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S. Koreans open to relationship with foreigners: survey

August 27, 2015
Hallie Bradley, right, author of the blog “The Soul of Seoul” sits with her husband, guitarist Jung Jae-oo. The couple has implemented “fighting rules” to help handle cultural differences in their marriage. (Courtesy of Hallie Bradley)

Hallie Bradley, right, author of the blog “The Soul of Seoul” sits with her husband, guitarist Jung Jae-oo. (Courtesy of Hallie Bradley)

Single men and women in Korea are open to a relationship with foreigners, a survey shows.

DUO, a marriage agency, surveyed 425 single men and women in their 20s to 30s from Aug. 13 to 19.

An average 87.3 percent (88.9 percent of men and 85.8 percent of women) answered “yes” when asked if they are willing to have a relationship with foreigners.

More than 30 percent of men said they prefer foreigners to Korean women because they can express their feelings directly to partners, while 37.2 percent of women said they prefer foreigners because they are different in appearance and have a nice build.

But more than half of respondents said difficult communication because of language was the biggest obstacle to a relationship with a foreigner, while 14.8 percent picked frequent disputes because of cultural differences.

More than 40 percent said the relationship with other family members would be the most difficult part if they married foreigners.

2 Comments

  1. Janine Pressley

    August 27, 2015 at 2:40 PM

    It’s nice to hear more Koreans are opened to building relationships with foreigners. I know that it can be difficult to bring someone of a different culture to a traditional home. But it’ll take both sides to compromise and communicate well enough to have a happy home.

    Reply

  2. paul martin

    August 29, 2015 at 2:37 AM

    Nonesense,

    Koreans are frowned upon when associating with foreigners.
    They join circles in school and work and can be seen 24/7 partying with school friends or coworkers all over the place. Let’s NOT provide false impressions about Korea. The only interest in foreigners is exploiting what they can from them. Numerous pilots are deserting KAL (airlines) because they say Koreans terrible to work with.

    Reply