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South Korea has the world\u2019s lowest fertility rate<\/a>, at just 0.78 births <\/strong>per woman as of 2022. It\u2019s likely to get even worse, with Statistics Korea, the country\u2019s official statistics bureau, forecasting a rate of just 0.72 for 2023. That would be three times lower than the often-accepted replacement rate of 2.1, the number of births needed to keep a population at a stable level.<\/p>\n It\u2019s even worse in Seoul, the nation\u2019s capital, where the fertility rate is just 0.59. The city\u2019s mayor has a solution: He wants the city\u2019s government to play matchmaker to link people together. <\/p>\n In a Bloomberg TV interview<\/a> aired on Friday, Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon said he first proposed the idea last year, but the scheme was postponed due to concerns that a dating event wasn\u2019t an appropriate idea for public institutions. but Oh hasn\u2019t given up. \u201cI\u2019m thinking about trying it again,\u201d he said, continuing that some residents were disappointed that the matchmaking plan was on hold. <\/p>\n Other Korean city governments have tried blind dating events<\/a>, such as the local government in Seongnam City, just south of Seoul, which arranged an event at a hotel for 100 South Korean men and women to meet.<\/p>\n South Korean officials are considering more than just matchmaking events to bolster the country\u2019s rapidly-declining birth rate.<\/p>\n The government is increasing its incentives<\/a> for families to have children. Since 2022, the government has paid 2 million Korean won<\/a> ($1500) to parents for their first child, but starting this year, parents will get 3 million won ($2250) for their second child and thereafter. Parents will also receive a monthly payment of 1 million won monthly ($750) for the first 12 months and 500,000 won for the following 12 months. Parents with children younger than eight are also entitled<\/a> to apply for a maximum of one year of parental leave. <\/p>\n Oh acknowledged that matchmaking would be a secondary role compared to other policies meant to encourage childrearing, including increases to parental leave and financial support for couples seeking egg freezing services or infertility treatments. \u201cSeoul will mobilize all available policies,\u201d Oh said on Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Bank of Korea, in a recent report<\/a>, suggested that easing population density in Seoul could help improve the country\u2019s low birth rate. About half of Korea\u2019s population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area. <\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s government is the only one in Asia trying to reverse a trend<\/a> of declining birth rates. Governments in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are all considering or have implemented new policies to encourage families to have children. Mainland China is also rolling back population control measures as new births in the country sink to record lows. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n