“睡眠咖啡馆”成首尔上班族新宠Sleep cafes have become the new favorite of Seoul office workers

“睡眠咖啡馆”在首尔的持续走红，折射出韩国人睡眠时间日益减少的现实。韩国统计厅的一项调查显示，该国10岁以上人群日均睡眠时间为8小时4分钟，较2019年减少8分钟。这是韩国自1999年开展相关统计以来，全民睡眠时间首次出现下降。调查还显示，11.9%的韩国人存在入睡困难等失眠问题。

Li Zhiyin, a special correspondent for Global Times in South Korea

According to a report by The Korea Times on the 21st, the lunch break culture in Seoul's core business district is quietly undergoing a transformation. In densely populated areas of office buildings, office workers are gradually bidding farewell to the tradition of dining in groups and queuing up for meals, and instead taking advantage of the 20-30 minute lunch break to take a nap at the emerging "sleep cafes" in the surrounding area. This new phenomenon in the workplace is related to the decrease in sleep time for Koreans and the increasing social attention to rest quality and sleep management.

A worker working at Gwanghwamun in Seoul said he has been using the "Sleep Cafe" for several months now. She usually quickly resolves lunch in the office and then goes to nearby stores to take a nap and rest. In her opinion, dining out often involves facing crowded crowds and long queues, which can be even more exhausting. In contrast, brief sleep can provide her with truly effective rest. According to the report, most of the "sleep cafes" in Guanghua Gate are equipped with high-end massage equipment and offer uninterrupted short-term rest services. Consumers can enjoy a 30 minute independent rest space for about 10000 Korean won (1000 Korean won is about 4.4 yuan).

At present, this new type of leisure industry is rapidly expanding in the core business districts and office areas of Seoul. Except for Guanghua Gate, the number of "sleep cafes" equipped with massage chairs, independent compartments, and resting beds in densely populated areas for office workers and tourists such as Myeongdong and Jiangnan continues to grow.

As of 2021, the size of South Korea's sleep economy market has exceeded 3 trillion Korean won and maintained an annual growth rate of over 10%. The "sleep caf é" that focuses on short-term rest has gradually become a common supporting facility in commercial districts of Korean cities. Many South Korean office workers also go to such spaces for a brief rest after overtime is over.

The sustained popularity of "sleep cafes" in Seoul reflects the reality of Koreans' decreasing sleep time. A survey by the South Korean Statistics Agency shows that the average daily sleep time for people aged 10 and above in the country is 8 hours and 4 minutes, a decrease of 8 minutes compared to 2019. This is the first time in South Korea that the sleep time of the entire population has decreased since the implementation of relevant statistics in 1999. The survey also showed that 11.9% of Koreans have insomnia problems such as difficulty falling asleep.