“Blind date”: in South Korea, they invented an unusual way to raise the birth rate
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In the South Korean city of Seongnam, thousands of men and women have registered for “blind dates” initiated by local authorities.
The government hopes that couples who may form at this meeting will later have children, writes Reuters.
According to the organizers, the goal of the event is to raise the birth rate in the country, as the popularity of marriage and enthusiasm for parenthood have declined sharply.
The participants of the “blind date” were between 20 and 30 years old. Competitions, games, red wine and sweets were served at the event.
| Photo: nicoletaionescu/gettyimages |
Lee Yoo-mi, 36, who works at Seongnam City Council, said she had to apply three times to finally get into the event.
“I had no idea that there would be such a competition“, she says.
After five rounds of competition, 198 people out of 460 left the event as “couples”, exchanging contacts with each other.
According to the publication, the birth rate in South Korea fell to a record low last year, despite the fact that the country previously had the lowest birth rate in the world.
The South Korean capital, Seoul, also reportedly considered hosting a similar event, but shelved it after criticism that it would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Critics also assured that “blind dates” will not help eliminate the reasons that encourage people not to marry and not have children, in particular – the sky-high costs of housing and education.
Read also: “South Korea ordered Japan to pay compensation to women who were forced to work in brothels during World War II”
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