No more 'Gangnam Style': South Korea's COVID rules demand slower workout music in gyms

Gym members use the treadmill amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at a fitness club in Seoul, South Korea, July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Heo Ran

SEOUL (Reuters) - Plenty of gym-goers rely on a good tune to get themselves through that workout, but in South Korea their musical options have just reduced significantly under new COVID-19 rules.

To the standard restrictions such as social distancing and travel curbs, South Korea has added a requirement that gyms do not play music with higher than 120 beats per minute (bpm) during group exercises such as aerobics and spinning.