Global Love Report – May 20th, 2026
English summary by Margaret
Enrise, the parent company behind South Korean social dating app WIPPY, has released new findings on the financial reality of dating among young adults in the country. The company surveyed 1,485 male and female members in their 20s and 30s, revealing how much they spend on dates and how much financial stress those costs are creating.
What People Actually Spend vs. What They’re Comfortable Spending
When asked how much a typical date costs today, the majority of both men (52.5%) and women (52.7%) said they spend between 50,000 and 100,000 won (US$36–US$72) per date. However, when asked what amount would feel financially comfortable, the answers shifted noticeably lower. Both men (42%) and women (39.1%) said they would prefer to spend 30,000–50,000 won (US$22–US$36) on a date. WIPPY’s Head of Marketing, Lee Jung-hoon, noted that people are regularly spending about twice as much as they actually feel comfortable spending.
Women Are More Likely to Make Relationship Decisions Based on Cost
The financial pressure of dating appears to weigh more heavily on women than on men. When asked whether they had ever skipped a date because of the cost, 38.6% of women said yes, compared to 29.5% of men. More strikingly, 17.9% of women said they had actually ended a relationship to ease their financial burden, while only 8.6% of men said the same. As for whether dating costs have gotten worse recently, 7 in 10 respondents said the financial burden had increased over the past one to two years. Among those, 50.5% of women said costs had increased significantly, compared to 47.1% of men, a modest but consistent gap showing that women feel the pressure slightly more.
There is also a clear difference in how men and women prefer to handle payment. Only 11.2% of men and 5.4% of women said they prefer splitting the bill evenly every time. Instead, men most commonly preferred a flexible approach, paying based on the situation (40%), while women most commonly preferred taking turns paying depending on the venue (40.8%). One increasingly talked-about solution, the dating account, which is a shared fund couples contribute to for date expenses, has not gained much traction. A large majority of respondents, 69.6% of men and 67.4% of women, said they had never used one.
Originally published by: Maekyung AX