"Natural Meetings for Single Men and Women"... Seongnam-si Group Meeting Attracts 11 Times More Applicants Than Expected

802 Men, 386 Women Participate
Similar Events Planned in Other Cities
Some Criticize as 'Outdated'

More than 1,100 applicants flocked to the group meeting program 'Solomon (SOLOMON)'s Choice,' hosted by Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province. While some criticized the event as a 'anachronistic plan,' it appears to have succeeded in attracting initial interest. Attention is now focused on whether similar events promoted by other local governments will gain momentum.

Seongnam City's Meeting Event, Criticized as 'Anachronistic,' Attracts 11 Times the Number of Applicants

Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, hosts 'Solomon (SOLO MON) Choice,' a matchmaking event for single men and women.
[Image source=Seongnam City]

According to Seongnam City on the 22nd, a total of 1,188 people applied for 'Solomon's Choice' during two rounds of applications: the first from May 22 to June 14, and the second from May 22 to June 21. Among the applicants, 802 were men and 386 were women, with male applicants more than twice the number of female applicants.

The event targets 100 unmarried office workers aged 27 to 39 (born between 1985 and 1997) who either have their resident registration in Seongnam or work at companies within the region, with 50 men and 50 women selected. Participants engage in activities such as recreation, one-on-one rotation conversations, couple games, and dinner to find potential matches. The city plans to select participants through a lottery system conducted by an event agency.

The event was planned to "provide unmarried men and women with natural meeting opportunities and chances for sustained relationship development," but when first announced, some criticized it as 'anachronistic.' There were also speculations that public response would be lukewarm.

However, once applications opened, more than 11 times the number of applicants compared to the recruitment quota applied, indicating initial success in attracting interest.

Seoul City Plans 'Reconsideration'... Will It Gain Momentum?

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Photo by Yonhap News

As a result, attention is also focused on whether Seoul City's meeting event 'Seoul-ting,' currently under review, will proceed. Seoul-ting was planned with the purpose of providing a platform for meetings and communication directly by the city to unmarried young adults of marriageable age, encouraging a marriage culture and addressing the domestic low birthrate issue. A related budget of 80 million KRW was also allocated in the supplementary budget.

However, this event has also faced criticism for being "detached from the essence of the low birthrate crisis." Ultimately, Seoul City announced on the 15th that it would reexamine the project.

Seoul is currently known as the city with the most severe low birthrate problem in South Korea. According to the '2022 Birth and Death Statistics' released by Statistics Korea, Seoul's total fertility rate was 0.59 last year, the lowest nationwide, significantly below the national average of 0.78.

In this context, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed the necessity of Seoul-ting on the 13th. During a plenary session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Mayor Oh said, "The world has become so harsh that unmarried women, before worrying about whether a blind date partner is compatible, are anxious about meeting a criminal," emphasizing, "(Seoul-ting) is about receiving information that assures at least that the person does not have extreme tendencies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.