All through this article, we’ll be having a look at dating apps for Koreans. We’ll analyze the Korean Tinder and some other popular dating platforms in that country.
Tinder’s global popularity is not something that can be ignored. Throughout the years, the dating platform has managed to expand rapidly and draw millions of users from all over the world. Back in 2015, Tinder set foot on the soil of Korea.
Although it took some time for the dating app to be accepted by Koreans, it eventually happened. However, Tinder made some changes to appeal to South Korean people. For instance, we all know that Tinder is best known for being a dating site.
In this case, the dating element took a backseat and the platform became more of a socializing tool like Facebook, but with the same old swiping mechanism. This helped Tinder expand its roots in Korea as dating sites and their likes were not as popular as before in the country.
As time went by and the pandemic struck, more and more Koreans started signing up on Tinder to find singles with similar interests and habits as their own. Dating apps were generally frowned upon by the public in both North Korea and South Korea. That is why Tinder had to make certain upgrades to make itself appealing to millennials.
Fortunate for the company, their approach was a success as Tinder’s use became widespread. Especially in Seoul, the popularity of Tinder skyrocketed as the Koreans joined the swiping game to find their potential match.
Several other dating apps in Korea are preferred as well, but Tinder’s fame remains unchallenged. So, how did Tinder manage to convince Koreans to hit that sign-up button? Let us find out!
Table of Contents
Korean Tinder: Dating apps for Koreans
How did Tinder grow in Korea?
Firstly, Tinder was mostly used by expats and foreigners residing in Korea. Although social media use is just as common there, the Korean people were not fans of online dating platforms. As a matter of fact, Tinder was nowhere near the list of top dating apps in South Korea for a while.
Initially, Tinder focused more on expanding in the west where it had more opportunities to rise. In the South and East Asian markets, things were way different. For example, in India as well as in other countries in East Asia, arranged marriages are usually preferred.
In the case of Korea, the online dating market just was not profitable enough to convince Tinder in making a move. Fast forward to 2015, Tinder set its foot in Korea but with a couple of changes.
In a region where millions had never signed up on a dating platform, getting them to do so was indeed a hassle. Tinder sort of reinvented itself when it came into Korea. It portrayed itself as more of a platform that helps meet friends and new people of similar interests and hobbies instead of focusing on hookups and pre-marital relations.
Tinder’s marketing strategies focused on the keywords: friendship, chatting, network, enjoy, fun, etc. For the last few years, this method seems to be working quite well.
Now, Koreans are hopping on to the dating platform and things are escalating quite fast. Traditions of hundreds of years are now slowly becoming less important as millennials explore new ways to find their soulmates.
What other dating apps are common in Korea?
Other dating apps have grown rapidly in Korea along with Tinder.
Some of these are as follows:
Amanda
Amanda is a popular dating app and has managed to attract over five million users in Korea. However, the catch is that you first have to pass a visual exam based on your appearance.
In this Korean dating app, if your picture is approved by 20 randomly-selected users on Amanda, you can sign up. If you’re rejected by the majority, then you’ll have to try your luck next time with possibly a better picture of yourself.
Sky People
Sky People is another online dating platform designed for specifically the literate class of Korea. Although it has sparked loads of controversy, it still remains to be one of the most used dating apps in Korea.
It has strict standards to filter out common people and focuses on having female users between the age of 20-39 and male users with qualifications from prestigious educational institutes.
Noondate
This online dating site has a unique algorithm designed to make the matchmaking process a lot more interesting. On this Korean app, you get two profiles of people in your area every day at noon.
The best part is that Noondate’s algorithm is quite smart, which means matches only worth your time are shown for you. After any two profiles like each other back, more doors open for them to take things further.
These were some of the top dating apps in Korea and you can find them on Google Play and Apple Store.
Now it’s about time we get back to Tinder and show you guys how you can access Korean Tinder without being in Korea.
Can you change your Tinder location to Korea?
If you’re someone sitting far from Korea looking to spice things up with a potential date with Asian women or Asian men, then keep on reading.
Basically, Tinder gives you matches based on your location, around 1-100 miles within your reach. However, there are a few ways to look above and beyond from the borders of nations. The simplest way of changing your current location to Korea is through Tinder Plus or Gold.
Tinder offers its Gold and Plus members the feature of changing their location to four different ones at once! However, these features are of course, only available to those who pay a price for them. They’re not free to be used by any user.
So, if you really want to change your location to Korea, the best way would be to subscribe to these premium features and avail Tinder’s passport feature. Don’t forget that you can get dozens of other new features as well.
Furthermore, you’ll also be getting that newbie boost that every user gets when they sign up on Tinder. All you have to do is set your location to Korea and wait a couple of minutes. After that, you’ll find dozens of Korean profile cards on your swipe feed.
Changing your Tinder location for free
Yes, there is one way of accessing Korean Tinder for free without having to pay for premium memberships. We must advise though that it is a risky process and might get you banned from Tinder if you get caught. Since Tinder uses your GPS location to give you matches, you can deceive the application into believing you’re in Korea.
This can be done through a third-party application such as a VPN or any app that disguises your location as Korea. All you have to do is install such a third-party app on your smartphone and put the location of Korea as your GPS.
Once you launch Tinder now, it will automatically detect your new location and show you fresh Korean matches.
Note: The above-mentioned method is risky and can be done easily on an Android smartphone as compared to iOS. Since iOS has more security features and makes sure that third-party applications do not compromise your privacy, it would be a bit difficult to alter your GPS location.
Wrap Up
The Tinder app’s popularity in Korea seems to be growing rapidly. If you plan on accessing Korean Tinder, try putting some effort into learning basic Korean since Koreans typically are not fluent in English.
Doing so would help you interact with potential matches, and make Korean friends without having a language barrier in between. Have fun swiping and maybe you’ll find the Korean woman or Korean guy of your dreams!
Check out some of our other awesome articles:
- Free apps that are similar to Tinder
- What is the meaning of the star on Tinder?
- Resetting your Tinder account
- Changing username on Tinder
- Blocking other users on Tinder
- Is there a way to send photos on Tinder?
- Can I unmatch on Tinder?
- How can I see my super likes in Tinder?
- My Tinder match disappeared. Why?
- What to do when meeting someone on Tinder?
- How does Tinder read receipts work?
- Tinder Top Picks – What is that?
- Why does Tinder say that I have a message when I don’t?
