Camp for Singles Encourages Marriage
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
For 35-year-old Lee, a luxury brand importer, nothing is more annoying than being labeled as "Gold Miss" ― unmarried, affluent and professionally successful.
Her friends, mostly married with kids, say they're jealous of her carefree, single and well-to-do life, but Lee claims that she doesn't care for any of the glamour.
"I want to get married and start a family of my own like every other woman of my age," says Lee, who thinks that new fad words such as "Gold Miss," "Platinum Miss" and "Silver Miss," which commonly describe old and unmarried women's success, only intimidate men.
A dedicated member of Duo, the country's largest matchmaking firm, Lee has gone on dozens of blind dates, but always ends the encounters after two or three dates.
Her latest solution? Getting professional help on becoming an ideal bachelorette.
"It's tough convincing myself that I need to learn how to date, but I have to do what I have to do," says Lee, who plans to sign up for Duo's upcoming "Honhwal Camp."
The new term Honhwal, a combination of the words "wedding" and "activity," was recently coined in Japan to describe unmarried people's growing interest in "marriage hunting."
Through Honhwal, men and women do everything from taking cooking lessons and personal finance classes to mastering dating techniques in a bid to become officially eligible.
Locally, Duo's Honwhal Camp is the first of its kind to help singles take a more systematic approach.
The monthly sessions teach men and women all they need to know to woo the opposite sex and tie the knot, explains Lee Myung-gil, a Duo coach.
"We examine case studies and take part in group discussions to help individuals identify their strengths and weaknesses," she said.
The camp has seen such a strong turnout that the number of applicants who registered for the August session surpassed the class limit by seven times, according to company officials.
While other matchmaking firms are preparing to introduce similar programs, a newly-opened dating school in southern Seoul claims it offers a more value-added guide.
Coaches at Karma say that singles can get customized help like in the movie "Hitch," starring Will Smith.
From understanding theory to hands-on drills through simulations, a three-part program is an all-inclusive training to master dating, says Kim Byung-cheol of Karma.
Social experts say that the spiking demand for professional marriage consulting is a natural result from people's obsession over materialistic values.
"Singles shamelessly list the must-haves they seek in their partner, so the competition to fulfill those needs is an unsurprising consequence," says Lee Yun-suk, a professor of
urban sociology at the University of Seoul.