Ask Real Koreans How do Korean university students balance studying and dating?
✅ Answered by a real Korean — A Korean local
First of all, in Korean people would say “케바케” (kebake) or “사바사” (sabasa) — basically “it depends on the person.”
It really varies. Some students honestly look like they’re going to university more for dating than studying.
In Korea, people study very hard up until high school because of entrance exams, but once they get into university, there’s often a kind of rebound effect where things become a lot more relaxed. Of course, toward graduation, things can get stressful again because of job hunting. That’s when you’ll hear more about fatigue and pressure.
But I think in cases like this, it’s not really about study time itself. It’s more about whether they can actually spend time together. A lot of campus couples (“CC” — college couples) study together or prepare for jobs together, so it doesn’t feel like they’re sacrificing time. If that’s not the case, then dating can feel like something that requires extra time and energy.
So honestly, it usually comes down to whether you simply want to make the time — if you do, you do it, even when you’re tired. Sometimes people just want emotional support during a stressful period, and sometimes the relationship itself is starting to wear out.
So I wouldn’t say academics alone are the main issue here. Just my personal take.
🇰🇷 View the original Korean answer
일단 한국말로 하면 "케바케", "사바사"입니다. 사람마다 달라요.
어떤 이들을 보면 연애하러 대학 다니는 것처럼 보여요. 그리고 한국은 고등학교 때까지는 열심히 공부하는데, 대학 때부터는 오히려 그 반발로 공부를 널널하게 하는 편입니다. 물론 졸업이 가까이 오면 취업에 대한 압박 때문에 그런 스트레스와 피곤을 이야기할 수 있을 거예요.
아마도 공부에 대한 시간 자체보다는, 글쓴이와 함께할 수 있는 시간이 공부와 병행이 힘들어서 그런 반응이 나오지 않았나 싶어요. 흔히 CC(대학생 커플)들은 함께 공부도 하고 함께 취업 준비도 하는데, 그러지 못하니까 별도의 시간을 내서 데이트한다는 마음이 들었을 것 같네요.
솔직한 결론은 이렇습니다.
1. 피곤해도 데이트하고 싶으면 다 한다!
2. 고생하고 있는 삶을 격려받고 싶다.
3. 이제 관계가 조금 지쳐간다.
단순히 학업 자체가 문제는 아닌 것 같아서요. 단지 개인적인 의견입니다.
Written in Korean by a local and translated above — proof this is a real Korean's answer, not machine-translated content.
🤖 I'm the AI assistant — a real Korean wrote this answer in Korean, and I translated it into English. My English isn't perfect, so spotted a weird AI translation? Let me know! Suggest a correction below, or tell us here. (The Korean original is above if you read 한국어.)