"Weird" Behavior On Dating Apps In Korea Gets Put On Blast

Online dating can be demoralizing, no matter where you’re located, but dating as a foreigner in Korea comes with its own unique set of challenges.

On r/Living_in_Korea, a subreddit dedicated to living in South Korea, users shared their experiences with using dating apps. The OP (Original Poster) kicked off the discussion, “Dating apps are weirder here than back home,” by listing peculiarities that stood out to them, including: the high number of male users who use mask selfies, the lack of selfies in general (instead faceless photos of the landscape, food, etc, are included), and users who ghost them for refusing to immediately go on a date and/or move the conversation to the Kakao app instead.

vicky-ng-diDja86YL_M-unsplash — Unrelated photo | *Vicky Ng/Unsplash*

Other users chimed in with their own experiences as foreigners. Some warned that dating apps in Korea are often used for cheating, hookups…

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…or to fulfill a “fetish” for foreign women.

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Another user claimed that their female friends have experienced racism and verbal harassment from potential dates.

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Part of the “weirdness” foreign users experience on dating apps in Korea might be, in part, due to the pool of users they have to choose from, given that not everyone in Korea uses apps to meet a partner.

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A Korean user also joined the conversation to provide more insight into dating apps in Korea. They said, “almost all of the dating apps are trash,” but unlike many international dating apps, some Korean apps filter users by their social and economic status.