Introducing plogging, an international sports phenomenon spreading through SNS
Have you heard of the sport, plogging? It comes from the Swedish phrase 'plocka upp', which means 'to pick up grains', and the English word 'jogging'. It refers to a sport that involves picking up trash while jogging. It began in Sweden in 2016 and started to become a fun trend as people participating started to post about the sport on their Youtube and Instagram.
Anyone can carry out an ecolife.
Plogging can be done by anyone, anywhere, whenever (Photography by Jaejudojoa official Facebook)
The reason why plogging spreads so quickly all over the world was because it does not have any entry barrier like other sports, and it is a rewarding activity that keeps the environment clean in an easy way. All you need is a pair of gloves to pick up the trash and a bag to put it in. There are also no limits to where you do it. You can go plogging in your neighborhood, or on a shore or a riverbank. There’s no limitation to this sport, you can do it according to your style and feel great about doing something for the society. This is why more and more people are getting into the world of plogging.
Trashed that got picked up during beachcombing are made into beautiful craftworks (Photography by Jaejudojoa official Facebook)
There’s a similar sport called beachcombing. It comes from the English words 'beach' and 'combing'; a sport where you pick up shells, glass debris and trash from the beach. You can utilize the trash and make them into artworks or accessories, which provides a different kind of fun from plogging. There is a Beachcombing Festival in Korea where participants create various craftworks with trash from the beach.
Greater exercise than jogging
In Korea, plogging is actively carried out by running crews (Photography by @goodrunner_nian)
Plogging’s advantage is that it is a greater workout than simple jogging. You not only have to run with the trash bag, but also the motion of picking up trash is similar to a squat (sitting down to make your thighs parallel to your knees and getting up), which fortifies all muscles in your body and therefore burns greater calories than jogging. According to Swedish fitness application Lifesum’s research on plogging, persons who jog for 30 minutes consume 235kcal on average while those who do plogging consume an average of 288kcal.
In Korea, plogging running crew recruits are mainly done via Instagram (Photography by @crewghost)
Those of you who wish to go plogging in groups rather than alone should look for a running crew. In Korea, plogging is actively carried out by running crews. You can use the SNS to search and join the crews and participate. There are different groups for different levels, so if you haven’t tried running, there is no pressure. Look up #runningcrew on Instagram to find Korean running crews.
Plogging gets noticed by corporates.
Corporates are going plogging too!
You can see how popular plogging is getting in Korea as there are many corporate plogging events. The most well-known one is Hyundai Motor Company’s IONIQ Longest Run. Hyundai Motor Company started this event in 2016 to share awareness about micro dust damages and strive to make the world a cleaner place with the eco-friendly electronic vehicle ‘IONIQ’.
The Hyundai Motor Company IONIQ Longest Run event will be carried out this year as well
If a participant downloads campaign only application and goes on a run, Hyundai Motor Company will create the ‘IONIQ forest’ with the runners which aims to reduce the level of micro dust. The ‘social running’ program was added last year, which allows creating running crews in the application to meet up and run together. If you wish to start a sport but don’t know where to start and what to do, go plogging and make tomorrow a healthier day for yourself and the Earth.
