How men can build loving relationships

"The Most Difficult Romance," a drama that was aired in April this year in Japan, stars a romantically challenged man. The head of a hotel, in his mid-30s, frequently yells at employees who make mistakes. Capable in all other things, he is poor in making relationship with a woman, and the drama describes this man's nerd behavior in a comic way.

This kind of a man has become a concern in Japan's society. A survey conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research in Japan actually showed that for single men and women in age group of 18-34, these men outnumbered female counterparts at 70 percent vs. 59 percent. Relationship has to be made to get married and give birth to a child. If this trend continues, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to boost birth rate by establishing the "ministry of 100 million population" won't bear fruit. Fortunately, the survey showed that a majority said they want to get married.

Japan is not the only country agonized over the issue of such man and women. The Dong-A Ilbo recently released an article that claimed younger generations are learning how to build loving relationships through lectures and not experience. Companies, universities and public agencies are hosting lectures on eval‎uating the ability to have a romantic relationship and the difference between how men and women communicate. In Korea, having a love affair and the marriage market sometime means ordinary woman over ordinary man, a pretty woman above it and the final winner becoming the man of ability. Perhaps due to this, lectures are booming for younger men and women at the bottom of the pyramid. "Dating Coach," kind of a private teacher, is listed on the occupation dictionary released by the Korean Employment Information Service.

Some people say that the way to get rich and to date a woman is never advised by others. A famous dating coach once compared romance to swimming. One can learn swimming by floundering in the water with arms and legs, and can't learn outside water. Japanese women envy Korea where there is a proverb that little strokes fell great oaks. This is because Japanese men give up in the middle. Men would take their courage to jump into the water rather than relying on the techniques of dating.