South Korean city turns to matchmaking to boost low birth rates

The city appeared determined to arrange a match, preparing red wine, chocolates, games, free make-up services, and even background checks for the participating singles.

Against the backdrop of Christmas songs, 100 South Korean men and women gathered at a hotel near Seoul dressed in their best with name tags hanging on their clothes, hoping to find love.

The government hopes they make babies.

They were participants at a mass blind-dating event hosted by Seongnam city, an attempt by the local government to reverse a falling birth rate in a country where the popularity of marriage and enthusiasm towards parenthood have nosedived.

The participants, in their 20s and 30s, sat quietly next to one another until a relationship coach kick started the event with a rock-paper-scissor game, quickly filling the room with chatter and laughter.

The city appeared determined to arrange a match, preparing red wine, chocolates, games, free make-up services, and even background checks for the participating singles.

Lee Yu-mi, 36, who works for the city government, said she had to apply three times to finally get a spot at the event. "I had no idea it would be this competitive," she said.

After five rounds of events this year, 198 people among 460 left the event as "couples," agreeing to exchange contacts with their pairs, the city said.