Saha-gu in Busan is getting ready for the meeting and support program that will give district workers, and locals direct financial subsidies so they can start dating and get married.
Local media sources reported the district council approved a revised supplemental budget to support the meeting day for local singles. This trial project will take place in October.
The experiment will select district residents and workers born between 1981 and 2001.
Following document submission and interview, the district office will assess the applicants.
The district will provide each member of the potential couple 500,000 won ($360) for each match made through the event.
The couple will receive further incentives from the local government as they reach other dating and marriage milestones.
Suppose the couple can arrange for their families to gather together before the marriage. In that case, they will receive a million won for each member.
Saha-gu will give the pair 20 million won in congratulations if they tie the knot.
The district office will even provide the newlyweds a 30 million won home deposit or 800,000 won in monthly rent for a maximum of five years.
For every couple who matches and gets married through the program, 53 million to 71 million won in money is given.
The district in the southwest of Busan intends to hold monthly meetings. The program is also open for foreign nationals who live or work there starting the following year.
“This project is designed to overcome the demographic crisis amid South Korea’s low birth rate by forming a multicultural local community in the future,” Saha-gu district head Lee Gap-jun told local media, Wednesday.
