Local governments in South Korea have been arranging blind dates in recent years to boost the country’s falling birth rate, the Korea Times reported on October 31, but more and more people are beginning to question the effectiveness of these activities.
According to reports, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will arrange matchmaking activities for 100 unmarried men and women at the Han River Park in Panpu on November 23, including river boat trips, entertainment games and one-on-one Conversations. Couples who successfully match at the scene will get tickets worth up to 10 million won (51,700 yuan) . According to the The Hankyoreh, the budget for this year’s matchmaking event in Seoul is WON50M. More than 50 local governments across the country will hold similar events this year, Yonhap said.
Local governments’ spending on matchmaking activities has sparked heated debate across South Korea. While some see this as a positive step to“Create opportunities for unmarried men and women to meet,” others criticize it as a“Wasteful budget policy” that does not address the root causes of the problem. Last year, the city of Seoul proposed a budget of WON80M for the The Hankyoreh event, which was met with opposition from all sectors of society, the newspaper reported. Critics argue that“Improving the high cost of living and the social environment in which work and child-rearing can not go hand in hand” is the priority.
The Korea Times reported that many local governments in South Korea had suspended such projects, mainly because of“Inefficiency”. A total of 4,060 people have taken part in local government matchmaking programmes in the past three years, but only 24 have ended up getting married, according to a survey. In addition, “It is difficult to find female participants” is also a major problem in organizing related activities. Some local governments have even“Tried to fill the gap with female government officials”.