Last year, South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family released a report that found that 3.1 per cent of Koreans aged between 19 and 39 were “reclusive, lonely young people”. Coupled with the rise of single-person households and the fact that South Korea is known as one of the most overworked countries in Asia and the fifth-most overworked country worldwide, loneliness and burnout are significant public health issues in the country. 

One way people in South Korea are attempting to combat their loneliness is through adopting pet rocks. When he first invented pet rocks in the US, ad executive Gary Dahl saw them as joke gifts. Now, they’re being used in South Korea to soothe those overworked and suffering under the violence of capitalism. 

The Wall Street Journal spoke to 33-year-old Koo Ah-young, who adopted a pet rock after starting a new job in Seoul. She didn’t want to worry her friends or family about her deteriorating mental health and felt like getting a pet animal would be too much responsibility for her. So instead, Koo got a pet rock and named it “Bang-bang-i”, inspired by the Korean word for jumping in happiness. She told The Wall Street Journal that the rock has inspired her to get through hard times: “There was some sense of serenity, knowing that this natural rock had weathered a lot over the course of time to reach its current state.”

According to a July 2023 report by Korea JoongAngDaily, the coronavirus pandemic also promoted a pet-rock boom, and you can find hundreds of South Koreans showcasing their pet rocks on TikTok. 

While this story sounds outwardly cute, stories like this should radicalise us. Even though it’s important that people are being reminded to connect with the natural world, it shouldn’t replace real human connection. Capitalism isolates us significantly, but we must fight not to internalise capitalism ourselves.