South Korea’s “Dark Cafes”: A Scent-Based Dating Trend Gaining Popularity

A novel scent-based dating trend has emerged in South Korea, where young people meet in “dark cafes” to form connections without seeing each other. This unique method aims to trigger primal instincts and shift focus away from physical appearance.

In this dating approach, the need for selfies or pre-meet chats on dating apps is eliminated. Instead, participants enter preferences into an app that uses AI techniques to make matches, a process that can take from a day to two months.

Once matched, couples head to “dark cafes” where they select a scent theme—ocean, fruit, or wood—before being led into a pitch-black room for an hour-long conversation. Relying solely on their sense of smell and other heightened senses in the darkness, they form connections based on personality and conversation. After the session, participants decide if they want to meet in the light, exchange contact information, or keep the meeting as a memory.

This trend is particularly popular among Korean women aged 25-29 and men aged 30-34, transforming dark cafes into weekend hotspots. It alleviates appearance anxiety and frees participants from visual judgments, fostering deeper connections.

Seoyoung Woo, a 28-year-old CEO of one such café, told the Chosun Daily, “Typically, people meet with preconceived notions based on appearance and credentials. We wanted to reverse the process, allowing them to see the inner person first before confronting external conditions.”

Koo Jeong-woo, a sociology professor at Sungkyunkwan University, commented, “The essence of dating is finding someone compatible. ‘Dark dating’ provides an alternative meeting place in a world obsessed with appearances.”

This trend also reflects a response to the fast-paced, short-term dating patterns prevalent in South Korea and China, where young adults often engage in brief conversations over meals or participate in group dating events to maximize their chances within a limited time frame.

Despite its popularity in South Korea, “dark dating” has faced skepticism in China, with some critics calling the emphasis on smell a gimmick and arguing that appearance still fundamentally drives dating decisions. One online observer remarked, “The vast majority choose to meet straight away, meaning they felt they wasted the evening and still wanted to see each other’s faces before deciding the next step.”

Concerns about personal safety and potential exploitation have also been raised, with some suggesting that visually unattractive and overweight individuals might be particularly interested in this trend. Others expressed fears about dating in a dark room, considering it potentially dangerous.

Overall, South Korea’s “dark cafes” offer a fascinating new approach to dating, focusing on deeper connections through scent and conversation, challenging the conventional emphasis on appearance.

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