having to remember the right birth certificate because you use one for the doctor's office but another one for the DMV sounds like a nightmare. While the average person understands what paperwork they need for where, the need alone is a major source of frustration. That's why so many adults are in favor of the president's decision to make the change by the end of the year.

A survey taken this past January shows that 40% of adults believe making the change will "ease conflicts within the country’s social hierarchy." As a hierarchical society, the focus on age and having multiple ages can cause confusion and unnecessary conflict. If you search "Korean age system," you'll discover multiple calculators in case you forget or don't know. Some historians and scholars worry that the change will be a detriment to society, but there's a better chance that younger generations will embrace the universal change to international age.

In an time when social media often feels like a cesspool of hot political takes, rampant misinformation, and insufferable narcissism, a glowing example of goodness truly stands out.

Enter Nick Cho, aka "Your Korean dad," whose wholesome TikTok videos are captivating people and capturing hearts, right when we need good things the most. Cho, whose day job is CEO and co-founder of Wrecking Ball Coffee, has been using his TikTok account to be a doting, supportive Korean dad to anyone who could use one. At first, it's like "Okay, maybe that's kind of cute," but the more you watch, the more endearing it becomes.

People have compared Cho to Mr. Rogers, which is just about the highest praise anyone can receive on this earth, but it's not hard to see after watching a handful of his videos. What could seem super schticky feels surprisingly sincere, as Cho offers fatherly advice and encouragement in ways that people might not even realize they need.


From the signature pat on the head through the camera, to the food that he sets in front of you, to the sage words of wisdom he offers in his upbeat, gentle way...oof. If you are missing a dad figure in your life, he's got you covered. And even if you have a great dad who is active in your life, you can still appreciate what Cho is doing here.

Watch the montage Now This made to see him in action.

Cho has racked up 1.5 million followers on TikTok, and it's not hard to see why.

People on TikTok and Twitter comment that Cho's videos make them feel safe and cared about. For some people, the wholesomeness of it all is just heartwarming, but for others, there's a genuine hole that Cho seems to be filling. There are a lot of people who didn't grow up with a loving, kind, supportive father and seeing examples of what a dad can be evokes both pain and hope.

And seriously with the Mr. Rogers references, right?


Tears have been an unexpected phenomenon for a lot of people watching Cho. Like, how can I possibly be tearing up over this? It's so simple and silly, and yet so sweet and loving and wholesome, and oh yep, here come the tears.

We are all so desperate for examples of pure goodness right now, and Nick Cho—our Korean dad—is providing just that.

I mean, look at the way he talks about respecting the intention of the designer of the newest Air Jordan shoe. Not something I would expect to care about AT ALL, but I'll be darned if I'm not picking up what Korean dad is laying down here.


"Thanks for letting me take part in your creation." Dang. Amazing.

Thanks, Korean dad. Please don't leave us.

The coronavirus pandemic is now affecting 181 nations—that's practically every country in the world. While some countries are farther along in the fight and others are just getting going, some of us have been on this journey for the exact same amount of time.


For example, the U.S. and South Korea had our first confirmed coronavirus cases on the same day, January 19. We're like pandemic twinsies.

Except our different handling of the virus makes us more akin to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito in the movie Twins. Our strategies—and outcomes so far—could not be more different.

For one, South Korea started testing immediately on a widespread scale as soon as the virus arrived there. When they had just four confirmed cases, the government gathered together the country's top infectious disease experts and twenty companies to start developing an effective test, promising quick regulatory approval. As a result, by the end of February, South Korea had drive-thru testing centers and the ability to test thousands of people per day.

The U.S. testing issues range from bureaucratic snafus to development mistakes to production problems, but suffice it to say our process was not efficient and our testing lagged woefully behind where it should have been.

As a result, South Korea, with a population of 51 million people, had tested nearly 300,000 people as of two weeks ago. The U.S., with a population of 327 million people, had only tested 60,000. The U.S. has since ramped up our testing capacity, but as of yesterday, we had still tested just 1 out of every 273 people compared to South Korea's 1 out of 119.

Why does early testing matter? Because it makes it possible to locate and isolate cases early on to keep the spread under control. Early testing, contact tracing, and isolating positive cases and their contacts has clearly helped South Korea keep its outbreak better under control. As of the writing of this article, South Korea has just over 10,000 cases and 174 deaths. The U.S. has 274,000 cases and over 7,000 deaths.

South Korea flattened the curve early. We're still on a steep upward climb with our peak still a ways away.

A doctor recently made headlines for pointing out this discrepancy in our country's responses and how it hurt the U.S. on Fox News, clearly stunning the host (or the producers in her ear) into ending the segment abruptly. His head shake says it all.

Other aspects of South Korea's response have also showed an impressive level of innovation and far-sightedness. For example, a doctor at a public health center in Busan created a testing booth that allows health workers to swab patients with minimal use of PPE.

Busan Nam-gu Health Center

"Health care providers require no personal protective equipment as they stand inside the booth and take samples from patients using the gloves protruding outwards," Dr. Ahn Yeo-hyun, who works at the clinic, told The Korea Herald.

"Having the full layers of the suit on can get stifling after a while, especially with the weather getting warmer," she said. "The booth is positively pressured to protect the person inside by blocking out air from circulating in." She also said that disinfecting these booths takes far less time than the ones where patients went inside. "Now, it takes only about five minutes to disinfect the gloves and outer surfaces before the booth is available again for the next patient."

Since shortages of personal protective equipment has become a universal problem, such testing facilities that don't require as much PPE could solve at least some of the problems we're all facing.

And then, of course, there are the small, thoughtful touches that can happen when you succeed at keep an infectious outbreak largely under control. Someone on reddit shared a photo of a care package they'd gotten from the local government in South Korea after being tested.

"Currently in Korea and had some limited contact with a confirmed case. Was immediately notified by my local govt office and tested the next day. Thank God it came back negative, but they still advised that I self quarantine for 14 days.

Got a call from a dedicated case officer today that will check in on me twice a day every day during my quarantine. Mentioned they would drop off some supplies later that day which I thought would be some hand sanitizer and a box of tissues. Boy was I wrong! There was also a lot of included literature about best practices and emergency government income for those that can't work and aren't getting paid. It scaled up to about 1500USD for a family of five which as a supplement is pretty helpful.

Honestly the way this whole situation was handled was so efficient, professional and actually a bit calming. Gives me hope that Korea can somewhat cope with this virus (as well as one can hope) with their aggressive testing compared to most other countries."

That post was shared a month ago. And yeah, no one can argue that South Korea hasn't coped well with the virus compared to most other countries.

Don't get me wrong. I know that there are demographic and governmental differences between the U.S. and South Korea that make an apples to apples comparison tricky. But there's no question that their early and efficient efforts to test for and tackle the virus as soon as it became known made a huge difference in their outcome compared to ours. They did exactly what infectious disease experts recommend and they did it quickly.

Perhaps our leadership could set down the "America has done more than any other country" rhetoric for a sec and learn from the successes of our neighbors across the Pacific. They clearly have a better handle on what to do and how to do it than we do. It may be too late for us to take the measures we should have taken to begin with, but we can at least try to glean whatever wisdom we can from this point on.