South Korean city offering $64,000 for people to get married and have children

South Korea is offering cash incentives to singles to find love and get married as the country's birthrates reach a critical low. Photo / 123rf

When you consider getting married, the inevitable thoughts about the costs of a wedding, children, vacations and what the future entails can often spring to mind.

That is daunting for some. For others, that’s the cost of love.

Now, one country is offering people upward of NZ$64,000 to get married, according to media.

South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world and is facing a demographic crisis as a result. It has now reached a critical point, with the fertility rate plummeting to 0.72 children per woman.

Local and central Governments across the nation after hoping a new policy and cash incentive will encourage couples to get married and have babies in an attempt to reverse the trend.

In the city of Busan, councils have 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 can meet other like-minded singles looking for love.

How does it work?

For each match formed at the event, both will be given $604.

If the newly formed 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 $1200 each.

From there, if the couple decides to tie the knot they’ll be given about $24,000 congratulatory money.

The council will even offer the newlyweds a $36,000 deposit for a house or $960 a month in rent for five years.

In total, couples who successfully find love and make their way through each stage of the process could pocket between $64,000 to $85,000.

If the pilot project looks successful, Busan plans to expand the program in 2025 to include foreign nationals who work or live in the region.

They hope to host events like the one planned in October once a month.

“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 media on Wednesday.