Busan's Saha District will hold an event for unmarried men and women to address local extinction. It will also provide extravagant support, such as for dating expenses and meeting expenses.
On the 7th, Busan's Saha District announced that it is recruiting participants for the unmarried meeting event called "Heart-pounding Saha Bridge." The district plans to hold a total of six meeting events this year and will recruit participants for the first and second sessions until the 23rd of this month. The first session will have 24 participants from Gadukdo, while the second session will have 20 participants from Eulsukdo. The district is also planning events targeting public institution employees and foreigners.
"Heart-pounding Saha Bridge" is a part of the population policy aimed at overcoming the crisis of low birth rates and local extinction. Last year, a pilot event was held, resulting in the creation of seven couples. However, none of the couples have led to marriage yet. Participants must be unmarried individuals aged between 23 and 43, with men residing or working in Saha District for over a year and women residing in Busan for over a year.
Participants will be selected after a document review and individual interviews. If a couple forms after the event, a dating expense of 500,000 won will be supported for each person. If it leads to marriage, a meeting expense of 1 million won will be supported per couple. For three years, public institution parking lots will be discounted by 50%, and cultural and artistic usage fees will also be supported.
Wedding congratulatory money, housing expenses, childbirth congratulatory money, and travel support will also be provided differentially based on income. Couples with an income of 120% or less of the median income will receive 20 million won in wedding congratulatory money, 30 million won in jeonse deposit money, 3 million won in childbirth congratulatory money once, and 10 million won in travel support. Higher incomes will lead to reduced support amounts.
The district plans to establish detailed rules through a local government ordinance to prevent fraudulent benefits and clarify the basis for support. A Saha District official noted, "Once the detailed rules for the payment of support funds are established, there may be some changes in the support funds."