[2014/04/22]Singles not ready to mingle

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Singles not ready to mingle

A recent survey showed that a considerable number of singles intend to finish out the year as just that — single. The One Noble, a Korean matchmaking company, surveyed 648 singles about how they plan to spend their year-end holidays. According to the results, 38.7 percent said they plan to be alone, away from the hustle, bustle and drama sometimes associated with being part of a couple.

With that in mind, businesses such as restaurants, cafes and karaoke rooms that tailor some of their services to singles are gaining popularity this time of year.

 

Seats for singles

A curtain separates the singles room from the doubles room. Wooden panels divide the tables into cubicles just big enough for one person. All over the wall are post-its and scribbles that one can read while enjoying their ramen.

According to Lee Myung-jae, owner of a Japanese restaurant called Ichimen in Sinchon, Seoul, most of the restaurant’s visitors are single women in their 20s and 30s.

“Those who live alone drop by for meals,” he said. “I first got the idea when we saw a restaurant of a similar concept in Japan.”

The owner said that people were not all that responsive at first, but after about a year or two began to seek out the store through word of mouth.

“Now the restaurant has become somewhat more popular among bloggers and has, in recent days, been filled with visitors even outside lunch hours,” he said.

“I come here when I want to eat out alone,” said Kim Joo-ik, 26, a visitor who came alone to dine at Ichimen. “I really don’t want to have to walk on eggshells while eating.”

Kim recalled his college days, when he would hide in a library cubicle to eat lunch alone.

“In college, my friends and I had class schedules that just wouldn’t match up,” he said. “We could never eat lunch together, so I often had to eat alone.”


Concerts for singles 

Even though an increasing number of singles are planning to stay alone during the year-end holidays, there are still many who urgently seek a partner for the season.

In the same survey by The One Noble, 25.6 percent of the respondents said they will go on blind dates and 18.4 percent said that they are going to seek a partner. Another 12 percent said they will register for a professional matchmaking enterprise for the occasion.

Singles fear December, as the population seems to couple off. Christmas lights are draped over trees, creating a romantic mood, and snow can add to the desire for someone with whom to cuddle up.

“I would feel weird going to a concert all by myself,” said Kim. “I think I would suffocate among all those couples.”

And so to cater to this relatively new audience who are unashamed about being single at this time of year, some entertainment providers were quick to suggest opportunities to mingle with other singles who might possibly become their partners.

Singers 4Men and Sung Si-kyung explicitly invited singles to join them on Christmas Eve.

In the case of 4Men’s concert, only one login ID can be used to apply for one ticket on the concert’s website. Gifts for singles are to be distributed at the event, including “backpacks for one,” “bottles of wine for one” and “skincare sets for one.”

 

 

Questions

1. Have you ever felt loneliness because you are single?

2. Have you ever give up something that usually couples do because you are single?

3. Have you ever wished there would be something or some kinds of services only for singles