Shinhan Bank has conducted an in-house dating program called 'Super SOLO,' followed by a joint 'I Am Single' event being prepared by KB Kookmin, Hana, and Woori Banks. After conducting the program for the first time last year, Shinhan Bank received applications for its second round in March, buoyed by its internal popularity. The banks, facing a crisis from declining birth rates and population reduction, are actively pursuing couple matching for unmarried men and women in anticipation of a blooming spring.
KB Kookmin, Hana, and Woori Banks will hold a matching program for unmarried employees called 'I Am Single - Until When' on the 26th. A total of 30 participants, consisting of 5 men and 5 women from each bank, are expected to attend, and the banks recently announced a call for participants. They will be receiving self-introductions and motivations for applying.
This is the first time that banks are jointly hosting a couple matching program, but Shinhan Bank has already been running a similar program since last year. This is also the reason for Shinhan Bank's absence from the joint program. Shinhan Bank conducted an in-house dating program called 'Super SOLO' last April, gaining popularity through broadcasts on the intranet. After recruiting participants in April and completing 4 nights and 5 days of filming in Jeju Island, the first episode aired on the 4th, with a total of 10 episodes being released. Each episode received numerous comments, drawing a hot response, and they have already recruited participants for the second round this March.
Starting with Shinhan Bank, there were many 'employee blind dates' in the financial sector last year. Hana Bank conducted a program for unmarried employees titled 'Love, What Is That?' Additionally, BNK Financial Group also accepted applications from unmarried male and female employees to hold a blind date program with employees from the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), which is located in the same Busan area. In Busan, by the end of 2023, the Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC) is expected to directly launch a couple matching program called 'You too are Single' together with local financial public enterprises such as the Technology Guarantee Fund, Korea Securities Depository, and KAMCO.
The reason why banks are so eager to engage their employees in dating is to contribute to solving the social issue of declining birth rates. The banking industry is a representative sector facing a crisis due to population reduction. If the proportion of elderly customers aged 65 and older rises by 0.5 percentage points, it is reported that bank interest income could decrease by 1.1 trillion won, according to research from the Korea Institute of Finance.
However, the main reason why these dating programs are popular among banks is that employees prefer 'financial sector couples.' A representative from a major commercial bank noted, 'While it's less common now due to the implementation of the 52-hour work week, there were many couples who hit it off in branches back in the days when we worked late hours starting at 7 a.m.' Another representative from a major commercial bank stated, 'Because of the uniqueness of the banking industry, there are many who believe that people in the same sector can understand each other better,' adding, 'As a result, there are many cases where employees introduce each other across banks.'
Recently, due to social and political issues, banks have reportedly been hesitant about publicizing such events. However, it seems that the response among bank employees is already quite enthusiastic. This is not surprising, considering that the result of the couple matching is not made public, which likely contributes to its popularity. This is especially good news for applicants of Shinhan Bank's Super SOLO program, which is broadcast internally, as there is a significant pressure if a well-known in-house couple were to break up.