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By Jung Min-ho, Kim Bo-eun, Bahk Eun-ji
Kim Jae-hee, a 33-year-old teacher at a private English institute, got married to a guy she met online last year.
Only about 10 years ago, online dating was seen as a last resort for those desperate to find a date.
However, with an increasing number of people seeking to meet people via social networking websites and smartphone applications, it is no longer the case.
"I used to hang out in local pubs, spending money on drinks, which I didn't even like, in the hope of finding a woman. For others, maybe church played such a role. But it seems like we don't have to do that anymore," said 28-year-old businessman Cho Jung-hyun.
"Social network dating (SND) is quickly replacing them, I mean, in terms of serving such a purpose."
The service gives users options beyond women in their neighborhood and male-dominant companies, Cho added.
"What I like about online dating most is the fact that it's quick, which is very important for businesspeople like me since the time is always limited due to heavy workloads," Cho said.
He considered turning to matchmaking agencies but decided not to because they cost too much and that "SND is not expensive."
Love via smartphones
"There's no recession in love," said Barry Diller, chairman and CEO of InterActiveCorp (IAC), the parent company of American online dating service Match.com.
Online dating services are burgeoning here, aided by up-to-date communication technologies in one of the most wired countries in the world.
SND services have mobile applications that offer matchmaking where members can share their information with one another to find a date. Though regulations vary, what the users are basically allowed to do is check the pictures and profiles of other members.
After exchanging messages, if the two agree to share more information, they can do so.
The services are rapidly becoming popular despite their two-year history. The nation's first and most renowned SND service, Ium, already has over 650,000 members and the number has been on a sharp upward trajectory since it launched the service at the end of 2010.
"I was literally too busy to go out with men because of my workload over the past three years. One day I realized there were not many suitable places or ways to find people to go out with and I ended up downloading an online dating app," said Ko Sun-mi, a 31-year-old office worker living in Seoul.
"My initial impression of those kinds of service was, to be honest, not so positive. Just like many others, I doubted how much I could trust people there," she said.
"But I learned that many of those services have a reliable process in terms of managing their members. Also, I have encountered many young people who see the service as a good opportunity to meet people, which changed my perception about dating through smartphone applications or websites."
Ko is just one of many who have a negative attitude toward meeting people online, and the companies are well aware of it.
"But obviously, it is changing dating trends here despite many hurdles to overcome and the negative perception will be gradually changed," Ium CEO Park Hee-eun said during an interview with The Korea Times.
She stressed that Ium makes a lot of effort to make the service reliable through a strict membership screening process, which has become the most important part of attracting more people.
"Not everyone can be a member. When people want to subscribe to the service, their legal names and social security numbers should be confirmed. Our employees also check if newcomers are married to prevent fraud cases, checking if there is anyone trying to take advantage of our service with malicious intention."
The CEO also pointed out the period of membership confirmation takes one or two weeks, and they are doing their best to change people's preconception.
"We have seen 50 couples marry due to our application over the past two years. We believe this is a remarkable step in terms of changing people's perception about online dating from negative to positive," Park said.
Perils of online dating
While the process of finding dates has become more convenient and efficient with SND, it also has negative implications.
Promoting excessive materialism is one of them.
For example, some applications and websites require men to state their job, income and even car model on their profile.
One called SugarSugar.com arranges dates for wealthy men referred to as "Sugar Daddies" and women who wish to meet such men, referred to as "Sugar Babies." And of course, those who put higher numbers for the income category are more likely to find a partner.
For women, those who post revealing pictures of themselves are more likely to receive messages from men.
It is little surprise that such services are viewed with skepticism.
"It may be true that wealth is a quality that many women seek in men, while beauty is a quality most men seek in women. However, it seems these websites and applications are playing a role in further encouraging people to seek such superficial qualities," said 26-year-old office worker Chung Seon-joo. "They may actually be contributing to justifying such a phenomenon."
It is also important to note that the information in profiles might be a hoax.
Some of these services have been criticized for providing a means for prostitution. As many of the services do not require ID verification o, an increasing number of women, especially runaway teenagers, fall into the temptation of making a fast buck.
Even with the verification process, dangers still lie in a situation where users do not know how many people can access their information. And it is a foregone conclusion that some have impure intentions.
There was a case in Busan in which a man sexually assaulted and stole money from a woman he met through a dating app in July last year.
If the excitement of meeting new people is what attracts some people to follow the new dating trend, a fear of meeting strangers is what prevents others from jumping on the bandwagon.
"I understand that people use social dating services because it may be difficult for them to meet people, but I would not use them," said Kim Chang-kyu, a 27-year-old university student.
"Even if I were in the same situation, I would rather choose to ask somebody to set me up on a blind date. One might think there is little difference between the two, but they are obviously different. At least I know the go-between for a blind date," said Kim.
"It is also very hard for me to trust the information in online profiles. I mean who knows if it is true?"
