Viewpoint
Field notes
Chang Might Choon
The young are looking at dating apps and agencies that are matchmaking the S. Korean capital and beyond searching for lovers
SEOUL • While searching pages for an app that is dating Ms Jayine Chung ended up being interested in a guy whom described himself as somebody who enjoys good meals and tossing rocks in to the Han River.
“It ended up being extremely quirky and amusing. Would you that any longer? We needed seriously to fulfill this person,” recalled the freelance that is 32-year-old producer with a laugh.
After a few rounds of shortlisting from a listing of prospective times through the free software Norang Narang (Korean for “you and me”) , they finally surely got to trade contact information and arranged to satisfy the day that is next.
But Ms Chung had been any such thing but impressed whenever her date, a freelance storyboard musician for TV commercials, turned up using a Burberry trench layer and driving a Range Rover, just as if flaunting their wide range.
“Maybe he achieved it to obtain girls, but it certain did not wow me personally. Then we sat right down to talk, and then he realised i am perhaps maybe not the materialistic kind. I became interested in their work, like he is shot a film that is short and their plans, and what exactly is he like as an individual,” she recalled.
After he drove her house, she purchased him a sit down elsewhere to thank him – a motion that amazed him since many girls he’d dated anticipated him to fund every thing.
Which was the start of a relationship that culminated within their engaged and getting married in January just last year, in the very very first anniversary of the very first date.
Ms Chung and her spouse, Mr Song Kyung Heub, 47, are included in an increasing wide range of partners whom came across with professional assistance – be they matchmaking agencies or dating apps.
BOOMING BUSINESS
Into the booming matchmaking industry worth an approximated 100 billion won (S$117 million), expert matchmakers are increasingly assisting singles to locate love – those for whom love is evasive because they’re either too busy working or too timid to socialise by themselves.
Another basis for making use of dating agencies is the fact that social groups have actually shrunk, with additional individuals preferring to expend their time that is free alone frequently glued for their smart products. Young adults are less in a position to count on relatives and buddies to repair them up with a romantic date, unlike into the past.
Even the South government that is korean wanting to raise the nation’s low fertility rate of 1.24, has established intends to introduce matchmaking solutions at nationwide and local amounts out of this 12 months, to produce more possibilities for singles to meet up with and also to cause them to become get hitched and begin a household early in the day.
The age that is median wedding has increased in past times few years going to 32.8 for males and 30.7 for ladies this past year, a growth of over 5 years – 27.8 for males and 24.8 for females – from 2 decades ago.
Singapore’s Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo, in Seoul month that is last learn the united states’s wedding and parenthood policies, noted just exactly exactly how youth in both Southern Korea and Singapore have actually delayed wedding in modern times. She additionally noted, nonetheless, that the Koreans had been more proactive in searching for love and adopting matchmaking that is commercial.
In A twitter post titled “Dating – Gangnam Style”, she urged solitary Singaporeans to begin early, just like the Koreans, and stay available to getting professional assistance.
You can find 1,600 dating agencies in Southern Korea, which will be house to a populace of 50 million.
Duo, which claims to end up being the biggest dating agency in the nation, has a membership of 31,000. This has made over 33,000 matches that are successful resulted in marriages within the previous two years.
It runs on the system that is computerised crunch detailed information supplied by users, including occupation, yearly income, automobile and home owned, and domestic area, and conducts criminal background checks to confirm the information and knowledge before combining up users. It creates as much as 17,000 matches per month.
Duo executive that is chief Park Soo Kyung stated the company’s motto would be to set singles with all the purpose of making “happy marriages”. This has supervisors whom speak with people to further determine their perfect partner and dating coaches to advise them on how best to carry by themselves so that you can make an impression on their fantasy male or female.
A typical male organ is a 33-year-old college graduate whom earns 40 million won a 12 months, while a typical feminine user is really a 30-year-old degree owner making 30 million won a 12 months.
RETURN OF A TRADITION
Matchmakers have typically played a role that is key Korean culture, stated Ms Park. “Marriage lovers were typically decided upon by moms and dads because wedding ended up being seen as two families 
coming together as you. That is why they relied on matchmakers to gather detailed information and suggest a match that is suitable” she stated.
Wedding in our contemporary world happens to be a search for free love and individual pleasure, ultimately causing the wane of this matchmaker that is professional.
But, with young adults now becoming more pragmatic within their mindset towards wedding, they “would utilize information from matchmakers to locate their perfect lovers because they feel it really is a logical thing to do”, stated Ms Park.
She added that as engaged and getting married and starting a family group need big sums of cash, young adults do not desire to risk going involved with it without once you understand their partner’s socio-economic history and status that is financial information which dating agencies provides.
Stated sociologist Kim Soo Kyung, research teacher at Korea University: “Marriage became like a small business or agreement. individuals worry more info on financial status and what university one graduated from, and that will be the good reason why they’ve been looking at dating agencies that have actually plenty of that information.”
One concern, but, is dating agencies ranking users centered on requirements which can be “heavily weighted on materialistic indicators and aggravate sex discrimination”, Prof Kim stated. As an example, some professions with appearance as a necessity, like trip stewardess, are rated greater.
Another basis for making use of dating agencies is the fact that social sectors have actually shrunk, with additional individuals preferring to expend their time that is free alone usually glued for their smart products. Teenagers are less in a position to count on family and friends to correct them up with a romantic date, unlike into the past.
Then, you can go after “sogaeting”, an private date that is blind a buddy’s buddy, or “meeting”, a tiny gathering of 6 to 8 singles whom typically make new friends by playing some sort of ingesting game.