Rewarding romance

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul metropolitan government announced on Feb 9 that newlyweds who register their marriage in the city will be awarded one million won ($687.53) in cash or an equivalent amount in credits that can be used in local communities.

The policy aims to boost South Korea's birth rate and address the challenges of an aging population, targeting couples with an annual income of less than 5.89 million won for two people in 2025.

The plan will begin in October, with around 20,000 couples expected to benefit from the program.

South Korea is not the first country to offer marriage incentives. Similar measures have been introduced by other Asian countries, such as Japan and Singapore.

The Japanese government has been providing newlyweds with 600,000 yen ($3,948.05) for housing or relocation since 2021, while Singapore plans to nearly double its marriage and parenthood budget to 7 billion SGD ($5.16 billion) by 2026.

The emphasis governments place on marriage highlights the tension between the low marriage intentions of contemporary youth and the social issues created by an aging population.

Experts suggest that the reasons for the low willingness to marry are varied, including shrinking employment opportunities and the difficulties women face in balancing work and family care.

"If you graduate and you don't find a job as a regular employee, people look at you as a failure," Ryosuke Nishida, a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, told The Atlantic, explaining the dilemma women face between finding employment and finding a life partner.