On March 17, the American daily newspaper Wall Street Journal (WSJ) spotlighted the trend of pet rocks in South Korea.

"Overworked Koreans are finding relaxation with 'pet rocks'."

The average annual working hours in 2021 among 31 OECD countries was 1601 hours.

South Korea had the longest working hours, reaching 1915 hours.

Greece (1872 hours) and Poland (1830 hours) followed.

Compared to Germany (1349 hours), which had the shortest working hours, South Korea's working hours were about 50% longer.

South Korea also had an overwhelming proportion of "long-hour workers" who worked more than 48 hours a week.

While the OECD average was 7.4%, South Korea's figure was 18.9%.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) pointed out that "Koreans are enduring some of the world's longest weekly work hours, so they are finding relaxation in unusual ways," and that "overwork is behind the pet rock trend."

Actually, pet rocks first appeared in the United States.

In the late 1975, Gary Dahl, an executive at an American advertising agency, sold rocks packaged in custom boxes mimicking pet carriers with air vents, and this product swept the nation for about six months.

However, while in the United States at the time it was considered a kind of prank to tease the recipient, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) explained that in South Korea, it is gaining popularity as a means of seeking quiet and stillness.

Pet rocks began to gain popularity in South Korea around 2021 when K-pop idols started revealing their pet rocks.

South Korean idol groups Seventeen, Tomorrow X Together (TXT), and actor Lim Won-hee also introduced the rocks they keep with them.