Is Wearing Shoes Indoors in the U.S. Becoming a Thing of the Past?

The culture of wearing shoes indoors in the United States is changing based on new awareness about hygiene.

It drew media attention through a Time article on September 14 that pointed out the dangers of wearing shoes indoors; the article cited research finding coliform bacteria on 80% of Americans' shoe soles and raised the issue of contamination in living spaces such as beds and sofas.

This change was influenced by the spread of hygiene awareness after the pandemic, which strengthened the culture of taking off shoes indoors, and images of wearing shoes indoors often seen in past American sitcoms and other mass media now belong to an older culture.

78% of young people in the United Kingdom separate indoor and outdoor shoes, and in cold countries such as Canada this culture took hold early due to problems with snow and mud being tracked in.

In fact, a survey found that 78% of young people in the United Kingdom take off their shoes when entering the home, and in cold-climate countries such as Canada, the culture of separating indoor and outdoor shoes took hold early because of snow and mud.

This is due to the American situation in which people cannot bring themselves to tell guests to take off their shoes out of politeness.

This is because the possibility that guests may be embarrassed by the condition of their socks or foot odor must be considered, and it is perceived as an act that infringes on personal freedom for the host's convenience. Furthermore, there is an underlying mindset that it is natural for the host who invited someone to clean up personally.

Because of the fear that holes in socks or foot odor may be exposed, some point out that forcing guests to take off their shoes undermines personal dignity.

This connects fear of exposure of sock condition or foot odor to the issue of dignity, interpreting forcing guests to remove their shoes for the host's convenience as an unfair demand that undermines personal freedom and dignity.

The request must be communicated in advance before the visit, and making the demand at the front door is considered rude.

One should use wording that emphasizes it is 'consideration for the guest' rather than a command; for example, a polite expression such as 'in case you'd be uncomfortable because of the mud on the floor' can be used.

For Americans, showing their bare feet in front of others is perceived as quite embarrassing and shameful.

This psychological resistance stems from concern about exposure of odors or sock condition that may arise from taking off shoes.

Telling an American to take off their shoes feels similar to asking them to take off their clothes, and there is a strong tendency to perceive shoes as part of clothing.

Because of the concept that clothing is worn on one's body, they receive instructions to remove it in front of others with discomfort.

American homes are mostly carpeted, and because people usually wear shoes in daily life, the carpets are very dirty.

From a guest's perspective, walking on a dirty carpet in only socks often feels unpleasant.

Even Americans themselves tend to avoid walking barefoot on the carpet in their own homes.

There is a problem that ordinary vacuum cleaners alone cannot completely remove contaminants embedded in the fibers.

Korea has a culture of hard flooring such as wood floors or linoleum that can be mopped, with the entrance and the rest of the home separated.

About 70% of American homes use carpet flooring. However, ordinary vacuum cleaners have the limitation of not being able to completely remove contaminants in the fibers.

These differences in floor cleanliness and management methods have a decisive influence on whether shoes are worn indoors.

Differences in flooring type played a major role in forming cultural customs, and not taking off shoes indoors is also connected to the architectural characteristic of wooden houses.

More than about 50% of American homes use carpet as flooring, and bedrooms almost always have carpet.

In the past, wooden houses had weak insulation, so carpet began to be used to block winter cold and maintain warmth.

Carpet is also used to block the noise peculiar to wooden houses (creaking sounds) and reduce noise between floors.

In the United States, when carpet gets dirty, people often choose to replace it entirely rather than clean it.

In this way, an environment where people are reluctant to walk barefoot because the carpet is already contaminated becomes a cause of continuing to wear shoes, which in turn leads to stepping on the carpet with shoes and worsening hygiene, creating a vicious cycle.

Unlike the United States, where carpet culture is common, Korea takes off shoes indoors, uses hard flooring, and is sensitive about sterilization with robot vacuum cleaners or steam mops.

People use robot vacuum cleaners and steam mops and respond sensitively to floor sterilization to maintain cleanliness.

Korea, which uses hard flooring without carpet, naturally established a culture of taking off shoes indoors.

Foreigners living in Korea feel satisfaction with the custom of taking off shoes at home, and this leads to a trend of experiencing the comfort of escaping a dirty daily life.

An American who has lived in Korea for 12 years says he likes living without shoes in Korea, and expectations are growing about the possibility that Korea's clean housing culture could be exported to the United States.