Dating App Data Reveals Gap Between Stated Ideals and Real-World Choices (Image supported by ChatGPT)
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean office workers say they value conversation above all else in a romantic partner. Yet when it comes to actual matches, appearance and economic status remain decisive filters, according to a new analysis of user data from a workplace-focused dating platform.
The findings suggest a quiet contradiction at the heart of modern dating: while men and women publicly prioritize communication and shared values, their concrete choices often reflect more traditional criteria.
Bleet, a dating app launched in 2021 by the anonymous workplace community Blind, said Sunday that it analyzed 667,000 user preference settings recorded throughout 2025. Among both male and female users, the top ideal trait was “someone easy to talk to.”
For men, the next most popular qualities included “speaks kindly,” “good conversational chemistry,” “positive personality” and “expressive.” Women ranked “affectionate” second, followed by similar communication-related traits such as conversational chemistry and expressive speech.
The emphasis on dialogue extended to dating styles as well. Both genders most frequently selected “traveling together” as their preferred type of date — a choice analysts interpreted as signaling a desire for extended conversation and deeper connection rather than brief outings.
Office Workers Say Conversation Matters Most — but Swipe on Looks and Income (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
But the tone shifted when users specified nonnegotiable conditions for meeting in person.
Among male users, the most frequently selected physical preference was a “curvy body type,” accounting for 10 percent of all individual appearance filters — the highest share of any single attribute. Other common filters included “top-tier popularity” within the app, similar interests and shared religion.
Female users, by contrast, placed greater weight on economic indicators. Targeting men employed at public corporations, large conglomerates or IT firms accounted for 15 percent of preference settings, the single largest category. Professional occupations in fields such as finance and medicine ranked second at 8 percent, followed by a minimum height of 180 centimeters at 7 percent. “Top-tier popularity” and “financial stability” also ranked highly.
In some cases, women were unlikely to pursue a match further if a man did not meet certain height thresholds, even when conversation flowed easily, the analysis found.
The data also revealed increasingly granular filters, including savings habits, responsibility for supporting parents, preferred pace of physical intimacy and even criteria for career choices — signs of what the company described as a growing trend toward hyper-personalized partner selection.
The result, analysts say, is a dual-track decision structure. Communication and shared values dominate the language of ideals, but economic power and appearance remain deeply embedded in the mechanics of choice.
“Users are expressing fatigue from having too many options on dating apps,” said Kang Gu-min, team lead at Bleet. “They’re increasingly looking for someone who shares their values and lifestyle, not just superficial traits.”
Bleet, which positions itself as a social dating platform for professionals, has accumulated 500,000 registered users and aims to rank among the top three dating apps in domestic usage by next year. As of January 2026, users aged 30 to 34 account for the largest share, at 42 percent.
In an era defined by abundance of choice, the data suggest that while modern professionals speak the language of emotional compatibility, long-standing markers of status and attraction still shape who ultimately gets a first date.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
