People gather for annual ‘space out’ contest to see who wins at doing nothing

More than 100 people gathered in Tokyo and Hong Kong over the weekend to participate in a “space-out” competition that required people to do absolutely nothing.

Ten years since the first Space-Out Competition was held in South Korea’s Seoul in 2014, it has international chapters now in different cities like Beijing, Rotterdam, Taipei, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The aim of the contest is simple: participants must space out for 90 minutes, with the slightest hint of an activity resulting in a disqualification. Falling asleep, talking, or fidgeting to get comfortable will all count as activities. Competitors have their heart rates checked every 15 minutes to ensure they stay low and steady, while an audience votes for their favourite contestants.

Part competition, part performance art, space-out was created by South Korean visual artist Woopsyang after she suffered from severe burnout.

“I wondered why I was so anxious about doing nothing,” she told CNN, adding that she watched other people leading fast-paced busy lives and felt she didn’t measure up.

“In fact, those people could also be wanting to space out and do nothing like me.

“So, I created a competition thinking that it would be nice to pause all together at the same place at the same time.”

Woopsyang said she wanted the competition to remind everyone that spacing out and taking a break to do nothing was important, especially in the break-neck work culture most people lead in South Korea.

“We tend to think that doing nothing is a waste of time,” Woopsyang said, saying that the effort one would have to put into “doing nothing” for the competition was a deliberate move. “But in reality, for modern people, such ‘unproductive’ time doing nothing is actually absolutely necessary.”

Participants are allowed to use props, with one entrant holding an ice cream bar as it melted to display how good they were at zoning out.

Tokyo saw 528 applicants in 2024, from which 90 were selected to compete, according to Sora News 24.

Hong Kong saw more applicants. Around 1,200 applied, from which 70 were selected to compete, reported South China Morning Post.

Winners in Tokyo got a trip to the Ise Shima region in the Mie Prefecture, while those in Hong Kong got a free flight to South Korea.

“In Hong Kong, people are often nervous and are in a rush. This is a good opportunity to just free your brain and let your mind relax,” said participant Jacki Luk.