May 18, 2026
SEOUL – Dating is becoming another cost pressure for young Koreans, but many say the financial burden is not enough to make them give up on romance.
About 7 in 10 Koreans in their 20s and 30s said they felt dating involved a heavy financial burden, according to a survey by NRISE, operator of the social discovery app Wippy. The survey was conducted among 1,485 male and female Wippy users in that age group.
Nearly half of respondents said the burden had increased sharply, with 47.1 percent of men and 50.5 percent of women giving that answer.
The pressure is also affecting relationship choices. Some 38.6 percent of women said they had stopped dating or given up on a relationship for economic reasons, compared with 29.5 percent of men.
The findings point to a widening gap between what young Koreans consider manageable and what they actually spend. Respondents said the appropriate cost for a single date was between 30,000 won and 50,000 won ($20-$33), but their actual spending typically ranged from 50,000 won to 100,000 won.
That gap is changing how couples spend time together. The most common response to higher dating costs was spending more time at home, followed by reducing the frequency of dates. Some respondents said they had made no particular changes.
Yet the survey also suggests that most young Koreans still think dating is worth the cost. More than half of both male and female respondents said they continued with their relationships because they liked their partner. Others said the relationship mattered more than the expense, or that they were able to keep dating because they shared the financial burden.
That burden-sharing is becoming part of a broader shift in dating norms. Among male respondents, 40 percent said they footed the bill “depending on the situation,” while 32.1 percent said couples take turns paying.
Among women, 40.8 percent said couples alternate payments, while 31.5 percent said payment depends on the situation.