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| YouTube videos related to making dalgona coffee / Captured from YouTube |
With more time at home, some try new things and create their own food recipes. Dalgona coffee, or Korean sugar candy latte, is one of the newest, popular hot beverage concoctions.
A social distancing campaign, suggested by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is aimed at preventing the spread of the new coronavirus by encouraging citizens to stay at home and shun public gatherings to reduce the chances for them catching the virus.
It also suggests keeping in touch by using social media instead of meeting people personally.
As the outbreak continues, young Koreans are turning to social media platforms to ease their anxiety and to find something to do.
Yi Hyun-joo, 26, who has been working from home for two weeks, recently found a new hobby.
"It's really frustrating to stay at home and not meet people. Because coronavirus-related news is depressing, I spend more time looking into social media to see what other people are up to," she said.
After watching a video on YouTube, Yi found a perfect way to fight off her boredom ― making dalgona coffee, also known as frothy coffee. The dark sweet taste delights her taste buds.
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| Dalgona coffee has gone viral online. / Captured from Twitter |
Like Yi, many people are sharing videos about dalgona coffee recipes, with some even surpassing 2 million views.
K-pop stars like BTS and TWICE mentioned it during their live broadcasts.
A popular YouTuber, Korean Grandma, who joined the challenge, commented "I stirred it more than 400 times. Don't you ever try this at home. It's not worth the time and effort." Her video has already surpassed 740,000 views.
Experts say that making simple and fun hobbies at home and sharing them online is a healthy phenomenon.
"Today, people are in the habit of going online and reducing their stress through a practice that involves repeated actions. This may have the same effect as meditating," said Cho Ah-rang, an assistant professor at the Department of Psychiatry at Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong.
"If you refrain from going outside, you may develop symptoms of depression or anxiety," said Kim Eun-joo, a clinical professor at the Department of Psychiatry at Yonsei University College of Medicine Gangnam Severance Hospital.
"Developing a hobby and sharing it with others as a form of collective coping is a healthy phenomenon."
