South Koreans battle to find who is best at doing nothing

More than a hundred people gathered at a Seoul event in South Korea to find who was best at doing nothing.

According to CNN, citizens in the annual Space Out competition compete to see who is best at zoning out without falling asleep, talking and checking phones.

For the tenth space-out competition, more than 4,000 people applied; however, 117 participants, including a child in second grade to people in their 60s, were selected for the competition.

Participants' heart rates are monitored while the people gather to see the competition votes for their 10 favourite contestants. Participants with the most stable heart rate among 10 take home the trophy.

Kwon So-a, a freelancer, won this year's trophy. She expressed, “Especially here in Korea, it’s such a competitive country, where people think that if they do nothing, they are a little behind. I think everyone has to have their own pace and sometimes just slow down.”

She noted, “Doing nothing is “good for your mental health as well as your physical health because your body has to relax, but your body can only relax when your brain relaxes.”

Among the participants was a double Olympic silver medalist, Kwak-Yoon-gy, who took third place said,

“I tried out for the Olympics five times and have never taken a proper rest while training for 30 years.”

The short-track specialist further added, “I heard this place is where I can clear my mind and rest at least during this time, so I came here thinking, ‘Wow, this is what I needed so much.”