January 26, 2026
SEOUL – Auctioning the rights to date women has become a new fad in livestreaming in South Korea, drawing concerns that the practice involves possible sex work or exploits those involved.
These “dating auctions” are similar in format to so-called charity dating, where the rights to date celebrities are auctioned off. However, instead of being donated to charity, earnings go to the auction’s host and the woman listed in the auction.
According to reports by local media outlets, one such auction livestreamed on YouTube included details such as the photo, age, height, weight, ideal type of man, address, and even sexual preference of the woman featured.
The auction eventually concluded with a winning bid of 150,000 won ($103). Those who made a bid but did not win do not get their money back.
Currently, no evidence suggests that the dating auctions are linked to prostitution or other illegal acts. But women’s rights activists have expressed unease, saying the livestreams could make “people perceive prostitution as a sort of game through popular platforms like YouTube.”
“There is also the possibility that these women are under illegal contact, or are threatened and confined. Police need to actively investigate and punish those involved,” an activist of the nongovernment National Solidarity Against Sexual Exploitation of Women told local Yonhap News Agency.
Police are reportedly keeping an eye on the online auctions and plan to take action if such content is revealed to actually involve illegal acts such as soliciting prostitution.