Why Korean brides seek marriage abroad
- A lot of Korean brides are in their 30s, they’re successful and willing to marry, but they just can’t get what they want in Korea because Korean men tend to refuse marriage as a concept. Many of these women are interested in a serious relationship and believe that American men may be a great option for them.
- For many Korean mail order brides, having a relationship with a Westerner is a good idea because Westerners are more loyal and have more respect towards women than Korean men.
- Some Korean women for marriage simply have special preferences — you can easily find a few thousand Korean ladies who believe that even the average white man is extremely handsome (it works the opposite way, too, you’ve probably heard of that Asian fetish thing).
Characteristics of Korean mail order brides
Korea isn’t the most popular mail order bride country in Asia. It’s slightly more popular than, say, Indonesia. Still, countries such as the Philippines or Vietnam have hundreds and thousands of mail order brides getting married to Americans every year, while for Korea, it’s only 149. Still, thousands of men from the West date, meet, and marry South Korean brides yearly, and tens of thousands dream of having a Korean wife. Why? Here are the 5 main characteristics of Korean wives that make them desirable.
- First, they’re incredibly attractive. South Korea has extremely high beauty standards focused on maintaining a youthful appearance, which is why Korean women age more slowly and look younger than their age. They follow a healthy diet with a lot of whole grains and fish, exercise, have active hobbies like hiking, and are naturally skinny. And obviously, they also have an excellent sense of fashion, too.
- They are never rude or loud. Maintaining a peaceful atmosphere (in a family, in the office, in the country, etc.) is a fundamental concept in Korea, and you can expect your Korean bride to create that comfortable environment in your relationship, too. They’re very peaceful, calm, and respectful, but probably not as peaceful and calm as Japanese women.
- They are more traditional than Westerners. Koreans have extreme family values—young Koreans are more individualistic, of course. However, a lot of them still share Confucian values, they still honor elders, they still have a kind of conservative views on gender roles (but not too conservative), they are still responsible for their parents, and the family leadership is still inherited through the father’s line in Korea.
- Korean women are intelligent and incredibly hard-working. Some would say they are too hard-working, but it’s not their choice; it’s just how their society works (it’s too competitive and too career-focused nowadays). And they’re very educated, too — 77% of women aged 25-34 had graduated from colleges and universities. That’s the most popular age category for mail order brides, by the way.
- South Korean mail order brides are also very romantic. In Korea, they celebrate important milestones in a relationship (the most popular one is the 100-day anniversary), often wear matching outfits, and have many holidays like Valentine’s Day, White Day, Rose Day, Photo Day, and so on.
Are Korean brides legal?
Yes. If you’re an American citizen, you can legally marry a Korean bride and bring her to the United States with the CR-1 visa. Or, you can get her to the US as your bride and marry her there (it’s the K-1 visa path).
Both you and your bride or wife must meet certain requirements to be eligible for these visas: your income must exceed 100% of Federal Poverty Guidelines, both you and she must be legally free to marry, you must meet each other in person at least once, and so on. And your relationship must be real (bona fide), of course.
Korean success stories from Brides-Catalog
Henry and Yi-seo
So I met Yi-seo on this dating website in 2023, and I thought, “Why wait?” I’ve heard all those stories about men who spend years online and never meet their girlfriends in person, and it wasn’t what I wanted. So, we met quite soon. I booked a flight to Seoul 2 or 3 weeks after my first message. We had a Busan private tour with a tour guide and spent 2 nights simply walking around Seoul and eating out in random places—and it was perfect, I knew she was exactly the person I’ve been looking for my entire life!
So I proposed after our 3rd date, because I don’t like wasting time. I proposed to her in the Seoraksan park, and she said yes, so we’re now waiting for a K-1 visa. Once it’s approved, we’re going to get married in the Ivy Hall in San Antonio (it’s beautiful).
Joseph and Hyun-Ok
We first met on Brides-Catalog 6 months ago. I wasn’t looking for a wife there, obviously! I’m not a fan of online dating apps, to be fair, so I didn’t even think those women were real. But well, at least one of them IS real, as it turns out! We spent 3 months chatting and exchanging photos, and I even sent her flowers once (extremely expensive and 100% worth it).
And we decided to meet because why not? She told me she always wanted to visit Japan for the Sakura Blossom Season, so I invited her to Tokyo in March. And it was great, actually! But if you’re going to Japan like me, please, don’t repeat my mistake and check the ACTUAL sakura season forecast, not the one from the previous years. We had to wait for 5 days to see all that beauty!
The good news is that Japan is full of nice places; we saw many of them that week. We had lots of dates in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Naoshima, and it was just perfect—and after that, we went to Daegu to meet her parents. 3 days later, after meeting her family and friends, I proposed… And here we are, waiting for a fiancée visa and planning to celebrate our first 100 Days together!
How to communicate with a Korean bride
- If you’re going to meet Korean brides online, set up your profile. It must stand out from the competitors, so you must upload 3–5 photos, write a bio, and answer all those boring questions. The more detailed your profile is, the sooner you’ll find a Korean wife on a dating app!
- Do not ghost. Korean online dating culture is all about chatting every night until the next morning, chatting for hours daily, and sharing everyday photos and videos. So if you disappear without an explanation, you’ll most likely offend a Korean woman you’re chatting with.
- Tell compliments, make romantic gestures, buy flowers, and pay for the date. They’re romantic, and their dating culture is slightly old-fashioned — you’ll have to act accordingly.
- Be honest about your plans. Most of these women are pretty busy, and they don’t want to play games and waste time guessing your real intentions.
- Seriously, they’re busy. So if your girlfriend suddenly reschedules your date, don’t think that something is wrong with you or your relationship — it can be their work or family obligations.
