25/5 Aboha: South Korea’s Easygoing Lifestyle Trend

Seoul, July 10, 2025 (Yonhap) — Scroll through your social media feed and you might see friends hiking after work, colleagues at crossfit, or siblings rushing to evening classes. The sheer busyness of it all can create pressure to keep up. But in South Korea, a growing number of people are doing the opposite — slowing down.

The movement is called “Aboha,” short for aju botong-eui haru, meaning “a very ordinary day.” As Lee Jung-joo of The Korea Herald explains, it’s about “ditching high-energy, performative hobbies in favor of slower, more relaxed routines.”

Slowing Down in a High-Pressure Society

South Korean culture is known for its high standards and productivity-driven mindset. “I feel like Korean society pressures me to constantly do something and to be busy,” said office worker Choe Sung-ha. Now, she makes time for evening walks twice a week to “slow down and reset.”

Others are turning to calm, quiet activities such as knitting, reading, or arts and crafts. For many, Aboha is a way to combat burnout, restore balance, and rediscover life’s small pleasures.

Spending More Simply

The trend extends beyond leisure into consumer habits. Rather than flashy, status-driven purchases, people are opting for items that bring “inner satisfaction and practicality,” writes Shin Jung-hyeok in The University Life. That might mean a high-quality toothpaste, comfortable indoor shoes, or other modest comforts that rarely leave the home.

A Trend at Risk of Commodification?

Still, some academics caution that even this back-to-basics philosophy could become yet another standard of comparison. “Is the notion of doing nothing being commodified into a new benchmark for competition?” asks Hyeon Seo Jang of Sungshin Women’s University. She warns that the pressure to display a perfectly “ordinary” life could create new forms of stress.

For now, though, Aboha offers many South Koreans a welcome reminder that ordinary days can be extraordinary — and that slowing down is its own kind of achievement.

발행일 2025-05-21

reporter : Martin Seo