I bet Adam Smith had a great dating life…
The economic principles on blind dating in Korea
Seoul has recently stoked the fires of two different and unpopular types of dating: internet dating and blind dating. I am going to focus on the latter since I can’t read and comprehend half the stuff on the Korean dating websites, plus Internet dating is quite pricey. Most working professionals are too busy to meet/find people so for the most part they rely on their closest friends to help them get a date with a promising and compatible person. What ends happening though is either friends are tired of hearing about how bad single life is, or they are just hooking up two single friends just for the sake of it and hoping for the best.
Through mutual friends I have met a few Korean nationals, and I guess they see a gregarious side of me that automatically assumes that I want to be set up on a date with one of their friends. Up until now, I have yet to reject an offer (what does that say about me?) but lately I have been rethinking my willingness to say yes. I can’t be a blind date whore all the time, right?
A quick aside: I have no problems getting my own date. No. Really. I can.
I have gone on a few blind dates, and the one thing I learned is that there is nothing that can replace the initial reaction of the first impression. It’s pretty comical actually. You approach blindly and stealthily like you are coming upon the enemy in battle. You have several girls in your sight, hoping for some to be the girl, others just praying that your friends aren’t playing a cruel joke on you. As soon as the realization dawns on you on who the girl is, there is a natural struggle on how your face reacts next. You try so hard to make sure your face does not display a frown or too much excitement, all the while at the same time you try to interpret her reaction—all in a matter of seconds. Ah the true awkwardness of blind dating. This is probably the third best thing coming in behind: awkward silences and her reaction during a lull in conversation, and a her reaction when you go your separate ways after a date. I love to see a girl’s reaction in a moment of awkwardness.
But now onto the economic principles: The first economic principle to apply here is The Law of Diminishing Returns. The more blind dates you go on with the recommendation of that friend, the less you listen to him or worse the less you think of him a as a friend, if the dates have turned out miserable. I often wondered during the date, “What the fuck is my friend thinking?” What is my friend seeing that I have obviously thrown out there to say, “Yes, Joey and this girl would be a great match!” What the fuck am I projecting? There is some definite Lost in Translation going on what I look for in a girl. ”You just fuckin’ piecemealin’ this shit together like you MacGyver on Love Connection.”
As the actual date progresses, the second economic principle begins to rear its head. There is a finite number of jokes, stories and one-liners in my repertoire that works its magic and at the very least guarantees a laugh or congers up at least a fake, nice giggle, especially my funny ass stories in Korea…or jokes in Korean. With my preservationist attitude, there are some stories I care not to waste if the girl does not warrant the demand of my hilarious and charming quips. Eventually, throughout the date, there will be a comfortable equilibrium set on the Supply and Demand graph, thus giving us the price, or in this case, the grade of how great (or not) the date is.
Lastly, there is the last economic principle, which happens on the walk home after the date: The Invisible Hand. After much tribulation and a few funny and/or awkward moments, the forces of competition and my own self interest have compelled me to start regulating the market and bring some stability back to my freakin’ wallet—all for the sake of society and its needs to function.
