South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world, with the fertility rate plummeting to 0.72 children per woman.
The city of Busan has set up pilot projects where eligible singles aged between 23 and 43 who live or work in the district will be evaluated and invited to an event where they meet other singles.
For each match at this event, both people in the couple will be given AU$556.
From there, if the couple fall in love and are able to get their families to meet in preparation for marriage, the local council will give them an additional $1,106 each.
If the couple then decides to get married, they’ll be given roughly AU$22,130 as congratulations.
The council will then offer the newlyweds AU$33,197 for a house deposit or $885 a month for rent for five years.
All these monetary bonuses could add up to anywhere between AU$59,000 and AU$78,400.
If this project is successful, the city plans to expand the program to include foreign nationals who work or live in the region.
“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 South Korean media.
