The ‘meet’ market

The following is a tip on traditional Korean language and customs in response to a query from a Mr. Locke, who wrote to us from Seoul:

Q. Mr. Locke:
Every time I tell Koreans that I am going to a meeting, they usually respond by asking me what kind of meeting I am going to have. They tell me that in Korea, “meeting” usually refers to different kinds of of blind dates. So I’m curious to know what kinds of meetings there are.

A. IHT-JAD:
For Korean university students, the term is a hip expression for meeting members of the opposite sex.

“Meeting” is the general term for all blind dates. Sogaeting is a one-on-one date, sogae meaning “introduction” in Korean. Seonting is a sort of date with an interest in marriage, less formal than seon, an arranged prenuptial date. Ponting refers to phone sex, and condoting refers to group dates set on vacation where meetings are arranged by randomly choosing a hotel room. Beongaeting is a last-minute arrangement, beongae meaning “thunder.” Dates by poolside, known as alting, are popular in the summer ― almom means “naked” in Korean.