Sanitized Love: Exploring the Idealization of the Urban Middle-Class Dating Culture in South Korea

Korean society is currently facing delayed marriages, non-marriages, and a severe drop in fertility. Various factors have been identified as contributing to this situation, including socio-economic insecurity among the younger generation, gender inequality in employment and income, and imbalanced gender roles in housework and childcare. In addition, we believe that the changes in “dating culture,” along with these socio-economic factors, may be accelerating “romance inequality” among young people, which further complicates the social reproduction of South Korea. Based on survey data, this study will explore the link between the idealized dating culture and social inequality.

The romantic reality TV shows that have recently gained unprecedented popularity are of particular interest. Due to their claim to “reality,” these shows may exert more significant influence than other media formats in shaping perceptions and expectations of dating cultures and norms that are prevalent and socially desirable in real life. Through our prior visual analysis of the Korean dating reality show “Heart Signal 4”, we identified that the program represents an “urban middle-class sanitized love.” The dating show stages romance in stylish, comfortable urban settings in Seoul, deliberately insulated from the hardships and messiness of everyday life. It presents polite, well-mannered, and restrained romantic interactions, with physical contact and sexual desires minimized. This depiction promotes what we describe as the “gamification of romance”—encouraging viewers to enjoy the endless anticipation of the excitement of dating without goals like commitment to relationships or marriage.

We hypothesize that these idealized portrayals may instill feelings of deprivation or resignation about love among socioeconomically disadvantaged youth, especially those who might perceive such forms of romance as unattainable. In this presentation, we will further show the reality shows’ representations of dating and examine how they intersect with the Korean young generations’ social insecurities and inequalities based on survey results.