Top Korean Dating Sites & Apps That Really Work
South Korea is one of the most technically advanced countries with a large number of young people struggling to find partners and start romantic relationships. No wonder the number of online dating users is growing—it’s going to amount to 5.9 million people by 2029.
But where exactly can a foreigner meet Korean singles? We have some ideas for you.
Most Popular Dating Sites
- SakuraDate — Best for finding romantic relationships in South Korea overall
- NaomiDate — Best for trying something new
- EasternHoneys — Best for active social media users
- TheLuckyDate — Best for those who prefer classic dating apps
- OrchidRomance — Best for finding a perfect match in Korea
- AsiaCharm — Best for real-time communication with Korean singles
SakuraDate — Best for Finding Romantic Relationships in South Korea Overall
SakuraDate is the top Asian dating site with members from all across the continent. It was launched just a few years ago, but since then, it has reached over 500,000 monthly visits, a lot of whom come from South Korea. It’s known for its great selection of communication features and reasonable prices that start at just $2.99 for 35 credits.
Main features:
- Advanced search
- Audio & video messaging
- Letters
- Swiping
“If you’d like to use a top Korean dating app but don’t want to spend hours researching the market, you can just pick SakuraDate. In my opinion, it’s a win-win both for beginners and experienced online daters.”
NaomiDate — Best for Trying Something New
Unlike other Korean dating apps and sites on our list, NaomiDate is a new platform. Now, it has around 47,000 monthly visits, which is quite a good result for a recently launched website. Moreover, the number of users, in particular, Korean singles, is constantly growing. Though some free features are available, the best services are available only to premium users. Costs, however, start at just $0.08 per credit.
Main features:
- Detailed profiles with photos everyone can view for free
- Tutorial for newcomers
- Great online messenger
- The Like swiping feature
“Unlike many recently launched dating apps and sites, NaomiDate could withstand the competition. I can’t say it has one specific advantage over competitors. It rather has everything that a good dating site is supposed to have—a growing user base, strict moderators, and effective communication features.”
EasternHoneys — Best for Active Social Media Users
EasternHoneys is one of the oldest Asian dating sites and one of the best platforms to start exploring the Korean dating scene. Just like SakuraDate, it also gets over 500,000 monthly visits and works great for those who want to meet single Korean guys or Korean ladies. The website isn’t free, though. Members can buy credits, and the prices start at $0.14 per credit.
Main features:
- Newsfeed with posts from members
- Likes, winks, and favorites
- Instant messaging
- Classic search & swiping
“EasternHoneys remains a leading dating site for one simple reason. It offers much more than just texting. On this platform, you can follow Korean singles as if it was Instagram and learn a lot about a Korean guy or a Korean girl before you spend a single credit.”
TheLuckyDate — Best for Those Who Prefer Classic Dating Apps
TheLuckyDate isn’t exactly a niche Korean dating site. It’s rather a global dating site for people seeking serious relationships, fun, and new positive emotions. Its Asian user base, however, is rather big. Now, the site has over 250,000 monthly visits. The costs here start at $0.15 per 100 credits.
Main features:
- Swiping & unlimited free access to profiles
- Virtual gifts
- Instant messaging
- Exchange of media files & custom stickers
“TheLuckyDate is a unique platform. It’s a global site that works like Tinder. You can use it like a Korean dating app if you apply the right search filters. The interface is very intuitive. Basically, you swipe left and swipe right, contacting the most attractive members—who, by the way, are usually very friendly.”
OrchidRomance — Best for Finding a Perfect Match in Korea
If you’re looking for a popular Korean dating app or site to meet the largest number of Korean guys and Korean girls, OrchidRomance might be your perfect option. With over a million monthly visits, it keeps growing and gaining more and more members in Asia. As for the costs, they range from $2.99 for 20 credits to $149.99 for 750 credits.
Main features:
- Verified profiles
- Profile videos
- Direct access to all members’ posts
- Virtual gifts
“OrchidRomance is one of the sites where you are very likely to get enough attention if you create a competitive profile. The reply rate is legitimately high. Also, the site works for people who just want to chat with someone attractive and see how it goes. It’s not necessarily about marriage.”
AsiaCharm — Best for Real-Time Communication with Korean Singles
Last but not least, AsiaCharm is another good Korean dating platform to consider. Now it has 200,000 monthly visits, which is quite impressive for a niche website. Multiple features are free, and the costs are average. For example, a member can get 50 credits for $19.99 or 750 credits for $149.99.
Main features:
- Private and public albums
- Introductory videos
- Say Hello feature
- Winks, likes, favorites
“AsiaCharm is a classic site that has everything a good dating site is supposed to have. There’s the Mail service and gift delivery service, but the modern online messenger still works best for most singles expecting to build deep emotional connections with Korean singles.”
How to Find a Korean Woman Online
So, there are the best dating apps and sites where everyone can meet legitimate Korean singles. Still, every international dater needs a good strategy to make the system work for them. That’s why we’ve developed a step-by-step guide to get you started:
- Choose the best niche dating site. Picking a random popular dating app isn’t enough. You need to find a platform where real Koreans will be searching for meaningful connections with foreigners. It must be secure, convenient, and, ideally, not too expensive.
- Create a competitive profile. Korean singles on dating apps are picky, and that’s not a bad thing. Make some real effort to stand out. Tell others what you are looking for in a partner and what you can offer. Add videos if possible.
- Focus on the most compatible Korean men or women. Apply multiple search filters, see what algorithms can offer, try advanced matching services, and always consider all information on profiles. Ignore low-effort accounts. That’s how you’ll improve efficiency.
- Communicate to start a relationship. Use different communication tools, don’t try to contact too many people, and don’t be afraid to just move on if you notice at least one serious red flag. It’s online dating. You need to focus on the right person.
The idea is to optimize the process, find the right person in the shortest time and at the lowest cost possible, and then meet them in real life. Yes, the trip is always the final stage as that’s how you find out whether there’s chemistry between you, learn more about Korean culture, and things like that. Still, we’d like to stress that you’ll succeed only if you choose the right dating app and site.
How to Choose the Right Korean Dating Site
So, here’s what you should pay special attention to when choosing the dating app:
- The dating pool. Of course, you need a site with many Korean singles. But we’d recommend you set more specific priorities. Who are you looking for? Men or women? Young people or middle-aged potential partners? When you consider the site, take a very close look at profiles. There must be enough similar-minded people.
- Profiles. Speaking of profiles, they are incredibly important. On a good site, you’ll see detailed pages with multiple photos, videos, good bios, and moderation badges. If there are more low-effort or fake accounts, that’s definitely a red flag.
- Set of features. Again, they must work for you, and it must be not just texting. Consider the availability of special features like video chat, phone call service, virtual gifts, real gift delivery, exchange of media files, standard first messages, etc. You don’t have to use the site to learn that much about its features. Such information is usually shared on the FAQ page or in professional reviews.
- Security and moderation. There must be only safe payment options. Also, access to profiles must be restricted for all Internet users who aren’t registered on the site. Existing profiles must be moderated and, ideally, manually verified by the team members. All these measures just make any dating platform a much safer website overall.
- Reputation online. The site may look great, but we’d still recommend finding out what others think about it. Read reviews from experts and professional reviewers, see feedback from current and former customers, and consider their opinions, too.
- Prices. This one may be tricky as most niche websites use credit systems. That means that you’ll need to consider not only the cost of credits but the number of credits you’ll spend on a particular feature, for example, messaging. Still, deep research makes sense. Spend some time on the site, claim free credits or coins, spend them on chatting, see how much you’re going to spend, and then draw conclusions.
Yes, the process is time-consuming. You can simplify it by choosing sites from our ranking—each of them is worth attention, but you’ll need to learn more about each, compare the policies and prices, and weigh all the pros and cons anyway. That’s the only way to find the best option possible.
Niche Korean Dating Apps vs. Mainstream Dating Apps
Why pay for using a niche dating app? Why not just choose a popular mainstream app to improve your dating life? There’s no single answer to this question. You can choose any of the options, but you’ll need to consider the pros and cons of each.
Pros & cons of niche Korean sites and apps
Pros:
- The target audience consists of Korean singles and foreign singles
- High-quality profiles
- Lots of special features that mainstream apps don’t have
- Higher reply rate and much higher success rate
Cons:
- Harder to find a high-quality website in the market
- Such platforms are never free
- Niche sites aren’t cheap
- There’s still no 100% guarantee of success
Pros & cons of mainstream dating apps
Pros:
- Huge user base
- Free or partially free messaging
- Some fun features
- Simplicity and great usability
Cons:
- Low chance of finding a Korean seeking a serious relationship with a foreigner
- You still need to spend money on special features
- Higher chance of getting scammed
- Lower success rate
Which pros and cons seem to be more important to you? Think carefully and then make your choice.
Free and Premium Korean Dating sites
Basically, all dating sites fall under two categories—free and premium platforms where members need to pay to communicate. Which should you choose? Consider the pros and cons and make a choice.
Free dating sites
Pros:
- Large user bases, more matches to choose from
- Free messaging and other basic communication features
- Simple scheme
Cons:
- More scams and catfishing
- Low effectiveness when it comes to international dating
- Many low-quality profiles, difficulty to build deep connections through the platform
Niche premium sites
Pros:
- Narrow target audience, higher success rate
- Multiple advanced communication features
- Advanced matching and search features
Cons:
- Communication will cost money
- Even the most expensive site gives no guarantees
- Some platforms don’t allow members to exchange contact details at the early stages of communication
Does Online Dating in South Korea Work?
Statistics say that around 21% of South Koreans use dating apps. Though the percentage is lower than in some other countries where online dating is incredibly common, searching for a partner online is getting trendy. Why is that? Here are the reasons:
- Online dating saves time. Koreans living in a highly competitive environment don’t have a lot of free time, so it solves one of the most important problems of local singles.
- Dating apps can connect you with single peers. Young Koreans study hard and work hard. In their early and mid-thirties, they are often single. Many also live with their parents. They can’t meet partners at a university and already know all their colleagues, so online dating platforms solve another huge problem.
- Online dating expands the borders. There are not so many foreigners in South Korea, and those who come often stay just for a week or two. Many Koreans, however, are interested in meeting someone from another cultural environment. In this case, nothing can match niche Korean dating apps and sites.
- The problem of social awkwardness is solved, too. It’s rather common in South Korea. Dating culture is much slower and more traditional. If you’ve ever seen at least one Korean drama, you know what we are talking about. That’s one of the reasons why it’s easier for many locals to break the barriers of approaching a new person online.
Also, it’s just convenient and cheap, and the success rate is legitimately high.
Top Tips for Safe Online Dating
Good moderation. The site must have a legitimately good security and moderation system to reduce the number of fake and low-effort profiles, so try to find a safe platform.
Verified profiles. The more detailed the profile, the better. Choose members with multiple photos, videos, good bios, and verification badges. Avoid low-effort pages.
High-quality communication. It must be adequate and regular, things shouldn’t go too fast, and the responses you receive definitely shouldn’t sound robotic.
No requests for money. That’s the golden rule of online dating. If someone (even your long-distance partner) asks you for financial help, block this person right away.
No excuses. If your potential partner finds excuses not to communicate in real time, send a recent video proof, or meet in real life, that’s definitely a scam, no exception.
What Is Dating Like in South Korea?
Dating is actually booming in this country, but marriage isn’t always the ultimate final goal. Want to learn more interesting facts? Take a look at the list.
- More than 42% of Koreans in their 30s are single. In part, that’s explained by the desire to distance themselves from the socially acceptable milestones in life. On the other hand, such rebelliousness is also explained by objective difficulties like the inability to save enough money to buy an apartment.
- There are more online daters among men, but women in South Korea use online dating apps for a longer time to find meaningful relationships.
- Texting is huge in South Korea. Even if you’re dating someone living just a few miles away from you, chatting and exchanging photos is really necessary to show you care about the person and build that emotional connection.
- Being playful and romantic is just a part of local dating culture. Don’t get us wrong. We’re not trying to caricature Korean relationships. But if we compare Korean culture to, for instance, American culture, we’ll see a dramatic difference. For example, in Korea, celebrating a 100-day anniversary is completely normal. There are more special events for sweethearts overall.
Consider these facts before you join one of the best dating apps to find love in Korea or go to the country to find a partner offline.
Get Rid of Stereotypes: Dispelling Myths about Korean People
There are quite many myths about South Korean people. Which of them you didn’t know was wrong or at least partially wrong?
- Everyone is living for their careers. In fact, not all Koreans are very hard-working. But in part, this stereotype is true as you need to try hard to succeed in such a competitive environment even if it’s not part of your nature.
- All Koreans are into plastic surgery. They are really more common than in many other countries in the world, but they are definitely not mainstream. Beauty standards (size standard, height standard, hair standard, etc.) are incredibly strict.
- No one in Korea speaks English. In fact, over 10% of the population speaks it, and it’s not the lowest percentage compared to other countries.
Сonclusion
Online dating in South Korea isn’t as mainstream as it may seem it’s supposed to be but it’s getting bigger. Moreover, the country itself is getting less and less homogeneous, and just like Korean culture expands in the Western world, Western culture expands in South Korea.
There are more and more opportunities and more and more sites that can connect you with local singles. Still, you should be cautious when choosing the platform. It will determine half of your success, so take the process seriously, consider cultural clues, and try your luck on the Korean dating scene!