Where & How To Find A Korean Wife? — 4 Best Places to Meet a Wife in South Korea
My Asian romantic tour didn’t stop in Japan, as when I got to visit Asia, I decided to get the most out of it. So my next destination was Korea. South Korea, to be exact. I wish I could visit North Korea too, but as far as I know, foreign men or women are forbidden to talk to locals even if they get lucky to get on the state-planned tour.
However, South Korea is far from being locked from the world, and I got to do what I can do best—talk to locals to get all the juicy insights about hot Korean women for marriage. So, for all of you who are wondering how to find a Korean wife, I’m going to share 4 effective ways of dating Korean women who are interested in serious relationships.
Key facts about Korean women for marriage
| Female population in Korea: | 25.85 million |
| Popular cities to meet Korean women: | Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Gwangju |
| Best dating site: | SakuraDate |
| Average age of marriage: | 31 for women and 34 for men |
Where to search for a Korean wife as a foreigner?
My journey in South Korea started not on the best note, as my flight from Japan was delayed for 4 hours, and I spent a lot of time in the airport and then around 3 hours in a crying choir of toddlers. The icing on the cake was that I missed my transfer…let’s say I was annoyed. I didn’t arrive that late, but I wasn’t in the mood to look for Korean girls at all. So, I postponed it till the next day, and that’s when my real Seoul journey started.
One of my friends from Toulouse works at Seoul National University, French department, and he was my South Korean guide and a huge help in communication with locals. As South Korean women and men, as well as Japanese people, are not very fluent in French. And as you know, your TravelingFrenchMan doesn’t have a brain for any Asian language…
Thanks to Éliott, I got to chat with probably 100+ people as he took me into his language classes. They were native speakers. I got insights about the peculiarities of dating a Korean girl and where to look for Korean women who are open to dating foreigners. So let’s talk about what I learned in more detail.
1. Online dating: mail order bride & international dating sites
Number one of the most recommended places to find a Korean wife as a foreigner was Asian dating sites. Online dating is the most popular way people meet, as over 5M Korean people use it, and modern Korean culture has adapted well to it.
Online dating sites most Korean women use fall into 2 main categories, which are:
- International dating sites. These have not just Korean ladies who are into foreign men but also singles from East Asia and all over the world. The intentions of the users on such platforms are very diverse, from regular friendly chat to long-distance romance. And around 10-15% of Korean ladies on such sites are interested in marriage.
- Mail order bride sites. These are niche platforms where you can meet Korean mail order brides, aka Korean brides, who are interested in serious relationships with a foreign partner. Despite the name, you can’t buy Korean wife. C’mon, we live in the 21st century!
Chatting with locals, I realized that most Koreans, regardless of age, prefer online dating. I’ve chatted to a 50-something Korean man whose first recommendation was also searching for a Korean bride online.
Locals recommended around 8-12 platforms to meet Korean women online, and I’ve picked the most popular ones. They are suitable both for the search for Korean mail-order wives as well as for those who want to test the waters and start with something more casual. So here they come.
1. SakuraDate
Best for:
Fun conversations with gorgeous foreign women
What I can say about it:
This international dating platform has over 300K monthly visits and is a good option to consider if you are into Asian women but don’t want to limit your dating horizons. SakuraDate provides search, likes, messaging, and photo exchange, which are a cool way to meet and date real Korean women for marriage. Though the site has a good free-to-paid service ratio, communication is predominantly paid.
More Information
SakuraDate
Gender ratio:
59%
41%
2. EasternHoneys
Best for:
Instant chat and exchange of love letters with hot Korean girls
What I can say about it:
Eastern Honeys is a mono-national Asian women dating platform that has over 270K monthly visits. The site offers fast connections with Korean ladies interested in foreign men, as well as singles from other Asian countries. Eastern Honeys provides search filters, chat, mail, photo/video exchange, and you can even surprise your Asian woman with virtual gifts. However, you need credits for that.
More Information
EasternHoneys
Gender ratio:
55%
45%
3. TheLuckyDate
Best for:
Steamy chatting with foreign brides from Korea and internationally
What I can say about it:
TheLuckyDate is an international dating platform that has everything for an easy search for a Korean woman you like. Not only does the site have sexy Korean women, but also singles from all over the world. TheLuckyDate has around 340K monthly visits, a 75% female to 25% male gender ratio, and an effective search with filters and instant chat. But the platform is partly paid, and to chat with Korean ladies or exchange photos, you need to pay.
More Information
TheLuckyDate
Gender ratio:
58%
42%
4. OrchidRomance
Best for:
Meeting single Korean women fast
What I can say about it:
OrchidRomance is a popular place for searching for a Korean woman who is open to long-distance romance with a foreign man. The site has over 600K visits monthly, easy search, multiple communication ways, and even virtual gifts, which is more than enough for establishing a relationship with real women from South Korea. Plus, you can explore other singles from Asian countries as well.
More Information
OrchidRomance
Gender ratio:
38%
62%
Visits/Month:
1.2M
2. Visiting South Korea to meet Korean women IRL
Going on at least a 2-week vacation to South Korea is another option that I was recommended quite often. As someone who has chosen traveling to be a lifestyle, I couldn’t miss getting my hands on exploring dating a Korean girl as well as chances to find a Korean wife as a foreigner in South Korea. If only I could take a sneak peek into the life of North Korean brides that easily too. So, how to get a Korean wife when visiting the country? Let’s talk about Korean dating a bit.
Do locals find offline dating hard?
Modern Korean women dating comes with challenges to locals, as after the pandemic navigating a dating scene offline became not easy. In Korean culture, there is a strong emphasis on appearance and social status, and many Korean brides and grooms feel pressure to conform to traditional gender norms. But despite the challenges, many local women and men choose offline dating, as they can test IRL chemistry and compatibility. And going on group dates is also very common.
Is it hard to find a Korean woman who’ll agree to go on a date with a foreigner?
Even though the dating culture in South Korean society is different from the Western one, I would say that getting a date is harder than in Paris or New York. The key here is to know where to search. From my time searching for single Korean women in bars and coffee shops, I’ve managed to go on 2 dates. Not much, but remember that I know no language, which is making things a little harder…or a lot harder.
Challenges of the offline search for a Korean girlfriend
During my time in Korea, I’ve experienced quite a lot of awkward situations with Korean women, and miscommunication was only one of them. I’ve learned that there are expectations and rituals that aren’t easy to understand for a foreigner. For example, a series of anniversaries, the 100th day, or 1 year from the first kiss or something. Can you only imagine remembering all of those dates? I bet Korean men’s Google calendars are striped in all of the anniversary stuff.
Other common challenges are usually based on cultural differences like hierarchical social structure in the country, collectivism, restraint from showing emotions in public, and unique communication style when Korean women and men avoid confrontation of any sort.
Where to search for Korean mail order brides IRL?
To find beautiful Korean women for marriage, I would recommend checking out the following:
- Korean festivals, concerts, or performances can help you meet South Korean girls who share your interests
- Language exchange programs, clubs, and meetings can help you connect to Korean girls who know decent English
- Local communities of neighbors or hobby clubs
Though finding Korean wives IRL is harder, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. With persistence and a bit of luck, you can meet a lot of South Korean ladies who are into foreigners.
Bonus tip from your TravelingFrenchMan
Though I’m a die-hard fan of traveling the world, using the best Asian dating sites is a faster way to find Korean brides. Once you meet your future Korean wife online, definitely come to visit the girl in South Korea, a country that will wow you with its urban beauty, bright colors, and amazing people. And if you want to have a striking date with a potential South Korean bride, check out cruises on Seoul’s Han River or plan a romantic getaway to Nami Island if you want a la K-Drama kind of date or 63 Square Touch The Sky French restaurant to eat delicious food while enjoying a magnificent view of the stunning Seoul skyline.
3. Social media apps for Korean woman dating
During my usual googling of statistics about relationships in the country, I got a lot of interesting numbers. For example:
- 85% of South Korean people use social media
- In 2019, South Korea had the 3rd highest rate of social media users
- Instagram is the most popular place, while Facebook, Kakao Story, and Never Band are coming next
As so many people use social media for all sorts of things, it comes as no wonder locals recommended it as a place to meet many Korean girls. Local women like to post photos and share their lifestyles, but the effectiveness of social media in dating is quite questionable.
From my experience, searching for a Korean woman who is open to meeting me for a coffee resulted in nothing. Though I tried for probably 2 weeks, messaged around 20 Korean girls…and got nothing. I thought my French charm worked online, but I think beautiful Korean women on Instagram are immune to it.
Overall, social media has the potential to help you meet South Korean women, but finding a wife would require a lot of time.
4. Marriage agency & brokers to find Korean girl for marriage
The last option that I want to highlight as a good way to find a wife in Korea is international marriage agencies. They are similar to Korean mail order bride sites, as they specialize in choosing marriage partners. Yet they have their pros and cons.
Pros
- A thorough psychological analysis of compatibility before offering Korean mail order brides
- Agents search for beautiful Korean women for marriage for you
- The agency facilitates communication
- They organize dates
Cons
- Costs of Korean wife marriage agencies can range from $3,000-5,000+
- There is a big risk of scam as you don’t have a contract with guarantees of finding a Korean mail order bride
- There is a chance that you won’t like any of the Korean mail order brides matchmakers select for you
Marriage agencies might work if you are interested in finding beautiful mail order brides from Korea but don’t want to spend time on the search. But, in my opinion, the cons of this method of Korean mail order brides search are quite significant to ignore, and specialized Korean mail order bride sites will do the same work at a fraction of the price.
Сonclusion: Can a foreigner get a Korean wife?
Oh, sure, a foreign guy can meet the hot Korean girl of his dreams if only he chooses to search in the right place. My journey exploring the peculiarities of South Korean brides resulted in 4 options that are most popular among locals. I hope that they were useful to you and that you’ll pick a suitable place to find a future South Korean wife. If you want my personal favs, it’s definitely a niche online dating platform with a mix of traveling to South Korea. These sites work the best, as they have many women who are on the same page as you, and you simply don’t waste your time on the wrong people.
