Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
It’s as if Seoul is infatuated. Stroll by means of the South Korean capital and amid the ocean of conventional Hangul characters it’s onerous to not discover the identical 4 letters of the Latin alphabet cropping up repeatedly: MBTI.
Those 4 letters are emblazoned on advertisements, peppered into every day dialog, featured in laptop video games and even on Spotify playlists. Stop by a restaurant and chances are you’ll hear {couples} on their first date discussing them; go to a fortune-teller they usually could also be invoked as portents of your future; open a relationship app and a couple of third of profiles will embrace them.
The MBTI is a personality test, recognized formally because the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, that divides folks into 16 “types” – every of which is assigned psychological traits and a four-letter code.
The test was created by two Americans who noticed it as a approach of matching ladies to jobs throughout World War II. It has drifted in and out of style ever since, gaining recognition in the 1990s as a profession counseling instrument in schools and workplaces.
But its most up-to-date surge in recognition is amongst hip younger South Koreans, for whom figuring out your MBTI sort has turn out to be the newest craze – notably in relation to relationship.
Rather than waste time with extra conventional methods of discovering a accomplice, some diehard believers of this youthful era, principally in their 20s and 30s, are utilizing the MBTI to chop to the chase – and rule out personalities deemed incompatible.
The MBTI method to relationship appeals to the practicality of the “MZ Generation” (a mix of Millennials and Gen Z), based on Lim Myoung-ho, a psychology professor at Dankook University.
“In this society, if you know the type that suits you well in advance, that is considered more efficient,” Lim stated.
That’s why Lee Da-hyun, a 23-year-old college scholar in Seoul, at all times lets folks know her MBTI sort earlier than assembly them for the primary time.
“I don’t need to go on and explain about myself. I can save time by saying that I’m ENFP (“energetic and friendly”), they usually can perceive what sort of individual I’m,” Lee stated. “Everyone knows one’s type and the personality of that type nowadays.”
Lee’s experiences have solely strengthened her perception in the system. Her boyfriend’s sort is supposedly appropriate with hers – and “we’ve been together for over 1,000 days, so that’s proof these types are good for each other,” she stated.
But not everyone is satisfied. Some specialists – a few of whom could bear in mind the MBTI from its earlier incarnations – surprise if the youthful crowd is overlooking swathes of eligible companions in the misguided hope of discovering their happily-ever-after inside an elusive four-letter mixture.
The mother-daughter duo of Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers created their indicator – which they primarily based on theories of the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung – in the 1940s, when ladies have been for the primary time being inspired to tackle industrial jobs vacated by a male workforce that had been despatched to conflict.
Their test posits that every individual leans towards both extroversion or introversion; sensing or instinct; pondering or feeling; and judging or perceiving.
Each of those “preferences” is represented by a letter, and the assorted combos of those 4 letters make a complete of 16 personality sorts.
The relative simplicity of the test is a part of its enduring attraction. By the 1980s, the MBTI had turn out to be ubiquitous in the Western company world, the place it was usually used in hiring selections and administration growth programs.
But since then, skepticism over the scientific deserves of the test have seen its recognition in the office decline.
Many psychologists have questioned its methodology, saying there may be inadequate proof to assist its claims and inconsistencies in its outcomes. Take the test at two completely different instances and chances are you’ll get two completely different outcomes, they are saying.
“It is easy to use … but there is also an error of over-generalization or fixation,” stated psychology professor Lim.
Other critics level out that Briggs and Myers had no formal coaching in psychology; that human traits exist on a way more advanced spectrum than the binaries the test attracts; and that the assigned “type” may affect an individual’s conduct and decisions, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“Although the test does appear to measure several common personality traits, the patterns of data do not suggest that there is reason to believe that there are 16 unique types of personality,” wrote David J. Pittenger, a psychology professor at Marshall University, in a 1993 paper.
“Taken as a whole, the MBTI makes few unique practical or theoretical contributions to the understanding of behavior.”
Still, younger South Koreans seem prepared to disregard the test’s perceived faults for now. After all, it’s not the primary time they’ve gravitated towards this form of factor.
In the early 2000s many South Koreans embraced a pattern that claimed blood sort was correlated to personality traits, and thus romantic compatibility – Type O people, as an illustration, have been supposedly extra outgoing.
And corporations have been fast to money in – racing to launch MBTI-themed merchandise, from laptop video games to beer and holidays.
There’s the “MBTI Blind Date” laptop recreation simulator, which permits gamers to speak with characters representing every of the 16 personality sorts to gauge their compatibility, and plenty of related video games.
It launched in June, and was downloaded 1.2 million instances in its first week, based on its developer Thinkflow.
“It’s like a simulation of a date so that one can reduce the probability of failure a little more, or make a relationship more efficient,” stated Thinkflow CEO Lee Su-ji.
Then there’s the tourism firm Paradise Group, providing vacation recommendations primarily based in your MBTI sort; or the Jeju Beer Company that launched a sequence of cans decorated with the letter codes of the 16 personality sorts.
To the alarm of some, MBTI is even discovering its approach again into the office.
A scan of a Korean job recruitment web site turns up dozens of listings in search of candidates of sure MBTI sorts; one advertising position, as an illustration, asks for ENFP sorts, who’re believed to be “enthusiastic and innovative”.
It’s not simply the scientific validity of the MBTI that has observers involved, however what this sudden pattern could recommend in regards to the younger folks taking part in it.
The rise of the MBTI over the previous two to 3 years coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic, stated Lim, the professor. Part of the attraction lay in group psychology, as folks took consolation in having the ability to categorize themselves alongside others.
“People probably have become more anxious, so they need a place they can lean on psychologically,” Lim stated. “Clearly, people feel less anxious when they are united in a group.”
Even with out the coronavirus, younger Koreans have lots to be troubled about. A hyper-competitive job market, rising unemployment charges, skyrocketing housing costs, and poisonous office cultures are sometimes blamed for making a era of disaffected youth with a pessimistic view of their future.
In the early 2010s, the MZ Generation was popularly known as the “n-po” generation – a reference to what number of have been selecting to surrender issues to the nth diploma, by foregoing marriage, youngsters, residence possession and private friendships.
Those who’re prepared to hitch the rat race usually have too little time or endurance for relationship – which, for some, is the place the MBTI comes in.
Yoon Ji-hye, a college scholar in Seoul, doesn’t see the “need to invest much time” in relationship somebody whose sort just isn’t match.
“I don’t feel that I’m compatible with a T type (“analytical and logical”), whereas I’m fairly appropriate with ESFP sorts (“friendly, playful and adaptable”),” stated Yoon, a self-proclaimed ENFP.
However, many specialists say it’s unhealthy to position an excessive amount of emphasis on one’s MBTI consequence – whether or not that’s in relationship, friendship or work.
Lim, the professor, warned that individuals can “give false answers easily in this test” and that utilizing it as a instrument to “avoid (or exclude) someone … is against the original creator’s intention.”
Myers and Briggs had hoped their work may assist folks higher perceive and admire their variations, Lim stated.
Even The Myers-Briggs Company, writer of the official MBTI test, sounded a be aware of warning.
Cameron Nott, a psychologist and the agency’s Asia-Pacific managing director, stated the corporate is “very pleased” in regards to the test’s recognition in South Korea – however added “it wouldn’t be appropriate to use it to try and identify a compatible partner.”
“While dating someone who has similar personality preferences can have its benefits, we have all heard of the expression ‘opposites attract.’ So to rule out a potential partner on account of having a different MBTI personality type might see someone miss out on an exciting relationship with a wonderful person,” Nott stated.
Whether younger South Koreans are able to heed such recommendation is one other matter.
“I consider personality more important than appearances (in a relationship),” stated Yoon, the coed. “I don’t think I’ll try meeting someone whose type is not compatible with mine.”
Jihye Yoon contributed reporting from Seoul.
