A particular focus will be on providing matchmaking assistance to firefighters, of which 38.2% of 5,503 staff members are unmarried. (Image courtesy of Pexels/CCL)
ANDONG, Apr. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – In a bid to tackle dwindling birth rates, the government of North Gyeongsang Province announced on April 2 that it will implement a “matchmaking package program” aimed at bringing together singles.
The initiative will provide opportunities for unmarried men and women to meet through hobby clubs catering to interests like camping, food and pets. Three such club events are scheduled for May, August and October of this year.
Additionally, vacant facilities will be converted into temporary “Solo Towns” where official matchmaking events and personal development courses on topics like fashion, communication skills and psychology will take place, with couple-matching festivities planned for the summer vacation season in July and the Christmas period in December.
Couples formed through the hobby clubs and Solo Towns will be eligible for subsidized travel opportunities, aimed at promoting a family-oriented atmosphere and providing respite for larger families.
These include domestic one-day or overnight excursions to major tourist attractions, billed as “Happiness Encounter Family” trips, as well as a 6-day international cruise departing from the Yeongil Bay terminal.
The provincial government is surveying demand and preferences for such matchmaking programs among corporations, public institutions, education offices, fire departments and civic groups to determine budgetary needs.
A particular focus will be on providing matchmaking assistance to firefighters, of which 38.2% of 5,503 staff members are unmarried.
Marriage rates in North Gyeongsang Province have plunged 47.3% over the past decade from 15,421 unions in 2013 to just 8,128 in 2023, while births tumbled 54.1% from 22,206 to 10,200 during that span.
“We aim to ensure no one in North Gyeongsang Province has cause to lament inability to find a suitable partner for dating or marriage,” said provincial governor Lee Cheol-woo, adding the administration would enact “bold measures” supporting courtship, weddings, housing and childrearing.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
