It’s no wonder 127 Korean mail order wives received K-1 fiance visas in 2022 to marry Americans. And after you’re done with this post, you’ll be pressed to find a Korean bride of your own.
| 📍 Top Korean cities with brides | Seoul, Jeju, Busan, Incheon, Daegu |
| ⌛ Average age of brides | 25 y.o. |
| ⌛ Average age of marriage | 31.5 y.o. |
| 💰 Average cost | $5,000+ |
| 💍 Success rate | 60-65% |
| 💔 Divorce rate | 35-40% |
| 🔝 Best Korean dating site | SakuraDate |
| ❓ English-speaking population | Up to 30% |
Best dating sites to meet Korean women online in 2025
Most Popular Choice
LanaDate
Average Girls Age
23-35
GoldenBride
Average Girls Age
35
MagnoliaDate
Average Girls Age
25-55
What we know about Korean women
There’s a lot to South Korean brides that makes them desirable wives and mothers. So today, we’ll focus on a few characteristics that set them apart from American and European ladies. Most Korean wives:
- Work hard and play hard. Even if they have to work long hours the next day, expect to find them in karaoke clubs, dancing and drinking the night away.
- Value good looks. Koreans share specific beauty and fashion standards for everything from skin tone to sportswear, and every Korean girl strives to meet and exceed them.
- Don’t like to wait for anything. Brought up in a nation of overachievers, Korean women are always in a hurry to get where they are going, which may come off as being impatient.
- Love technology. Smartphones, wearable gadgets, smart homes, and other technological wonders are a staple in Korea to the point that screen addiction can become a problem, especially for young Korean girls.
- Aren’t always tolerant. Korean society is pretty conservative, tight-knit, and closed-off, which may translate into a lack of acceptance for people of different races or sexual orientations. Luckily, that’s not usually a problem for younger generations.
Note that Korean brides are very different from Japanese, Chinese, and other Asian brides. We suggest learning more about their unique culture and character to avoid miscommunication and offense.
Why do Korean women seek marriage with foreigners?
As there are thousands of Korean brides on international dating sites, we cannot generalize their reasoning in a couple of sentences. But our research shows that these factors often play into such decisions because:
Korean parents are too pushy
They have high expectations and drive Korean girls to succeed in school and life, often dictating partner choices and otherwise meddling in their love lives.
South Korea doesn’t allow for privacy
With 55 million people crammed into such tight quarters, Korean women often crave private space and intimacy that remaining in their homeland cannot provide.
Korean partners are too prudish
In contrast to the overly sexualized Japanese, Koreans are often too conservative to experiment and please their partners, so adventurous girls may prefer foreign men.
Korean brides are often unhappy
The nationwide drive tends to put Korean women in a constant state of anxiety and stress. And a marriage with a foreigner can help them break free from the mold and become happy.
As you can see, for most Korean women, international marriage is less about financial stability and more about regaining happiness and freedom far from home.
🇰🇷 Meet a mail-order Korean bride
Cynara
20 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
University Student
Xin
38 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
Other
Mary
30 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
Consultant
How much does a Korean mail order bride cost?
You cannot find a Korean wife in a catalog with expedited shipping, so there’s no way to predict the exact price. However, we can estimate average expenses based on our research. The average cost of Korean mail order brides includes these typical spending categories:
| The cost of using a Korean dating site (1 month) | SakuraDate – $200 for 1,000 credits |
| ✈️ Round-trip tickets (from New York to Seoul) | Around $1,500 |
| ☕ Food, transport, entertainment (for 1 week for 1 person) | About $800 |
| 🎁 Gifts | $500+ |
| 📃 K-1 visa cost | Approximately $2,000 |
| 👰🏽 Wedding | $15,000+ |
Online dating services
There are no monthly subscription fees on dating platforms like SakuraDate.
They offer credits that you can spend at your own convenience, so the largest packages in the table above can last you a month or more, depending on your activity level.
All three websites come with bonus credits and discounts for initial savings. Beyond that, you can cut down expenses by picking one or two girls to chat with and budgeting costly features, like photo and video messages.
Tickets
At the time of writing, roundtrip tickets cost around $1,500, but you can easily find better deals by using services like Skyscanner to find the lowest prices within a month.
You can also halve your spending by picking flights with one or two stopovers, though your travel time may double as a result.
Traveling with a carry-on instead of luggage will also lower the cost. Finally, you can opt to travel to (and from) smaller cities and airports, as they are more likely to accept low-cost flights.
South Korea visit
Accommodation, transportation, and entertainment for a one-week stay average at about $800. Just like with airplane tickets, you can lower the cost by choosing to travel in the off-season, though you may encounter some bad weather.
What you shouldn’t do is assume you’ll stay with your girlfriend, as she likely lives with her parents.
On the other hand, choosing a hostel with zero privacy may also not be the best option if you plan on getting intimate. You can save if you plan ahead and look for deals and seasonal discounts on booking platforms.
Gifts
Although it’s the safest option, using dating site gift delivery services is extremely costly. If you want to make South Korean women feel special, ask them about their preferences and purchase gift cards at online stores.
Alternatively, you can use local Korean delivery services, though that may be more challenging if their websites don’t have English versions.
Another option is to wait for your face-to-face meeting and present your gifts personally to save on delivery charges.
Immigration paperwork
Unfortunately, there’s no getting out of fees for the multiple forms you and your Korean fiance will have to file.
However, you can learn all about the current filing fees online to avoid overpaying, especially if you use the services of a marriage agency or an immigration attorney.
Fortunately, you won’t need to cover all the fees at once, as the processing of each form takes a while, especially when it comes to a fiancée visa application.
Wedding
Wedding ceremony and reception expenses average $14,000 in South Korea and range from $15,000 to $45,000 in the US. To save on urgent service fees, you could get a marriage license in the US to get married within 90 days of your Korean bride entering the US, then plan a separate reception to celebrate your union at a later date.
This way, you can get better deals on everything from venues to florists and caterers, especially if you plan the party well in advance.
If you discount the wedding expenses, the cost of dating a Korean girlfriend is around $5,000, which isn’t a lot compared to average dating expenses in the US.
Besides, research and smart choices can help you lower the bottom line and make international dating more affordable.
🇰🇷 Meet hot Korean women now
hui ling
24 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
Home Business
Tanya
32 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
Clerk
Tina
55 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
Doctor / Medical Field
How to bring your Korean mail order bride to the U.S.?
Although you can get married in South Korea and come to America together as husband and wife, most daters prefer to host a US-based ceremony. So here’s a brief overview of how to get a Korean wife by securing a K-1 fiancée visa for her:
- File the Petition (Form I-129F) to signify you want to bring your foreign fiancée to the US. The current filing fee is $585.
- Have your Korean bride apply for a K-1 visa (Form DS-160). She’ll need to provide proof of a relationship and go through a medical examination. The filing fees vary between consular offices across the world but are typically around $190.
- Provide proof of financial support for your fiancée (Form I-134). There is no filing fee for this form.
- Register permanent residence and adjustment of status for your fiancée (Form I-485). The current filing fee is $1,225, which includes $85 for biometric services.
Remember that the terms of the K-1 fiancée visa require your Korean bride to get married within 90 days of entering the US, so make sure you’re ready to complete these terms.
A happily-ever-after story with a Korean wife
George and Binna
I always thought there was something special about Korean culture. It’s unique even compared to other Asian countries, so I was paying special attention to Korean profiles, and a few months in, I found Binna. She was reluctant to respond because she’d already been disappointed by Americans by that time. But once we realized just how much we had in common, our relationship became a whirlwind.
I wish we could’ve met sooner, but the pandemic prevented us from meeting in 2020, so our long-distance courtship lasted longer than either of us would prefer. Still, she’s finally moved in with me as my wife, and I still can’t believe my luck. Her everlasting drive compels me to be a better husband every day, and her positive outlook is something I never knew my life was missing. I can only hope she’s getting as much from our relationship as I am.
Pros and cons of dating brides from Korea
Before you make the final decision whether Korean women for marriage are the right choice for you, consider the following advantages and disadvantages of such relationships.
Pros
- Korean women take excellent care of their beauty and health, ensuring you have a gorgeous partner well into retirement.
- Koreans are extremely hard workers, so you won’t have to be the sole breadwinner in the family.
- Despite their ambitions, most Korean ladies accept traditional gender roles and are happy to defer to their husbands’ judgment.
- American and Korean heritage ensures a more diverse and dynamic family environment, which is beneficial for future children.
Cons
- The 12-hour time difference makes it difficult to support a long-distance relationship with a Korean woman.
- Although most Koreans strive to learn English, only around 10% are at an intermediate level, while 30% know only the basics.
- Some Korean cultural norms and etiquette may seem weird and bizarre to Americans.
If you’re not afraid of a few drawbacks to enjoying all the benefits of having a Korean wife, read on to learn more about the cultural norms and traditions you can expect to become a part of your life.
🇰🇷 Find a Korean wife here
Namwhan
35 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
Consultant
Even
22 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
University Student
Huan
26 y.o.
Online
at
SakuraDate.com
Location
Korea
Occupation
Home Business
Overview of Korean customs, traditions, and values
South Korea is so different from the US that describing all its unique traditions would take a few tomes. Instead, we chose a few core cultural concepts to whet your appetite and get you excited to learn more:
- ❤️ Build and save face (chaemyoun). Reputation and representation are vitally important in South Korea, so people habitually disguise their hardships and give out compliments.
- ❤️ Show piety to parents. Family ties are extremely strong in Korean society, and the parents’ influence cannot be overestimated.
- ❤️ Share laughs. Koreans love good jokes and appreciate a healthy sense of humor, so be generous with smiles and laughs.
- ❤️ Celebrate your love. Koreans celebrate relationship anniversaries multiple times a year (every 100th or 200th day together), and there are multiple Valentine’s Day alternatives, such as Kiss Day or Rose Day.
- ❤️ Appreciate group dates. One-on-one communication between genders is often awkward for young Koreans, so they mostly get together in large groups.
- ❤️ Avoid comparisons to Japan. Koreans are highly nationalistic and proud, so drawing parallels and comparisons, and especially confusing them with other Asian nations, is considered an offense.
Use these tidbits to surprise your Korean girlfriend with your understanding of her culture and show eagerness to learn more. Both will endear you to any Korean woman and solidify your relationship.
Quick tips to win her heart
Based on everything we’ve learned about Korean brides, here are a few tricks that will win their hearts:
- Compliment their looks, their English, their knowledge of American culture, etc.
- Let them set the pace of your relationship, especially when it comes to intimacy.
- Show your fun side, but avoid pop-culture-based jokes and puns that don’t translate well.
- Show your status without bragging to highlight your standing in the social hierarchy.
Start with one of these tips and gradually weave the rest into the conversation, and your Korean girl will appreciate it.
How to protect yourself from a Korean mail order bride scam?
Romance scams are gaining momentum, having cost over $1.4 billion to Americans in 2022. To avoid falling into the trap, you can assume that Korean girls for marriage are probably scammers if they try any of the following:
- Ask you to send them money to cover medical bills, utilities, or bail.
- Offer to teach you to invest in cryptocurrency after you send the first payment.
- Ask you to share the numbers on a gift card or offer to send you a package in exchange for a small payment.
- Suggest you exchange intimate photos or videos early in the relationship.
- Ask personal questions that encourage you to reveal sensitive information.
Suspicious Korean brides online will also refuse to share additional candid photos that aren’t already posted on the website, and they’ll mix up personal details in conversations. If you notice any of these red flags, block and report such users to dating website administration to stay safe.
Let’s conclude: Final thoughts about dating a Korean woman
Jacob Lucas
Dating Expert
Korean women aren’t perfect, but they are driven, fun, and steadfast, making loyal wives and caring if overprotective mothers. Unfortunately, our research proves there’s no all-in-one secret on how to find a Korean wife. But if you’re willing to learn and embrace your differences, you can build a successful relationship with a Korean woman despite language barriers and the time difference.
