4월 6일 토픽 입니다.(Written by Nate)

[Friend(배석우)]

Office Romance: Blind Dating Goes to Lunch
The latest trend in blind dating pairs office workers for lunch dates with other office workers in the same neighborhood. Bae Sang-mi, 29, said that she often meets blind dates near the office of her Internet shopping mall during lunch. "Many of my friends and coworkers also prefer having blind dates during lunch on weekdays rather than weekends," she said. Yu Cheol-hwan, 32, a worker at a securities company in Seoul, said that it's considered a new kind of office custom to set a blind date for lunch.
 

Match-making companies are jumping on the bandwagon. A manager at match-maker Sunoo said that demand for lunch-time meetings has increased since last year, now accounting for 10 percent of the meetings the company arranges for its clients. "We're trying to take full advantage of lunch-time blind dates, because they help increase the client's turnover rate by distributing arranged meetings throughout the week instead of concentrating them in the weekend," the manager added.

Due to the built-in time constraint, lunch-time dates are usually short and quick. "The best thing about lunch-time blind dates is you don't have to waste a long time just being polite if don't find your date attractive," said Lee Yeong-hoon, 39. Another office girl identified as Han, 26, said, "If you like your date, you can arrange another date for the evening or weekend."

Another advantage is the savings. A bachelor who works at a bank, 36, said that a weekend blind date usually costs W60,000-70,000 (US$1=W997), whereas W20,000 is enough to buy a decent lunch at a nice restaurant near a workplace during the week. Women also like the informality, but for a slightly different reason. Bae Jeong-hwa, an office worker, 34, said, "Most women feel quite stressed to have to dress up and put on make-up on the weekend just for a blind date. That's why they prefer a lunch-time meeting, because they don't have to spend extra time making themselves look beautiful."

But not everybody likes the hasty lunch-time meetings. Kim Min-jeong, 27, had two lunch-time blind dates in a month and said she didn't have enough time to find out what kind of person her dates were. "I think a weekend date is better for getting to know a person well," she said.

"Young people today tend to judge a person in no more than a few dozen minutes by several criteria they set, like looks, jobs, and hobbies," said Yi Young-suk, a professor of sociology at Hallym University. "They don't want to spend more time than is necessary with their dates unless they find them likeable at first sight.”

Questions:

Have you ever been on a blind date? When was the last time? How was it?
Would you prefer this lunch blind date or weekend blind date? Why?
Why do you think blind dating is more popular in Korea than in a country like the US?
Would you go on a blind date with a foreigner? Would you more or less nervous?
What are the characteristics of your "ideal mate?"

[Friend(배석우)]

토요일 저녁 11시까지 답글 달아주세요..^^ 영어로 달아 주시면 네이트에게 바로 전달 할께요..

[siron(장영일)]

네이트는 역시나 좋은 토픽들을 가지고 있군... ㅎㅎ 이것도 어딘가에서 한번 다루어본 것 같은데.... ㅎㅎ

[김경호(망구리)]

sounds like very interesting for me not having any girls right now.... i appreciate Nate prerared for this article.. and i will be in the class on sunday, whatever the reason will be... see ya then... have fantastic weekdays....

[맥모닝(황성욱)]

저 참석합니다 ㅋㅋ~~!

[왼손잡이(한숙영)]

Hi nate. Do you remember me? We met at Kendo Competition about a month ago.. :) Thanks for this good topic. 간만에 참석^^

[JOO (정우요)]

저두 참석해볼까요?? ㅋㅋ 벌써 4번째 참석!! 시간 정말 빠르당 ㅠ.ㅠ.

[윤양(김윤미)]

참석참석!!! 영어 공부 열씸히 해서 갈께요..

[쭈쭈쭈(류주영)]

참석요

[Janis(이상숙)]

저도 첨으로 참석요