No romance allowed: Korea's hobby clubs embrace 'no dating' rules

AI핵심 요약

• ·From running crews to hiking groups, many Korean clubs prohibit romance to prevent breakups, protect cohesion and keep fragile communities intact.
• ·When Jung's running crew sat down to write its rules, one of them had nothing to do with running.
• ·"We added the no-dating line after our second year, because we kept losing good runners to other people's breakups," said Jung, who helps lead a 22-member crew in eastern Seoul.
• ·"It sounds cold, but the rule is there to protect the group, not to police anyone's love life." Jung's crew is far from alone.
• ·The clause appears across Korean group life: university circles, hobby societies, book clubs and lately the running crews multiplying across Seoul.