Space-Out Competition Seoul 2025, Coreia do Sul
Can you be still, silent and expressionless for 90 minutes? In South Korea, this challenge became a curious annual tradition that attracts hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators next to the Han River in Seoul.
Created in 2014, “” became a cultural phenomenon that celebrates the art of doing nothing in a society marked by the incessant demand for productivity.
The origins of the competition are more artistic than sports. The idea came from the South Korean artist Woopsyangwhich conceived it as a public project against the wear and tear of modern daily life.
In a country known for the long working hours, the creator wanted to contest the stigma that associates silence and inactivity with waste.
“The perception is that the time to ravage is useless,” the artist tells. “I wanted to show that this time can be valuable.” The event has already extended to countries like Japan, China, Australia and the Netherlands, demonstrating that the attraction to collective immobility is universal.
In South Korea, the competition evolved into a cultural ritual along the Han River, in Seoul, mixing performative art, mindfulness It is a silent challenge to the widespread belief that silence is equal to stagnation.
The winner of this year’s edition of the event was Byung-jin Park36 years old, entrepreneur in the field of technologies and drummer of a punk band Independent, who in May surpassed about 100 competitors to win the title of immobility champion.
Sitting, with a heart monitor, and under the attentive look of the crowd, Park resorted to a simple technique: slow abdominal breathing and focus on a single pointletting the other thoughts disappear.
“I emptied my mind times withoutexcept for the idea that I had to win, ”Park confessed after receiving the trophy – a statue inspired by Rodin’s The Thinker.
“For me, it is about organizing my thoughts and emotions. Over the weekend, while working frantically in the office, I thought: Mine, I really need to disconnect“Says Park in an interview with.
The rules seem simple. For an hour and a halfParticipants cannot use mobile phones, talk or fall asleep. Every 15 minutes, the organization measures the heart rate two participantsand the winner is chosen through the combination between lower and stable pulse and voting of the public.
A Diversity of competitors It is part of the show: this year participated in workers common to performative artists, including a clown, a man disguised as llama and even the entire punk band by Byung-jin Park.
For those who are not prepared, the challenge can be surprisingly difficult. THE public pressure, physical discomfort And the temptation to move increases the heart rhythm and test the resistance.
Several social science studies indicate that humans are not naturally inclined for long periods of inactivity.
According to a conducted in 2014 by researchers at the University of Virginia, USA, Many people prefer to receive electric shocks Light to stay silent for just 15 minutes.
Still, science suggests that Inactivity has benefits. Do nothing active the call “Standard Network”associated with creativity, emotional processing and problem solving.
Second Hanson Parkpsychiatrist and professor at the National University of Seoul, reserving moments of pause is fundamental: “In a society over-style, reflecting on the inner self and emotions allows to control thoughts and actions. This process can reduce stress hormones And in the long run, relieve anxiety or depression. ”
For some, Space-out Competition is just a curious spectacle; For others, a radical act. For those who participate in the event, a need that deserves to be celebrated. Without mobile phones. No conversation. Just exist.
