Photo: CNN
Last Sunday, the annual Space-out competition found the best person to sit still for 90 minutes without falling asleep, checking their phone, or talking, CNN reported.
Throughout the competition, the organizers will monitor the participants' heart rates, while the audience votes for their top 10 favorite contestants. The one with the most stable heart rate among the 10 will win.
The contest, organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, attracted more than 4,000 applicants. The 117 contestants selected ranged in age from second graders to people in their 60s.
For the contestants, the competition is a chance to recover from the exhaustion and stress of working in one of the world's most demanding countries for education and success.
The founder of the competition is visual artist Woopsyang. Photo: CNN
The founder of the “sitting blankly” contest is a visual artist with the pen name Woopsyang after she suffered from severe exhaustion.
“I wondered why I was always anxious when I was doing nothing,” she recalls, adding that it was then she realized her anxiety stemmed from comparing herself to people who had busy lives. “In reality, those people might also want to sit around and do nothing like me,” Woopsyang says.
“So I created this contest. I thought it would be great to all sit and relax together in the same place, at the same time.”
Photo: CNN
Competition is also a form of performing art.
"Although the contestants are standing still inside the competition venue, the audience is constantly moving around."
Woopsyang says her goal was to "create a visual contrast between a group of people doing nothing and a group that is busy."
Many celebrities have participated in the competition, notably short-track speed skater Kwak Yoon-gy, a two-time Olympic silver medalist.
Speed skater Kwak Yoon-gy. Photo: CNN
"I've been to the Olympics five times and I've never had a proper break in 30 years of training. I heard I could clear my mind and relax at this competition, so I came here thinking, 'Oh, this is what I need,'" said the 34-year-old athlete.
“Korea is a fiercely competitive country where people think that if they don’t do anything, they might fall behind,” said freelance MC Kwon So-a, who won this year’s contest in Seoul. “I think everyone has their own pace of life and sometimes we need to slow down.
Freelance broadcaster Kwon So-a. Photo: CNN
Since its inception in 2014, the “sitting dumb” contest has taken place in various cities around the world, including Beijing, Rotterdam, Taipei, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/cuoc-thi-ngoi-do-dan-doc-la-nhat-the-gioi-172240521235818129.htm
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