‘Wellbeing’ Means Green in Korean: Health Trend Stomps Smoking

Like the U.S., South Korea has seen a massive popular shift of focus toward health and the environment. The word that sums up this generation’s mentality best: “wellbeing” (with an e).

What is wellbeing? Outside of norebang (Korean kareoke) and polar bear hats, it’s just about the biggest trend to hit South Korea. Since 2000, it’s helped Koreans to stop smoking, buy organic foods, and get back to nature.

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Yes, Korea is called the “land of morning calm,” but, no, that’s not mist you’re seeing: it’s smog and cigarette smoke. Koreans treasure their environmental heritage, so the heavy pollution of their country’s air must have made the last few decades of rapid industrialization bitter-sweet.

Well, here to breathe some fresh air back into the country is the wellbeing trend. Although smoking is still too common, there are already clear signs that the health trend is deterring smoking. As Euromonitor reports, the wellbeing trend was one of the major factors the led to a double-digit growth decline in 2005 cigarette sales.

Health Ministry official, Kim Choon-keun, added another positive statment: “[The] smoking rate among male adults dropped from 57.8 percent in 2004 to 44.1 percent in 2006.”

We’ll be covering Korea’s shopping trends in organic foods as well as the country’s move to get back to nature in later articles. For now, from South Korean time, here’s wishing you a happy yesterday.

References and Resources:

Tobacco in South Korea | Euromonitor International

South Korea Leads Regional Fight Against Smoking, But Uphill Battle Remains | VOA News

Photo Source:

wellbing | Flickr

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