There is a local government that says it will give 20 million won in congratulatory money for marriage, 30 million won for a jeonse deposit, and 10 million won in travel support. It is Saha District in Busan. The support scale varies by income, but the benefits amount to up to 60 million won.
There is a condition. The targets are couples who tied the knot through "Thump-thump Saha Bridge," which Saha District ran through last year. It is said that no couple has received the support money yet.
Thump-thump Saha Bridge is a youth meeting support program. It provides unmarried men and women with opportunities to meet naturally. In a blind-date format arranged by the local government, it is called the so-called "local-government version of I Am Solo."
It is not only Saha District in Busan. Several local governments have stepped up to act as matchmakers for young people.
Seoul (Selleum in Hangang), Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province (Choice of SOLO MON), and Siheung (Siheung SOLO), Incheon (i+ Connect), Daejeon (Yeon In Daejeon), and Sejong (Sejong Connection) have different names, but similar events have been held or promoted nationwide with the same aim.
It does not end with facilitating meetings. They have offered bold benefits, from date expense support to congratulatory money and jeonse funds for marriage. Usually, the matchmaker who pairs a couple receives a gift, but here the matchmaker is instead giving gifts to the couple.
Local governments have stepped up from matchmaking to financial support to overcome low birthrates. They judged that providing unmarried men and women with opportunities to meet naturally and form relationships could raise marriage and birth rates.
The response was explosive. In Seoul, 100 people were recruited last year, 50 men and 50 women, and 3,568 applied. The competition rate reached 35.6 to 1. In Siheung, the program drew such popularity that participant satisfaction exceeded 90%. After confirming the effect, local governments moved to expand the programs by increasing the number of sessions and participants.
There are also several cases that have led to marriage. In Daejeon, the first couple to marry this year has emerged. The city launched the program last year, and two couples are said to be planning to marry in the first half of this year. Young people who began meeting through occasions arranged by local governments have gone on to marry.
Overseas media have also taken note of the matchmaking programs by Korean local governments. The New York Times, Reuters, Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), France 2, and The Guardian covered the programs as major stories.
The secret to the popularity of local governments' meeting support programs is cited as "identity assurance." Because local governments are leading the matchmaking, participants expect to meet partners whose identities are reliably verified.
Each local government collects documents from participants, including resident registration (basic) certificates, certificates of employment, and certificates of marital status. Some local governments are said to even check records of sex offenses. An official at one local government said, "As the event organizer, we have no choice but to scrutinize the documents."
However, there is opposition to such local government programs. Because not many cases progress from initial meetings to marriage, critics question the policy's effectiveness. They argue that, rather than publicity-focused policies, overcoming low birthrates requires focusing on improving environmental factors such as expense burdens, child care, and resolving career breaks.