6 in 10 women mum on ex-boyfriends

By Park Si-soo

Staff reporter

Would you frankly admit how many ex girlfriends or boyfriends you have had to your current partner?

A matchmaking company surveyed 144 adult females and found that 62 percent of respondents said they would "never tell the truth" if asked about the number of past relationships.

Thirty percent of them said they would reveal details candidly, while 6.8 percent said they would give a smaller number of ex-boyfriends and 1.4 percent said they would exaggerate the figure.

For Seo You-jin, a 28-year-old career woman, "never telling the truth" is the best policy. "I have dated more than five men," said Seo. "If he had asked questions other than those on ex-boyfriends, I would certainly be frank. But it's one thing that I won't talk about."

The percentage of men who keep the number of ex-girlfriends secret came in at 28 percent from 181 men surveyed.

Forty-five percent of respondents said they would frankly answer to the number of ex-girlfriends, while 18 percent said they would reduce the number.

"Speaking about ex-boyfriends to a current partner still amounts to a taboo in a society that is never generous to women with many dating experiences," said Prof. Bae Eun-kyung at Seoul National University's department of sociology. "However, it's a bit different for men ㅡ having many girlfriends in the past could mean they are sexually competitive."