Blind Dating During Lunch Is Korea's Latest Trend

[saikira]

Korea's latest trend in blind dating pairs office workers for lunch dates with other office workers in the same neighborhood.

Bae Sang-mi, 29, said that she often meets blind dates near the office of her Internet shopping mall during lunch. "Many of my friends and coworkers also prefer having blind dates during lunch on weekdays rather than weekends," she said. Yu Cheol-hwan, 32, a worker at a securities company in Seoul, said that it's considered a new kind of office custom to set a blind date for lunch.

Match-making companies are jumping on the bandwagon. A manager at match-maker Sunoo said that demand for lunch-time meetings has increased since last year, now accounting for 10 percent of the meetings the company arranges for its clients. "We're trying to take full advantage of lunch-time blind dates, because they help increase the client's turnover rate by distributing arranged meetings throughout the week instead of concentrating them in the weekend," the manager added.

Due to the built-in time constraint, lunch-time dates are usually short and quick. "The best thing about lunch-time blind dates is you don't have to waste a long time just being polite if don't find your date attractive," said Lee Yeong-hoon, 39. Another office girl identified as Han, 26, said, "If you like your date, you can arrange another date for the evening or weekend."



Another advantage is the savings. A bachelor who works at a bank, 36, said that a weekend blind date usually costs W60,000-70,000 (US$1=W997), whereas W20,000 is enough to buy a decent lunch at a nice restaurant near a workplace during the week. Women also like the informality, but for a slightly different reason. Bae Jeong-hwa, an office worker, 34, said, "Most women feel quite stressed to have to dress up and put on make-up on the weekend just for a blind date. That's why they prefer a lunch-time meeting, because they don't have to spend extra time making themselves look beautiful."

But not everybody likes the hasty lunch-time meetings. Kim Min-jeong, 27, had two lunch-time blind dates in a month and said she didn't have enough time to find out what kind of person her dates were. "I think a weekend date is better for getting to know a person well," she said.

"Young people today tend to judge a person in no more than a few dozen minutes by several criteria they set, like looks, jobs, and hobbies," said Yi Young-suk, a professor of sociology at Hallym University. "They don't want to spend more time than is necessary with their dates unless they find them likeable at first sight.”

Source: Chosun
Pic from Mmm987, Sudoksa

[Jademoon20]

Its a super cute idea. You can get to know the other people who are at a common level and lifestyle as yourslef.