‘There’s more to life than work’: Bangkok’s young people embrace mass outdoor aerobics sessions

It’s evening rush hour in central Bangkok, the roads are clogged with traffic and the air is heavy from the heat. But in a corner of the capital’s biggest park, the crowds are already gathering to dance.

As the music starts, an aerobics leader glides across a small stage. A sea of arms move from side to side, then touch the sky. Knees pop up and down. Ankles tap.

The after-work aerobics classes in Lumphini Park once drew a modest crowd of mostly older people, organisers say. Now, they’re a gen Z hit. Students and young adults are flocking to the sessions to join in the fun, and clips are going viral on TikTok and Instagram.

• The sessions have become so popular that projector screens and extra speakers have been added

Attendance numbers, now in the hundreds, have grown so much that authorities have put up a projector screen to help the crowds follow the routine and installed extra sets of speakers to blare music across the park’s walkway.

Aether Li, 22, who works nearby as a paralegal, joined the sessions after seeing videos on social media. “Seeing it on TikTok, it’s really fun – there’s just this energy that makes you want to join in,” she said. “I graduated high school during Covid. I just crave human connection, I guess.”

She came alone to her first session but has already made a group of friends. “Especially gen Z right now, I’m born in 2003, we just started our first jobs. It’s nice to just go out and have some connection and learn that there’s more to life than just work,” she adds.

• Clockwise from top left: Jumjim Pumpuang, 60, a retiree; engineer Nawatakorn Suwanprapa (left), 24, and engineering student Panisa Taratcho, 20; Issaree ‘Mink’ Jitpattarin, 40, a business owner in the construction hardware industry; Manissara Siriboon, 30, an electrical engineer

In the past, Li says, outdoor group exercise was something she would associate with older generations “doing steps” or tai chi. “But the music here is quite different, I guess that’s also what attracted so many younger people.”

• Top: staff set up microphones and audio equipment. Bottom: a DJ performs during an aerobics session

Playlists range from remixes of luk thung, Thai country music, to US hip-hop and Korean pop. Participants link arms and spin to Squid Game’s Round and Round and stretch to Golden, one of the hits from KPop Demon Hunters.

Rattana Songpanich, 57, who is dancing close to the stage, has been coming to the sessions for three years. “Back then, there were fewer people, less than 100,” she says. Now, with “the music, the vibe, the atmosphere,” it has changed a lot. “I like it more – anyhow, it’s just different,” she says, bouncing back into her dance.

Beside her are young students who move with the flair of K-pop stars in baggy trousers, as well as older people who flex in sports gear.

• People of all ages and backgrounds take part in the sessions

Deeper into the crowd, Khemika Chaisanit, 20, and Sarocha Wongsuwan, 21, both students, are keeping up with the routine. “For me, I study a lot, I read a lot. I think doing some kind of exercise is good for me,” says Sarocha, who normally comes to the park to run.

• Khemika Chaisanit, 20, a film student, dances with her friends

They’re dancing besides Chutimol Phongchokdeelert, 58, who works nearby. “I’m getting older – next year is going to be my 60th birthday – so I just decided I should do more exercise,” she says.

Chutimol walks through the park every day on her way home from work and decided to join in. Many passersby do the same. Runners stop their laps to try out the moves; commuters pause for selfies; passing tourists video the crowds on their phones.

In February, the popular South Korean rapper and singer Taeyong filmed himself attempting the workout as he went running in the park, fuelling even more interest online. “The steps are hard,” he told his online followers afterwards.

Not everyone can keep up. Some take it easy, others collapse into laughter with their friends.

• Nawaporn Noppakun, 69, in pink, dances with friends during the evening session

Nawatakorn Suwanprapa, 24, an engineer, thought he was meeting his girlfriend in the park for a run. “We ended up here,” he says midway through the session, adding that it doesn’t matter if you can’t go fast. “It’s not competitive,” he says.

Anong Benjakhunprasit, 53, a volunteer who leads the second half of the session, says she hasn’t adjusted the routines in response to the new participants. “I’ve been told people are coming more and more, and in a large group, because they want to challenge themselves,” she says.

• Panisa Taratchon (left) and Nawatakorn Suwanprapa came across the session and joined in halfway through

After the two-hour session ends at 8pm, some groups stay to practise, filming their moves on their phones. Others queue up to chat to their dance leader.

Anong says it’s exciting to see such a sudden burst of interest online, but adds that her main hope is that people will discover a love for exercise.

“Maybe the viral trend will fade after a while, but there must be some people here who will take this as their starting point and keep going,” she says. And her advice to those who struggle with the steps? Practise more. “You’ll get better,” she says. “People shouldn’t be shy.”