A Competition in South Korea Awards People for Spacing Out & Doing Nothing

By
Rae Woo
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Last Updated on 2021-06-19 , 4:02 pm

We’ve all been there – feeling so lazy that we just don’t want to do anything and end up doing nothing, only to get reprimanded by our moms for it.

“Laziness is a disease,” some might spit at you.

If you were always determined to prove the haters wrong, here’s good news for you.

You don’t need to save the world or discover a cure for cancer to get an award – for you can get one by simply doing nothing. Nothing at all. 

South Korea’s got that one right.

Annual Spacing Out Contests

With the world, we live in now and the pandemic raging outside our windows, it can be hard to truly relax when your home also becomes your workplace now.

That’s why there’s nothing better than simply giving yourself time to space out and do absolutely nothing, all while calming the raging anxiety building up inside in these unusual times.

South Korea’s southern island Jeju sees hundreds of stressed people flocking to its  “healing forests” yearly to find some peace and tranquillity while trying their hand at receiving an award for it.

Other therapeutic programmes are also held in the same woods, too.

Contestants simply need to sit on the ground and zone out for 90 whole minutes, in which their heart rates will be measured by the end and the person with the lowest and most stable one takes the crown.

It’s simply to see who’s the best at making themselves really relax in this crazy competition.

Better In The Pandemic

As bizarre of a competition it sounds like, the game was actually created by South Korean artist Woopsyang back in 2014 as a rebellion against the country’s fast-paced society.

Hong Kong and the Netherlands have also launched their own version of it.

2020’s competition had to be held online due to the pandemic, but with the return of 2021’s version physically, more people have been interested in joining.

Staring at TV screens and computer screens all day can really be draining.

“We have a lot of downtime at our homes but we spend that time stressing over the virus and feeling anxious,” the artist commented.

Shin Dong-won, a clinical psychiatrist at Seoul’s Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, says that people find it difficult to stay still while worrying about the virus.

However, moments to space out are crucial for the brain in these trying times, with the need for a “mental rest to break free of the self-perpetuating cycle of anxiety.”

Popular South Korean Celebrities Have Also Done It

Spacing out isn’t only done in tranquil forests – it’s also done in the heart of the bustling capital city of Seoul.

There’s also been spacing out competitions held at the banks of the Han River, and 2016’s event saw a very unexpected man coming out on top.

It’s none other than singer Crush, who originally took part in the competition with no expectations, wanting to let his brain rest from feeling out of it.

He ended up clinching the trophy, a certificate, and even a cash prize as the winner.

However, that wasn’t the end of his spacing out trials – he also competed against Running Man member Song Ji-hyo on the popular variety show later in the year.

After a long match full of distractions from other Running Man members, Crush lived up to his title and ended up on top once again, beating Song Ji-hyo.

It only goes to show how everyone, no matter what you do, needs some spacing out time to themselves once in a while.

Hey, maybe Singapore should take a leaf out of this forest and do the same, eh?

Featured Image: Facebook (Campus)

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Rae Woo
Email: [email protected]