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The Korea Times

By Lee Hae-rin
Local governments in South Korea have been scrambling to host matchmaking events to help boost the country’s birth rate, but criticism is rising over their effectiveness.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government is arranging a dating programme for 100 unmarried men and women on the Han River on November 23, featuring a river yacht tour, recreational games and workshops on dating psychology and one-on-one conversations.
Couples matched on the spot will be provided with dating tickets worth up to 10 million won (US$7,300).
According to data collected from municipalities by Representative Lee Yeon-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, at least 30 local governments across the country have led 34 such matchmaking initiatives this year.
Normally, these events are held for one or two days in the form of a group meeting where dozens of men and women gather and visit tourist attractions and attend a wine party and cooking classes together, similar to popular matchmaking reality programmes on television.
A total of 4,060 people have participated in matchmaking programmes [ …] but only 24 people ended up married
Representative Lee Yeon-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea
Municipalities allocate budgets from tens of millions to more than 100 million won to organise such programmes.
While some couples actually end up marrying each other through these occasions, it is pointed out that such initiatives are neither effective nor sustainable in general.
“A total of 4,060 people have participated in matchmaking programmes run by local governments over the past three years, but only 24 people ended up married,” the lawmaker said during a National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
He urged the ministry to “send an official letter to the local governments to stop the senseless measures to tackle the low birth rate”.
A number of local governments have suspended the events, mostly citing ineffectiveness and difficulties finding female participants. Several local governments suspended their projects because of “the imbalance in gender ratio and the low number of female applicants”.
Some municipalities even attempted to fill the gap with female government officials.
For instance, at a 2022 event in Haenam County, South Jeolla province, only one out of 15 women who joined the event was a voluntary participant; and eight out of 14 involuntarily taking part were female employees at the public health centre organising the event. At the same event in 2019, only one out of 16 female participants was there by choice.

Female public servants were also forced to attend matchmaking events organised by the local government in North Gyeongsang province because of a lack of women taking part, according to Lee.
Data shows that young women have been leaving these rural conservative regions in recent years, as they offer little career and life prospects for them.
The number of women aged 20 to 34 who moved from the southeastern region to the Seoul metropolitan area increased from 4,819 in 2015 to 12,816 in 2020.
The gender ratio, which represents the ratio of men per one woman in their twenties, stood at 1.33 in North Gyeongsang province, 1.31 in Ulsan and 1.28 in both Gangwon and South Gyeongsang provinces last year.
Furthermore, Korean women in general are becoming less willing to date, marry and have children than men.
According to the results of the 2023 Marriage Awareness Survey conducted by Korea Research in June 2023, only 18 per cent of women aged 18 to 29 said matchmaking arrangements were “necessary”, much lower than the 51 per cent of male respondents.
Read the full story at The Korea Times


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Family & Relationships

Municipal matchmaking events in Korea have been criticised as ineffective – in some cases women public servants have made up the numbers


Municipal matchmaking events in Korea have been criticised as ineffective – in some cases women public servants have made up the numbers.


South Korea

Korea Times