Nine To Noon artwork

The Korean art of "hitting mung"

Nine To Noon

English - December 23, 2021 22:40 - 5 minutes - 4.7 MB - ★★★★★ - 8 ratings
News Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed


It's something that will appeal to most of us as we wind down after a long year - taking the time to just zone out. Koreans have made it an art form. In Korea, it's called "hitting mung", which refers to reaching a state of blankness. There's "forest mung" - spacing out while looking at trees, "fire mung" - watching logs burn, and "water mung" - meditating by bodies of water. It's become increasingly popular as Koreans seek refuge from busy lives and the stresses of the pandemic. Mung cafes have also cropped up around the country, where guests sit quietly - no phones, no children, no talking. Michelle Ye Hee Lee is a reporter at the Washington Post covering Japan and Korea and has been looking into the trend.