Explainer | ‘Dark cafes’: scent-based dating booms in South Korea as people turn to primal instincts
- As patience runs out with so-called ‘fast-food’ methods of meeting love of your life, some are turning to basic instincts
A new scent-based system of dating has emerged in South Korea in which young people meet in “dark cafes” to avoid seeing each other.
The meet-up trend aims to trigger primal instincts rather than rely on physical appearance.
So, what lies behind this strange dating method which is growing in popularity.
How does it work?
The need to upload selfies or engage in pre-meet chats on dating apps is dispensed with. Preferences are entered into an app that uses AI techniques to make matches.
This process can take a day or up to two months depending on the circumstances.
Once matched, couples head to “dark cafes,” where they are asked to select a scent theme from ocean, fruit, or wood before being led into a pitch-black room to engage in an hour-long conversation.
Here, they rely only on their sense of smell and other enhanced senses due to the darkness, to form a connection.
Finally, participants decide if they want to meet in the light or exchange contact information. They are given three options, meeting there and then, exchanging contact details or keeping the meeting as a memory.
The vast majority of participants choose to meet immediately.
Rise to popularity
Favoured by Korean women aged 25-29 and men aged 30-34, the trend has transformed dark cafes into weekend hotspots.
It apparently alleviates appearance anxiety and frees participants from visual judgments, allowing for a deeper connection.
Seoyoung Woo, a 28-year-old CEO of one such cafe, 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.”
Professor of Sungkyunkwan University’s sociology department, Koo Jeong-woo, said: “The essence of dating is finding someone compatible, ‘dark dating’ provides an alternative meeting place in a world obsessed with appearances.”
It is also seen as a response from young people who are weary of fast-paced, short-term dating patterns.
Such “fast-food dating” is prevalent in South Korea and China and involves young adults engaging in brief conversations over a meal.
If there is mutual interest, they continue to a café or bar. If not, they part ways.
In a bid to find a partner more efficiently, some even take part in group dating events.
This allows them to meet more than 10 people in a single session, maximising their chances within a limited time frame.
China reaction
Despite being popular in South Korea, so-called dark dating has faced scepticism in China, with many believing that the emphasis on smell is just a gimmick and that dating still fundamentally revolves around appearance.
One online observer said: “That the vast majority choose to meet straight away isn’t surprising.
“It means they felt they wasted the evening and still wanted to see each other’s faces before deciding the next step. Maybe it’s not completely useless though, as the café makes money.”
Another person agreed: “What’s the use of such a dating method? Even if you can gather enough tolerance of someone’s appearance during the interactions in the dark, you will still stop dating them later if you don’t like their looks. It’s a waste of time.”
“Appearance-focused people can’t accept not seeing someone’s face,” added a third.
Concerns about personal safety and potential exploitation also surfaced.
One person said: “It feels like a lot of visually unattractive and overweight people would particularly gain interest in joining this trend.”
While another woman observer said: “Dating in a dark room?! Not being able to see anything sounds terrifying and a bit dangerous.”
