lol.
Today’s headline in The Mirror almost gave me a heart attack:
South Korea to start turning computers off in the evenings to force people to stop working late
For a nanosecond, I panicked because I only read half the headline. I was like, “Huh?? What about the sites like KBS, MBC, and tvN streaming my kdramas, you morons??!!”
The bitch in me overreacted again.
But here’s the full headline and the news.
South Korea to start turning computers off in the evening to force people to stop working late
The industrious nation works some of the longest hours on the planet
South Korea has resorted to drastic measures to try and stop a workaholic culture engulfing its country. The government has announced a new initiative that shuts down its employee’s computers at 8pm on Fridays to force them to leave work on time. The country has some of the longest working hours in the world with government employees clocking up an average of 2,739 hours a year.
Seoul Metropolitan Government says it will roll out the initiative over the next three months, beginning on March 30. There will be three phases to the plan – starting with the 8pm switch-off then bringing it back to 7.30pm and finally to 7pm for the final phase.
According to the BBC , there will be some exemptions provided in special circumstances. Amazingly, 67.1% of government workers have asked to be exempt from the forced restriction. Earlier this month, the government also passed a law to cut down the maximum weekly working hours from 68 to 52.
source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/south-korea-start-turning-computers-12237489
What are they talking about? Overworked South Koreans?
Yeaaaah, right.
Based on my encyclopedic knowledge of Korean men (source: Heirs, Boys over Flowers, and other Lee MinHo-cloned kdramas), I know that South Koreans aka Seoul-ites have plenty of time to drink sojus with their buddies in some five-star corner pojangmacha, drive around with their secretary/girlfriends in Hyundai cars till the wee morning, drink Americano at Starbucks all night long (decafs are for wimps!), exchange text-message with their ex-GFs on their latest Samsung, attend Big Bang concerts in Dolce Gabbana suits, and hang around hotel lobbies while dodging Dispatch reporters.
Who are these overworked people they’re talking about?? They’re peons and not chaebols, aren’t they??
/overreacting again. 
But to be serious for a moment here, I can attest that South Koreans are one of the most, if not THE most hardworking people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. I’m almost embarrassed that when I work with my colleagues in SK, I’m often the one calling it a day at 8pm. My brain simply refuses to function past eight solid hours of discussion and negotiation. I need a break. They, however, can go on and on and on like Energizer bunnies….
So yes, I welcome this policy, even when I know that it isn’t enforceable.
Quality of life matters, too. Enjoy the weekend, ladies!!!
