A new ‘scent-based’ dating trend has emerged in South Korea, with young people relying on their primal instincts rather than physical appearances to meet a match.
The in-person trend sees daters enter their preferences into an app, which then uses AI to match users with potential partners. Once matched, couples head to “dark cafes”, where they are asked to select a scent theme ranging from the ocean and wood to fruit. The couples are then led to a pitch-black room to engage in an hour-long conversation in total darkness, relying on their sense of smell and other enhanced senses due to the darkness, to form the connection.
With the initial ‘blind’ date over, participants must decide if they want to meet in the light, exchange contact details with a view to meeting later or keep the meeting as nothing but a memory. The vast majority choose to meet immediately.
Fans of the new scent-led dating approach have celebrated its ability to alleviate appearance anxiety and free daters from the usual visual judgements, encouraging deeper connections instead.