Why Are 'Korean Man-Japanese Woman' Couples Growing in Number?

Amid a growing number of couples consisting of South Korean men and Japanese women, the Tokyo Shimbun reported on September 29 that membership in Japanese matchmaking agencies helping women marry South Korean men is surging.

Analyzing South Korean statistics, the newspaper noted that the number of marriages between South Korean men and Japanese women in South Korea has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 1,483 couples last year—the highest figure since 2000.

At "Moa Love," a matchmaking agency in Tokyo that supports marriages with South Korean men, the number of female members this year has doubled compared to last year.

An agency official stated that K-pop and Korean dramas are the main motivation for joining, and since many hope to live in South Korea, if the man is already living there, the woman almost always relocates to South Korea after marriage.

The official analyzed that the proliferation of social media, which makes the existence of Korean-Japanese couples feel closer, is also one of the reasons for the increase in subscribers.

In addition, the official explained that 40 percent of South Korean male members cannot speak Japanese, but the language barrier is lowering as translation applications evolve.

The newspaper went on to introduce the advantages of international marriage by sharing the voices of Japanese women who are looking for South Korean men as husbands or are dating and marrying South Koreans.

A 38-year-old Japanese woman, surnamed A, who works as an IT freelancer, originally liked Korean-style skincare salons.

She later dreamed of marrying a South Korean man and joined a matchmaking agency specializing in marriages between South Korea and Japan, where she is now considering marriage with a man she met there.

She said, "He tells me 'I love you' every day, and when we walk on the street, he naturally walks on the side closer to the street to protect me," adding, "Because he treats me so preciously, once you date a South Korean man, Japanese men honestly feel lacking."

She added, "When I joined the matchmaking agency (for Korean-Japanese couples) and looked at the male members, their appearance, age, and income were completely different from Japanese men (at matchmaking agencies introducing Japanese men). I thought, 'I can even meet men with these conditions.'"

She also mentioned that her South Korean boyfriend told her, "Even if it's for work, you must never have meals alone with another man," and she learned that the relationship between a wife and her husband's parents is stricter in South Korea than in Japan, but she thinks it is fine with her current boyfriend.

Aya, a 36-year-old Japanese woman who married a South Korean man in April, said, "Not all men are as sweet as in Korean dramas. My husband is not the type to treat me like a princess. He has both strengths and weaknesses, but I wanted to marry him regardless of nationality."

The newspaper introduced that Japanese women are popular among South Korean men because of their gentle and warm image.

It also noted that in South Korea, there is a custom for men to prepare housing when marrying a South Korean woman, and the heavy financial burden often makes them hesitate to marry. It shared the story of a South Korean man who said, "In Korea, talk about a house and an annual salary comes first. In Japan, it feels like checking whether your personalities match comes first."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.