Why South Korea Became a Matchmaker

We know that governments build roads, fight wars, and print money.

But matchmaking?

South Korea

During 2023, far below the replacement rate of 2.1, South Korea’s women had an average of .72 babies during their lifetime:

Responding, the South Korean government became a matchmaker. After 3200 singles applied for one government sponsored event, 100 were chosen for a “mass blind date” that resulted in 27 couples. Those couples then received a dating package of meal tickets and vouchers worth $225.

At this point we can ask why South Korea has the “lowest low” fertility rate. A Nobel Laureate has an answer.

Our Bottom Line: Economic Growth

In a new NBER paper, Nobel Laureate Claudia Goldin asks why nations like South Korea have low fertility rates. Her answers take her to the economic growth rates of two groups of nations. While Group 1–Denmark, U.S., France, U.K., Germany, Sweden–grew steadily after the 1950s, Group 2–Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Portugal, Spain–had a much steeper growth spurt.

Below, you can see the different groups. I labeled Korea:

In Group 1, gradual growth gave people more time to acclimate. By contrast, as their incomes rapidly grew, people in Group 2 tried to retain the traditions that many had brought from rural villages to the city. At home, the men wanted to continue doing few tasks and retain their elevated status. At the same time, the women in those households experienced more freedom.

The result is conflict.

According to Goldin, the women wanted fewer children than their potential partners. As Goldin explained, when a tradition bound people is catapulted into modernity, their fertility rate plunges.

You can see that in Group 1, the total fertility rates plateaued and declined far less than for Group 2 countries:

Goldin perfectly summarizes the connection among fertility rates, women’s labor force participation, and the division of labor at home:

She could have added South Korea’s matchmaking events.

My sources and more: Thanks to David Wessel’s Hutchins email for alerting me to the new Claudia Goldin study. Next, converging with Goldin’s research somewhat, the South Korean story was here, here and here.