South Korea drops its maximum weekly working hours from 68 to 52

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The work week is now going to be easier to get through in South Korea, with legislation now in effect that cuts the country's maximum weekly working hours from 68 to 52.

Members of the National Assembly overwhelmingly supported lowering the hours. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development studied work habits in 37 countries, and found that last year, the average person in South Korea worked 38.9 hours a week, the third highest number (Mexico took top honors, with the average person working 43.4 hours per week). Companies with more than 300 employees must start abiding by the legislation immediately, while smaller companies have until 2020 and 2021, CNN reports.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.