Meditation booths tackle mental health stigma in South Korea

By Kamille Q. Cabreza

The sharp surge in one-person households, notably in urban areas, has resulted in increased loneliness and social isolation in South Korea.

Meanwhile, the stigma around mental health awareness causes people living alone to be reluctant to seek help about their struggles with anxiety or depression.

This has motivated Hyundai Engineering & Construction to introduce the nation’s first in-apartment meditation booths specifically for solo residents in a move to strengthen their emotional stability and nurture their mental health.

As part of Hyundai’s larger digital health initiative, the new feature – dubbed the H Calming Booth – will be unveiled at the Hyundai apartment complex Hillstate Homeasil in Seoul.

Residents can freely use the booth, which is a private meditation spot that offers a stress-relieving and mindfulness retreat in the comfort of the residential community.

A space of peace and technology combined

The H Calming Booth is designed to promote psychological relaxation and immersion with its soothing color schemes, soundproof construction, and gentle lighting.

Hyundai teamed up with MA:BO, the top meditation platform in South Korea, to provide video-based guided programs that encompass breathing techniques, mindfulness, and sleep-improvement routines, making them accessible and worth exploring even to newbies, according to The Korea Bizwire.

Meditation is only one of Hillstate Homeasil’s wellness services, though.

The complex will also house H Healthy Pleasure, a health-care zone powered by artificial intelligence that was created in partnership with MyBenefit and Dr. EXSoL.

The system, which is installed in the group exercise room, employs motion detection and biometric analysis to provide residents with independent virtual coaching by delivering customised training programmes based on joint mobility and body-composition measurements.

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Calls for mental wellness lead to thoughtful solutions

The AI workout area and the H Calming Booth are both components of Hyundai E&C’s growing H Series, a line of digital well-being solutions.

Hyundai’s official Hillscasting YouTube channel offers walkthroughs and demonstrations of these features.

“These innovations reflect growing public demand for mental wellness to be treated with the same importance as physical health,” a Hyundai representative said.

The construction company hopes to improve the daily life of residents and housing standards by incorporating the H Series into its residential buildings.

In response to growing consumer demand for tech-enabled, health-focused living spaces, Hyundai intends to introduce the H Calming Booth and associated wellness technologies to more Hillstate complexes in 2026.

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