I'm Chloe Hegemitho, the producer of this episode. Never before has there been a cultural

phenomenon like the Korean one. The country's pop stars sell out enormous venues in minutes

to their eager fans who don't seem to mind that they can't understand the lyrics,

and people around the world have been captivated by the dystopian series Squid Game

and so many other dramas dubbed in every language imaginable, so I was really excited to travel

to Korea. But what I found was a hyper-capitalist nation where people are worked so hard,

they've forgotten how to sleep.

I'm standing in our very cozy room. The lighting is very low. The furniture is all very soft and

comfy. Everything feels so relaxing. This is a kind of place where you could fall asleep,

and in fact people come here to do exactly that.

Sleep cafes like this one have been springing up all over the Korean capitalists'

whole world in the last few years. Right in the heart of the city's business district,

customers can pay just a few dollars for an hour's nap in the middle of the day.

I see customers who come here because of insomnia. They are not sleeping at night,

so they need to recharge. The owner of the sleep cafe,

Junghoon Moore, opened his place five years ago, and he says business is booming.

From our 30th year 2018, our repeat customers started to visit us more regularly,

and sales have been increasing by 30% each year.

So now we're looking at a space for a couple to be in the next next each other in a private booth.

I'm so sorry. I've just walked up a customer who is understandably pretty angry.

I think it's time to go.

Seoul is often called the city that never sleeps. Koreans love parting into the night,

...