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[WHY] Cities of love: How gov't matchmaking events started, and how they're going

Published: 22 Mar. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 22 Mar. 2025, 08:30

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

The Dalseo District Office in Daegu promotes an event for young singles with an aim to raise awareness of marriage and childbirth in a public park in 2017. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

On Valentine’s Day, a 37-year-old matrimonial attorney, Shin Dong-woo, bravely put aside his old dating habits to find a potential lifelong partner and went on a mass blind date hosted by the city of Seoul. Eventually, he was matched with one of seven women who chose him.

Shin said he felt that the program was “refreshing and reliable” as the Seoul Metropolitan Government screened candidates’ criminal records and financial statements.

The mass matchmaking program was not new to Shin, who was one of 50 male contestants in the first season of cable network Mnet’s mass dating reality show “Couple Palace” back in 2024.

Shin said the city’s dating occasion was more “down-to-earth” than the TV show.

“Participants of Seoul's dating program do not need to put on a facade as their appearances are not shown to media, and all they did was muster the courage to be in a genuine relationship with someone,” Shin recalled.

He was one of 2,356 applicants who volunteered to participate in the second edition of the city's mass matchmaking program. The inaugural event last November was also incredibly popular, receiving 3,286 applications.

Seoul is not unique in encouraging its young population to fall in love. Municipalities nationwide, from provincial counties to major cities, are willing to play cupid.

Why are Korean cities and provincial governments becoming matchmakers?

Not just for love but survival

Eligible bachelors and bachelorettes participate in Seongnam's mass blind date program, ″Solomon's Choice.″ [SEONGNAM CITY GOVERNMENT]

Government-involved dating events are not solely meant to spark love among young people.

The opportunities are designed to be a stepping stone to marriage and childbirth — the ultimate goal.

Korea’s low birthrate has put state authorities under pressure as its population is projected to halve by 2100, tumbling from the current 50 million to around 24 million. Last year, the country’s total fertility rate stood at 0.75 children per woman.

Local governments believe that more young people will get married if they are provided with a platform to meet their potential lifetime companions.

“The city thought that the mass dating program could help raise public awareness on marriage among the younger population by providing public support before the stage of getting married,” an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s low birthrate countermeasures division said.

The city thought its matchmaking initiative could “indirectly” contribute to solving the birthrate crisis, according to the official.

Profiles and photos of rural young men in North Chungcheong who registered with the provincial government to find potential wives in the late 1980s and early 1990s. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

While the birthrate problem surfaced in the 21st century, the state authorities’ resolutions appear to date back several decades.

In 1989, the North Chungcheong provincial government distributed brochures across the country listing profiles of eligible bachelors from the region because there were not enough women in the countryside. Some 10 couples — rural men and urban women — got hitched through the marriage brokerage program, according to a 1991 report from public broadcaster KBS.

However, today’s historically low birthrate is not merely a provincial problem but rather a nationwide predicament. The population crisis across the country has prompted local governments to rely on a basic and old formula — creating chances for people to find their potential husband or wife.

Nationwide matchmaking frenzy

Seongnam mayor Shin Sang-jin, left, poses with a newlywed couple who were matched through the city's mass blind date program, ″Solomon's Choice,″ last year. [SEONGNAM CITY GOVERNMENT]

Seongnam, the fifth largest municipality with nearly 930,000 residents in Gyeonggi, has hosted its mass blind date program, “Solomon’s Choice,” 12 times since 2023.

The city’s flagship blind dating event, which has already produced four married couples as of this month, is set to continue this year.

“The city believes that unmarried men and women who found romance difficult take part in the Solomon’s Choice program,” a Seongnam city official from the women and family division said.

“At the beginning of the event, a relationship coach teaches participants tips to attract potential partners and informs them of the positive aspects of marriage.”

Last week, the Incheon city government also tossed its hat into the ring. The city plans to host five rounds of collective matchmaking events with 100 participants on each occasion.

The city allocated a 200 million won ($137,570) budget for its initiative to pair up solo adults aged between 24 and 39, according to its press release.

Young singles participate in a dating program arranged by Daegu's Dalseo District office. [DALSEO DISTRICT OFFICE]

Daegu’s Dalseo District is investing in a matchmaking project.

The district office has a dedicated team to “encouraging marriage,” which manages a pool of 590 single men and women who registered themselves as eligible bachelors and bachelorettes in the district’s registry. The locality is the nation’s first to establish such a team specializing in marriage policies.

The team surveys the preferences of aspiring brides and grooms to identify their ideal types and arranges 5-on-5 or 10-on-10 mass dating programs after strategically handpicking the candidates considering their statements to ensure better matches and a higher success rate.

The district office’s sophisticated and tactical approach has led to 179 married couples as of Monday.

More to explore

Male and female participants of Seoul's dating program last November raise their glasses to the spirit of finding love. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

However, a one-time meeting may be insufficient enough to stir romantic interest between participants at the government-run dating event, participants said.

A woman in her late 20s surnamed Ku who participated in Seoul's matchmaking program said she “was short on time” to identify a potential beau among 50 male candidates within four hours.

A lack of time prevented participants from engaging in in-depth discussions, she said.

“As I am not a person who falls in love quickly, it was not easy to develop romantic feelings toward male counterparts despite their decency,” Ku added.

“Shrinking the size of each cohort, to probably 20 men and 20 women, or grouping candidates by similar hobbies and interests in music and movies would make the occasion more intriguing.”

She suggested that an afterparty or second meet-up could be an option to offer participants more time to get to know each other more deeply.

A 30-something woman surnamed Park who recently started to picture herself living happily with a spouse said Seongnam’s Solomon’s Choice program did not offer her enough time to figure out the male participants’ personalities.

“Each person was given five to 10 minutes for a one-on-one conversation, while most of the icebreaking session was used for recreational games,” Park said.

Pros weigh in

A participant puts a hair accessory on a partner's head during a mass blind date program arranged by the Haeundae District office in Busan last May. [YONHAP]

The women's feedback also aligned with the views of a professional matchmaking company called Duo — which has helped some 50,000 adults tie the knot — and a psychology expert's perspective.

“To increase the marriage success rate, a precise understanding of clients’ ideal types through various questions and delivering accurate profiles of potential partners are the most significant elements,” a Duo spokesperson said, noting that continuous follow-up on dating experiences and collecting feedback are important.

In addition, Kwak Keum-joo, a psychology professor from Seoul National University (SNU), said the city and provincial offices should keep managing each cohort consistently so participants could continue to gather, emphasizing that “falling in love with an acquaintance is more frequent than being lovestruck at first sight.”

Prof. Kwak said young people could meet each other through city-run dating occasions and develop ties — whatever they become, whether friendship or romance.

“Local authorities should put effort into fueling and sustaining participants’ desire to be in love rather than reminding them of marriage and obsessing over the birthrate,” Kwak said.

Yet, Park, whose future plan does not involve childbearing, said the program might have a “positive impact in raising the birthrate as most of the contestants seemed to want kids.”

Fundamental issues unresolved

Participants of Seongnam's matchmaking program, ″Solomon's Choice,″ make a heart shape with their hands last November. [SEONGNAM CITY GOVERNMENT]

While such matchmaking opportunities appeared to have some merits, some considered the occasions inapt.

In 2023, North Chungcheong’s Cheongju walked back its matchmaking efforts due to backlash from women’s organizations.

“Several women’s groups said one-time dating programs are unlikely to inspire marriage or raise the birthrate,” Seo Myung-suk, head of the city's women and family division, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The women’s groups said that it is “wrong to assume that the low marriage rate is a result of a lack of chances to find lifetime partners,” Seo said. “Instead, they suggested that the city devise practical policies for aspiring parents or families with children.”

Duo also said that programs by provincial governments are unlikely to yield the intended outcome due to gender imbalances in their populations, noting that it mentioned the issue to several localities hosting dating programs that sought consultation services.

Academia has also voiced criticism.

Lee Do-hoon, a sociology professor at SNU, told this paper that the local governments’ blind dates are akin to “window dressing.”

Prof. Lee said it seems to be “futile to anticipate” that more young people would get married through localities’ dating opportunities because dating applications and other channels have been available for singles even before the matchmaking efforts by regional authorities.

“State intervention in relationships and marriages — which are extremely private in nature and involve love — can trigger side effects,” Lee said.

“Matchmaking sessions held without addressing fundamental problems such as job insecurity, wage stagnation and work-life problems for young people can be worthless.”

Government officials from the North Gyeongsang provincial government pose for a photo while holding placards with the slogan "victory in the war against the low birthrate" last year. [GYEONGSANGBUK-DO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT]

Prof. Jang Soo-jung from Dankook University’s College of Public Service saw the city-run dating events as “inappropriate.” She noted that such an approach “treats pregnancy and families as tools to solve population problems.”

She said the low birthrate crisis stemmed from societal factors such as the high cost of marriage and insufficient public child care services rather than a lack of dating opportunities among young people.

Despite scholars' skepticism, the three actual participants stated they are “inclined to try it out once again." Two of them said they are willing to recommend the program to their friends.

Attorney Shin noted that Seoul is “creating and shaping a culture” where men and women can meet up and start relationships.

Despite failing to find a potential spouse for now, he said, “The city’s mass blind date is just the beginning.”

Shin Dong-woo, 37, an attorney specializing in divorce proceedings, right, walks with his matched partner during the cable network Mnet's ″Couple Palace″ (2024).

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]