[New Word Dictionary] Sisimbi (時心比) - Satisfaction and Efficiency Compared to Time

Sisimbi (時心比) refers to a consumption trend that pursues satisfaction and efficiency relative to time, and it is spreading mainly among the MZ generation's content consumption. Illustration by artist Oh Seong-su

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, advised the youth of his time to "remember that time is money." He pointed out that if a person who could earn 10 shillings a day by labor spent half a day strolling or idling in a room, even if they only spent 6 pence idly, it was as if they wasted 5 shillings by squandering time. Zhu Xi, a Confucian scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty in China, also emphasized in his poem "Occasional Composition (偶成)" that "Youth quickly fades and learning is hard to achieve, so do not take even a short moment lightly (少年易老學難成 一寸光陰不可輕)." Many historical figures regarded time as capital and value and utilized it to the fullest, but among them, Russian entomologist Alexandrovich Lyubishev was called "the man who conquered time." From the age of 26, he resolved to analyze the time he spent every single day without fail. Lyubishev even checked the time spent in conversations with his children at the dining table. Throughout his life, he left behind over 70 books and 12,500 pages of research materials. However, he did not reduce his sleep. Sleeping more than 8 hours a day and reading novels amounting to 9,000 pages annually, he made efforts not to waste even a second of the time spent traveling for lectures or meetings and the leftover time before starting work. This time tracking not only improved the quality of his time usage but eventually enabled him to calculate time accurately by his biological rhythm alone, to the extent that he no longer needed a clock.

Sisimbie (時心比) refers to a consumption tendency that pursues satisfaction and efficiency relative to time, spreading mainly among the MZ generation's content consumption. Popular YouTube videos mostly last around 5 to 10 minutes, packing fun and meaning into a short time, which has become a trend. Watching a review video of about 10 minutes instead of a long movie is common, and web novels or webtoons that can be read within 10 to 20 minutes are more popular than a single book. Behind the Sisimbie, where time holds more value than money for the 10s and 20s generation, lies a gloomy self-portrait of young people who must accumulate more experiences and qualifications within the same time amid fierce competition for college entrance exams and employment.

Example

A: You said you hadn’t watched the movie ‘Hwayangyeonhwa’ yet, right?
B: Yeah. I just haven’t had the chance. Why suddenly?
A: It was re-released recently. Want to go watch it after lunch tomorrow?
B: Ah, sorry. I just started an English conversation course, so I don’t think I’ll have time. The running time is almost 100 minutes, right? I can barely remember the last time I properly watched a full movie.
A: Sisimbie is good, but sometimes I wonder if living means not having time to watch a movie or read a book.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.