The Commodification of Intimacy Goes High Tech: Dating Applications and Matchmaking Agencies in Seoul

Online dating applications appear to offer the potential to disrupt inequalities in romantic partner selection by expanding access beyond existing social networks. Yet despite South Korea’s extensive digital infrastructure and widespread internet use, mainstream adoption has remained surprisingly limited. This article examines why dating applications failed to transform courtship within one of the world’s most digitally connected societies. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Seoul, including participant observation, digital ethnography using Tinder, 41 semi structured interviews, 9 focus groups, three online surveys totaling 1247 responses, and observations of 274 couples in public dating spaces, this study examines the uneven adoption of dating applications and commercial matchmaking agencies. Dating applications remained unpopular among mainstream informants, who generally preferred vetted introductions through existing social networks, while individuals with fewer such opportunities for meeting partners were more likely to adopt what was perceived as risky. Commercial matchmaking agencies, by contrast, attracted clients by evaluating education, occupation, income, appearance, and family background. Rather than transforming South Korea’s intimate marketplace, digital technologies became incorporated into an already commodified landscape of courtship in which existing inequalities continued to shape partner selection. These findings suggest that new technologies become embedded within existing political economic systems rather than disrupting the commodification of intimacy.