5. South Korea’s Sleep Struggle Reflects a Cultural Pressure to Excel
In South Korea, students and workers routinely get less than six hours of sleep per night. High academic and professional expectations create intense daily schedules, with many young people studying until midnight. To compensate, sleep cafes have popped up across Seoul, offering quiet, affordable places to nap during the day. There’s also a growing wellness movement pushing back against burnout culture. Gen Z in South Korea is slowly normalizing self-care and adequate sleep, challenging decades of pressure. Still, old habits die hard, and the national sleep deficit remains a major health concern.
