▲ An Seong-il, Director of Korea Testing and Research Institute for Machinery and Electronics (KTC)
In Korea, teenagers struggle to fall asleep due to academic stress. Those in their 20s to 40s face endless competition in job hunting and within the workplace, while those aged 50 and above experience difficulty sleeping due to hormonal changes caused by physical aging. Indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to call Korea a republic of insomnia.
In modern society, sleep is a crucial factor in improving health and quality of life. However, sleep disorders are increasingly common due to lifestyle changes and the proliferation of digital devices, posing a threat to the happiness of modern individuals and sometimes leading to serious illnesses. The number of patients with sleep disorders, including insomnia, increases annually, leading to national concerns such as a decline in the vitality of the population due to sleep deprivation, economic losses due to rising medical expenses, and the need to protect individuals' right to health regarding sleep disorders. According to data from the National Health Insurance Service in 2022, one out of five adults suffers from a sleep disorder, which is identified as a major factor causing chronic illnesses, psychological, and physical disorders.
Recently, with the increasing awareness of the importance of sleep and people's interest in sleep quality, the sleep industry that helps with this issue is rapidly growing. The sleep industry includes not only lifestyle products that support restful sleep but also digital devices and technological services that heal sleep disorders and enhance quality of life. As investments to reduce medical and social burdens related to sleep increase, both startups and large companies are entering the sleep industry market. Although the global sleep industry market size is expected to grow steadily at an average annual rate of 6.47%, the establishment of empirical systems and testing evaluation bases to verify safety, performance, and effectiveness is still inadequate.
The Korea Testing and Research Institute for Machinery and Electronics (KTC), an internationally certified testing and certification organization, has established the Sleep Industry Promotion Center in Asan, Chungnam Province. Supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Chungnam Province, and Asan City, approximately 246 billion won has been invested, and a total of 82 diverse testing and research facilities, including sleep trial rooms and video-based behavior analysis rooms, have been equipped on a site area of 3040 square meters. In the future, we plan to establish a system that supports the entire life cycle of the sleep industry to help it become the center of development for the domestic sleep industry. Especially, we will provide an environment where performance and effectiveness needed for product development and marketing can be analyzed and verified through sleep trials, which is the first of its kind in Korea.
The potential for the development of the sleep industry is infinite in the future. Beyond sleep-friendly products such as beds and lighting, the ecosystem will expand to include smart devices, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data technologies that support the analysis and improvement of individual sleep patterns, as well as the diagnosis and consultation of sleep disorders. These technologies are expected to be utilized for accurate diagnosis and customized treatment to improve individuals' sleep quality and resolve sleep disorders such as insomnia. In the future, services provided by sleep experts to offer a more comfortable sleep environment and enhance quality of life will become essential for all citizens who seek peaceful sleep every day.
