Sleepy in South Korea - 6 Minute English
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.พ. 2022
- Improve your English vocabulary and listening in just six mintues!
How many hours do you sleep? Not many, if you live in South Korea,a place where people work and study longer hours and get less sleep than anywhere else. Neil and Sam talk about sleeplessness and teach you related vocabulary.
This week's question:
In the 1960s, an American man, Randy Gardner, set the world record for staying awake for the longest period. How long did he stay awake for?
a) 64 hours
b) 164 hours, or
c) 264 hours?
Watch the video to find out the answer.
Vocabulary
go out like a light
go to sleep very quickly
switch off
stop thinking about something and think about something else
agitated
get worried or upset
encroach
gradually take over
side-effects
unpleasant and unexpected result from taking medication
sleepwalking
moving around and doing things while still asleep
To download the audio and a transcript, go to our webpage at: www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish...
[Cover: Getty Images]
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#learnenglish #southkorea #sleep #6minuteenglish
I agree with this video. I think that Koreans sleep less than other countries. Especially, many high school students in Korea sleep three or four hours for their studies.
That doesn't sound like enough sleep to me!
And my friends used to sleep in classes. I used to sleep enough🤭 from 24h to 6h
@@bbclearningenglish Seriously?
You shouldn’t fix this comment.
That’s so not true
He’s obviously exaggerating it
Find and check the actual statistics
Please don’t make fake news and let it slide
It’s a big channel. People might misunderstand
Don’t use this sort of bullshit from average people as a justification for your program
It’s very wrong
Quite disappointing
Do some research
@@dolfin389 loosen up, no need to use this kind of brash language
@@xddp4910 I am not the one who’s making fake news about other country. Wrong is wrong. Loosing up is not for this situation. Read the room and stay out of it. None of your business.
VOCABULARY IN THIS VIDEO
1. Assuming : used when talking about an event or situation that might happen, and what you will do if it happens
2. Doze off = drop off = nod off : to go to sleep, especially when you did not intend to
3. Commit suicide : the act of killing yourself
4. Go out like a light : go to sleep very quickly
5. Switch off : stop thinking about something and think about something else
6. Agitated : get worried or upset
7. Encroach : gradually take over
8. Side-effects : unpleasant and unexpected result from taking medication
9. Sleepwalking : moving around and doing things while still asleep
10. Record for staying awake
11. Sleeplessness = insomnia
ALL THE BEST FOR YOU ^^
Thank you soo much!!!
Thanks
Wow thank you for helping everyone :)
người Việt nèeee
"drop off" may be different with "doze off" and "nod off". I look up the phrase "drop off" in the dictionary Cambridge and it just means the act starts to sleep. Thank you for your summaries.
세상에 매일보는 채널에서 한국주제가 나오다니
This channel mentioning about South Korea is quite exciting
That's great to hear.
Generalising fixed ideas on a country is not a good idea to me but that is what BBC is good at. They never really report on their own community issues enough making the British think their country is great whilst a lot of other countries are portrayed as uncivilised terrible ones
@@kimmy542 I think that you are gone too far. I am living outside of Korea now and it is quite easy to notice that Korean sleeps not longer enough than other countries. In the country where I am living people go to bed almost 21:00 at the latest. Sure there are still people going late to bed but it is not comparable to Korea.
3:38 "빨리빨리"가 나오다니 우와
2am and watching this vid. (Korean)
what keep you stay late?
@@jy7140 learning
Rostdanmi!!!!!!!!!
People know about sleep. I want to share with my experience about night sleep. I didn't sleep about 1 day, because i had many things to do. I felt anxious and upset. All my thoughts were about sleep. I couldn't concentrate on important dayly activities. I didn't want to eat something. It was in the middle of my experience. At the end of that i was at my smartphone and reading some articles. I didn't understand what about it was. I read it over and over again and after a few time i could get the meaning all of it. The moral of the story is we ought to care about ourselves. Thanks BBC👍
MILLION THANKS BBC 💐🌺🌺
I definitely agree with this lesson as a korean.
Excellent video, short, pleasant, and easy to listen! I'll especially like that you're repeating unknown words at the end of clip!
I agree. Thank you.
Thanks
👍
Neil and sam. Amazing presentation🟡🧿
Im learning a lot with these videos😃
Thanks you
Sleeping is the best meditation.
Exelent vídeo.
Amazing video, greetings from colombia
So lovely 😍
I really like your class because I like sleep a lot. Greetings from Teloloapan Mexico.
you are the best 😘
Of course like ever this amanzing channel congratulation
Thank BBC so much❤ From Vietnam❤️
You are welcome!
Good morning 🌅🌄🌄
Vocabulary
go out like a light
go to sleep very quickly
switch off
stop thinking about something and think about something else
agitated
get worried or upset
encroach
gradually take over
side-effects
unpleasant and unexpected result from taking medication
sleepwalking
moving around and doing things while still asleep
Transcript
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript
Sam
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Sam.
Neil
And I’m Neil.
Sam
Sleep - we all need it - some more than others. I can usually get by with around seven hours a night but I do like to have a nap - a short sleep - in the afternoon, when I’m not working of course. How about you, Neil?
Neil
I’m always tired and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I’m out like a light - meaning I go to sleep very quickly.
Sam
Well, Neil, you might not survive in South Korea then. Apparently, it’s one of the most stressed and tired nations on earth - a place where people work and study longer hours and get less sleep than anywhere else. We’ll find out more later and teach some sleep-related vocabulary.
Neil
But before we do, you need to give me a question to keep me awake and alert!
Sam
Of course I do, and here it is. In the 1960s, American man, Randy Gardner, set the world record for staying awake for the longest period. Do you know what that time was? Was it:
a) 64 hours
b) 164 hours, or
c) 264 hours?
Neil
All sound impossible but I’ll guess a) 64 hours - that’s nearly 3 days!
Sam
Sam
Oh, well. I’ll give you the answer later in the programme - assuming you don’t doze off! But let’s talk more about sleep now. As I mentioned, we all need it to help our mind and body rest and relax. And going without sleep - or sleeplessness - is bad for our health.
Neil
Many things can stop us sleeping and some of them are pressure, anxiety and stress caused by your job. And in South Korea research has shown it’s become increasingly difficult to switch off - stop thinking about work and relax. South Koreans sleep fewer hours and have higher rates of depression and suicide than almost anywhere else.
Sam
Se-Woong Koo has been reporting on this for the BBC World Service Documentary podcast. He met one worker who explained why she never got time to relax.
Se-Woong Koo, BBC reporter
Separating work and rest time has been a recurring issue for Ji-an - in her last job her office hours were long. Like most Korean firms, her employer didn’t think about any boundaries. They encroached on almost all her time.
Korean office worker
They told me ‘you need to be contactable 24/7’ - there will always be someone from work reaching out to me, like needing to get something done right now. Even just thinking about it, I get really agitated.
Sam
So, that stressed out worker got agitated just thinking about the situation - she got worried or upset. That’s because office hours in South Korea are long and some employers expect their workers to be contactable all the time.
Neil
Yes, there are no boundaries - so no limits or rules about when employers can contact their employees. Therefore, as this employee said, work encroached - it gradually took over - her leisure time. Stress like this can lead to insomnia - a condition where you are unable to sleep.
Sam
The BBC Discovery podcast goes on to explain that offering a cure for this sleeplessness has become big business. There are sleep clinics where doctors assess people overnight, and sleep cafes that offer places to nap in the middle of the working day.
Neil
One other issue in South Korea that’s affecting sleep is the ‘bali bali’ culture, meaning ‘quickly, quickly’ or ‘hurry, hurry’. People are constantly in a rush.
Sam
Doctor Lee spoke to the World Service’s Discovery podcast about the effects of this and how even trying to take medication to help sleep, has its problems.
Dr Lee
People take like, ten or twenty pills per one night, and because they cannot fall asleep even with the medication, they drink alcohol on top of that, and they experience side-effects of the medication. People can sleepwalk, and go to the refrigerator, eat a lot of things unconsciously - uncooked food, and they don’t remember next day. There were cases of car accidents in the centre of Seoul which has been sleepwalking patients.
Neil
So, some people are taking lots of pills to help them sleep but they’re not working so they’re drinking alcohol as well. This leads to side-effects - unpleasant and unexpected results from the medication.
Sam
It seems, one of these side-effects is sleepwalking - moving around and doing things while still asleep.
Neil
Well, if sleeping pills aren’t working, there’s always meditation - or working less.
Sam
At least South Koreans are getting some sleep, unlike Randy Gardner who I asked you about earlier.
Neil
Yes, he holds the record for staying awake the longest. And I thought he stayed awake for 64 hours. Was I right?
Sam
No, Neil. Not long enough. Randy Gardner stayed awake for an incredible 264.4 hours - that’s 11 days and 25 minutes - in January 1964.
Neil
That’s one record I really don’t want to beat.
Sam
Well, before you nod off Neil, let’s recap some of the vocabulary we’ve been discussing, including go out like a light, which means you go to sleep very quickly.
Neil
When you switch off you stop concentrating on one thing and start thinking about something else.
Sam
A lack of sleep or rest can make you agitated - you get worried or upset.
Neil
Encroach means gradually take over.
Sam
When you take medication and it gives you an unpleasant and unexpected result, we call these side-effects.
Neil
And sleepwalking describes moving around and doing things while still asleep.
Sam
That’s our six minutes up. Goodbye and sweet dreams!
Neil
Goodbye!
Thanks/
I didn't know these sleep-related vocabularies..thank you so much..
You're welcome 😊
quite surprised that BBC makes a video about my country! I know, it is not a lovely topic, but have to face it.
actually i was thinking that this problem is more effective in japan. Bc i have watched so many videos about japan but i didnt know south korea also has kinda problem. Do you have any idea bout that subject? Is it really big problem in south korea?
So do you think this is the situation in South Korea?
@@serhat3027 Well, in my opinion, yes. I am not professional in that area, but every Korean is pushed into a competitive society. not only in the workplace but also in school, even in socialising time. Therefore, everybody keeps comparing themselves with others until they are swapped by depression.
However, I heard the situation in japan is different. youngbloods in japan starts do not care about others' perspectives or notions.
Hmmm.. so, I humbly assume that way of handling the competition is the key factor to solve this problem.
@@bbclearningenglish Yep. I still remember that my parents often mentioned 'you can sleep when you die, so sleep less and study' and the funny thing is, I am not the only one who heard it.
Even, my previous workplace senior proudly said she woke up the whole night to record transactions.
Also, I had a experience of continuously working 3days with 4-5hours of sleep in my first workplace..
I myself never got pressured to sacrifice my sleep hours as a Korean so experiences depends. It is true S korea has competitive environments but it also contributes to high quality efficient services and systems in private and public sectors in the society. Here in the UK there is not much competition in nearly all areas or encouragement towards success or education so lots of kids just give up studying at 16 and aimlessly wander and vandaluse without finding what to do at night a lot of drug users are around too. Not to mention unemployed people on benefits.
100% agree. I work in a Korean company and I must contactable 24/7. Bali Bali is the family word to me. Even I dreamt of my boss calling me and my boss drinks a lot of alcohol like he never gets to drunk
Misspelling: Not family, but familiar
Hello BBC.
I think everything that was cited here occurs in many other places: São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Joannesburg, Pequim, Tokyo, Moscow, Rome, Madrid...I stayed three years sleeping only five hours a day! I would work in a mall and had to study. So I had stress, depression, anxiety, fatigue. I wouldn't SLEEPWALK, since I used to BE OUT LIKE A LIGHT without taking any medication . What I did to set me free? I forsook the plans for my career and put my mental health in first place. We can't wait for the world to change, because it won't. Thank you!
Good luck in the future
Good advice. As you mention, many countries suffer a problem of long working hours and high levels of pressure. We're glad to hear you managed to get yourself out of that negative cycle and have found a way to improve your mental health. 👍👍👍
Bbc is my major choose
come on,, the interviewee who claimed that S.Koreans take ten to twenty pills per night for sleep is totally exaggerated.
I am Korean and I have never seen such a person who takes around that amount of pills for sleeping in my entire 35 years.
Koreans sleep less than most people in other countries that might be true.
who knows, she might take the worst example out of her experience.
he is right
I agree with him
Lol never ever heard of taking pills that much around myself either. Actually Koreans generally are reluctant to take medicines regarding mental health.
I'm Korean. And 유성호 is right.
I’ll do study using this video to expand my expression!
I want to practice in English. Who will practice with me???
@@knkdj7644 what topics are you interested in?
Love s.korea seoul
I often sleep 8 or 9 hours a night because I go out like a light. I´ve been gone to sleep very early, around 9 or 10pm, so I´ve become a more calm person. I seldom get agitated.
I've been GOING to BED very early, AT around 9 or 10 pm.
@@shengyingzhao8698 Oh no, I cocked up.
Sleeping is the best
yep Japanese and Korean has Karōshi
that is social problem
I didn't know regarding how korean people sleepy. In my opinion we're living in a hurry up all the time (working, studying etc). Also the time goes faster than before and almost we have time for sleep during the day. I usually sleep 6, 7 hours per day and the day i'm still sleepy! We should take awareness about the sleep and our mental health and body.
I was always hoping that my country would be a topic of this program one day
But not like this 😂
Maybe something positive next time like k-pop, dramas, beauty etc 👍🏻
In Việt Nam, we have a person who don't sleep all night. This remains a lot of years, he said that it happened after a sick.
깜짝이야 왠 한국을 주제로 이게 나오나 했네. 슬프게도 내용이 맞음. 한국사람들은 스트레스도 많이 받고 잠도 못자고...ㅠㅠ
영국인도 스트레스 많이 받고 먹고살 걱정 하는 사람 수두룩해요 거지 실업자 홈리스 약물중독자 비행청소년 좀도둑 나이프 범죄 본국 그런 문제로는 영어 어휘 학습 왜 안 하는지~
6:22 6:22
6:22 6:22
Great! Thanks!
So great like a Взлом Английского!
I m watching this vd in UZBEKISTAN🇺🇿
Having a strangely mixed feeling to see my home country not being mentioned in this topic. Hi from the land of karoshi
What a controversy! I don’t feel it isn’t as much problematic as reported or addressed like in this programme. It’s true many people in Korea have trouble sleeping, but not that bad. It’s a well-known fact that to make case or support their ideas, news reports often make exaggerations.
빨리빨리 ㅠㅠ
Regáleme algunos tics para aprender ingles por favor
well , being a korean myself it is hard to say that life here is a complete hustle&bustle , i guess it is a stereotype of the past. everything depends on right priorities for example , my friends study at prestigious colleges , manage to study, take up extra classes and even work at the same time and having a sleep for 8 hours
Thank you for sharing this with us! It's interesting to hear from someone in Korea!
Yesterday I was agitated for I kept worrying about my health issues.
vong hoa hanh phuc
Sleeping 4 hours is incredible thing for me
Ys better sleep is good for health
My country is one of the most stressed and tired nation on the earth?! 😱😂
I thought it was japan
I 'm wathing this vd at 8 p.m(uzbekistan)
As a Korean, sorry to say but I think the story in this episode is not really general. It seems like an exaggerated case. I admit that 빨리 빨리(quickly quickly) culture is widespread in Korea. And it has been one of sources for a remarkably rapid economic growth for Korea. But I agree that it must be slowed down. Actually, it has already been improved little by little compared to the past. I am sure the situation will be getting better and better.
Thanks for your interesting feedback and perspective on the story. Do you feel you get enough sleep?
Hi. Could you make your video with subtitle?
Every Night i go out like a light.😃
You sleep well then?
مين الي جي من انجلش فاملي
because of short sleep, i get tired easily. but .. There's nothing i can do..
Less sleeping has a huge impact on our body health but at the same time, because of this, South Korea has made unprecedentedly great success in growth of economics, cultures and etc.
I think there may be some advantages of having lesser sleep than others as most successful people slept less than on average.
Also, it is fact that Koreans' suicide rates are number 1 but that is not only because of lack of sleep. I think that is because too much competition is going on there in all of places.
How many hours per night do you sleep on average?
I have never seen sleepwalkers in my 35 years of life. It is exaggerated a lot though. I admit that Koreans are addicted to working for a better life. I am not sure it is good or bad. In fact, it is easy to find Koreans addicted to work not only in Korea but also in other developed countries.
How many hours do you guys usually sleep? As a Korean i just want to know cos people around me are all korean, i don’t know how much sleep you get.
Hi, I am a student from Serbia (in Europe). I usually sleep 6-7 hours. If I have classes in the afternoon I sleep even longer. How about you? Greetings :)
@@silviacruz8937 Oh,thank you for your reply!! I think (but it’s not for that that reason on the potcost😂) i usually get sleep about 3-4 hours during the semester like hitting the hay around at 3-4 am, and getting up at 7 am.
Hi,i am also a student but from india
i sleep around 8-9 hours these days because classes are online XD
@@xd9050 Ohh Online class! When classes are online i also get a sleep 1-2 hrs more!
Is 7 hours sleep enough? I need 8 hours minimum, otherwise I'm grumpy!
I really didn’t know that Koreans don’t sleep enough, unhappily people! I hope that situation will change.
Everytime I watch six minute english from BBC Learning English, I acquire knowledge.
Sleepless is the main issue in South Korea. That's why I hear most of the suicide news from SK. It is such a pity for employees in SK.
Consume coffee or other caffeine more than five times a week steadily to reduce sleep time from eight hours to an average of five hours on weekdays and use the remaining three hours to play or drink for themselve at night. = The average weekday routine of many college students or office workers in Korea. FYI, I am also one of the numerous Koreans who enjoy taking caffeine with an average sleep time of less than 7 hours a week. Lol
@@hazelnut3794 WOW. Anyway, I was wondering if you could concentrate on your work or study? If you can, I will also follow your technique. 😉😉
Nice to meet you from Myanmar.
Studying machine becomes money-making machine in S.Korea ; A machine doesn't sleep .
I am watching this video in Korea
Squid Game is real. Here in Korea.
Seriously
I cannot sleep smoothly. Per average 4.5 hours, sleep don’t get me.
If someone asks why Koreans' eyes look little coz they don't get enough sleep. It's simple.
People in this country sleep less but miracle morning challenge became very popular among younger generation who is being suffered the most by lack of sleep. What a paradox.
On the contrary, I started to respect my culture somehow after I moved to Germany. Super annoyingly slow here. It's not in a good way slow! Almost everywhere service is unfriendly and wastes my time.
Not always good to be against "fast."
ㅠㅠ Poor South Korean
영어공부하려다가 이거보고 우울해짐ㅎ
비비씨는 원래 콧대가 높아서 다른 나라 문제만 찍어서 보도 잘해요 주로 한국은 북한문제 개고기 몰카 자살율 이런 걸로 등장
I am grateful that I am Indian.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ댓글에 한국인들 총집결한거봐라. 나도 내년에 탈조선 간다