In celebration of Valentine’s Day, several shopping malls in China that operated ‘Boyfriend Rental’ service are being hit hard in the local area.
The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 19th that this service, designed for single female customers, was operated in several shopping centers in Henan Province, China on Valentine’s Day on the 14th. The fare is 2.14 yuan (regarding 404 won) for 45 minutes. Male employees cannot accompany them outside and can only shop together inside the mall.
According to the media, at the shopping center on the day of the event, several men in suits were caught standing on a podium with QR codes, waiting for customers to rent them out. Female customers choose an employee they like, scan the QR code, and pay.
Boyfriend rental services are available on Valentine’s Day and Women’s Day (March 8) at not a few shopping centers in Henan Province, Nanjing, and Zhengzhou. During Christmas, there is also a service that rents a partner for both shopping and dating for 1 yuan (regarding 189 won) per hour.
After the article was published, negative comments from netizens followed on Chinese social media. SCMP reported that there were many reactions such as “It’s strange” and “It’s creepy to hire a stranger as a boyfriend and go shopping.”
China’s Pengpai News pointed out that “the boyfriend rental service is more like a ploy to induce more single women to shop.” At the same time, while maintaining the one-child policy for a long time in China, an analysis was also presented that the service targeted the generation who grew up being treated like a “little emperor” or princess in the family.
On the other hand, in China, it is known that there are many cases where people earn money through part-time jobs acting as ‘boyfriends’ or ‘girlfriends’ on anniversaries and holidays.