Why nunchi is the Korean wellness concept you need now

Just once, you would like to catch the zeitgeist early. You missed the boat on hygge , you were still extricating yourself from Copenhagen’s finest knitwear when còsagach came around, and you were tripping over your tartan when lagom became the thing.  

No longer will you settle for a comfortable life. Enter nunchi (noon-chee), a Korean noun meaning “eye measure”, or “the subtle art of gauging other people’s thoughts and feelings to build trust, harmony and connection”. Euny Hong, author of new lifestyle handbook The Power of Nunchi: the Korean secret to happiness and success, describes nunchi as a “Korean superpower”, the ability to speedily recalibrate your attitude or posture based on any new word, facial expression or piece on information in any given situation.  

Here’s how to apply your new 20/20 world view.    

The Nunchi Rules 

First, empty your mind to lose your preconceptions and observe with discernment. Be aware of the Nunchi Observer Effect, because when you enter a room, you begin to influence and change it. Above all, never pass up a good opportunity to shut up. “If you wait long enough, most of your questions will be answered without you having to say a word.” Steve Jobs, Hong points out, had nunchi in spades. He exercised the literal “eye” part of the eye-measure; he was famous for his penetrative stare.    

Beware “stomach-suckers” 

The accomplished nunchi practitioner trusts their own first impression of someone. Allow this first impression to slowly come to you, and watch for ”tells” that someone is not to be taken at face value. Most people can hold in their stomachs for 10 minutes, but can’t manage any longer. Nunchi helps us discern the difference between when someone is stomach-sucking to look better (such as a job interview) or when they’re doing it to make a false impression because of bad intentions. 

Breakfast, nunchi and dinner

Nunchi is the middle path between being intractable and pliant with your own values. “What’s important is that you are discerning and adaptable,” says Hong. It’s a 24/7 lifestyle.  

The Power of Nunchi by Euny Hong is published on September 5 (Penguin, £12.99), buy it here.