![Participants try to keep a straight face during the annual Hangang Space-out Competition, held at Jamsoo Bridge over Seoul's Han River on Sunday. (Yonhap)](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2023/05/22/20230522000739_0.jpg)
The annual Hangang Space-out Competition returned Sunday, with a total of 70 teams showing off their art of zoning out.
On Jamsoo Bridge over Seoul's Han River, the participants – some of them dressed in costumes -- turned off their phones and sat with blank expressions, while their heart rates were checked every 15 minutes. Anyone who laughs, talks or dozes off was eliminated.
A player dressed in a tuxedo took the first prize after successfully spacing out for 90 minutes. The winner – actor named Jung Sung-in – took home a gold-painted trophy modeled after Rodin’s sculpture “the Thinker,” along with an invitation to the international space-out contest.
Seoul City has hosted the annual competition since 2016 to convey a message that "doing nothing is also valuable."
![Participants in diverse outfits and constumes compete in this year's zone-out competition. (Yonhap)](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2023/05/22/20230522000740_0.jpg)
![A participant zones out in this year's Hangang Space-out Competition. (Yonhap)](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2023/05/22/20230522000741_0.jpg)
![A participant zones out in this year's Hangang Space-out Competition. (Yonhap)](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2023/05/22/20230522000742_0.jpg)