Sogheting: Korean single’s blind date arranged by a mutual friend or coworker. In Korean, “Soghe” means introduction and Ting is an abbreviation of the English word meeting. Coffee shops are usually the preferred location for these pre-arranged Korean blind dates. College students prefer the area of Shinchon ( popular college are) or Hongdae for these blind date settings if in Seoul due to many trendy cafes in these areas.
Meeting: this Koreanized term refers to a group blind date. It might be anywhere from two girls and two guys up to 5 girls and 5 guys. Coffee shops that are not too crowded are chosen for this group blind date “meeting” location and if in Seoul, preferred location is in Haehwa. The group dating organizer uses games for these group blind dates to relax the environment.
BungheTing: “Bunghe” means lightning ( referring to its speed) and” ting”is an abbreviation of the word meeting. This term was created after the internet dating began taking shape in the late 90s. Parties who would be chatting online might decide to meet on the fly without extensive pre-arranged set up as “sogheting” or ” meeting”.
Matsun: this is an ‘official’ date set by either a professional Korean matchmaker or a relative. This is strictly business so the location for these types of dates are set at high end hotels ( as Lotte if in Seoul) and conversation revolves around checking out each others’ so called specs ( specifications/ educational,financial background information). It is not totally uncommon for a guy to ask a girl ( if she works) in a Matsun how much she makes: this is to gauge whether he is making enough ( so as not be looked down upon). There are many other factors that are fairly intricate in this meeting but this is a brief overview.
With the rise of the internet, there are various event sites coordinating dating events. A more word-of-mouth oriented Korean online dating site with high percentage of Korean Ivy League grads ( the so called SKY grads: S= Seoul National University, K= Korea University, Y= Yonsei University) and females ( 50%) focuses on the female psychology: every day around lunch time an avatar psychic God character delivers a potential male match to the female member with matching criteria that the member set.
Korean dating customs is not as serious as it used to be and is constantly evolving with the rise of the internet and mobile technology applications.
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Korean Dating Customs
