The Changwon City Council is undertaking a fundamental restructuring of its youth meeting and marriage support policies.
The plan aims to move away from one-off events that merely fulfill quotas, establishing a long-term monitoring system and a 'Changwon Model' that reflects local characteristics, along with a solid budgetary basis for support.
The council's youth policy research group recently held a kickoff meeting to begin a comprehensive study on redesigning youth meeting and marriage policies.
In the past, Changwon has operated various programs to facilitate youth meetings, such as 'Couple Catcher in Changwon' by the Changwon Facilities Management Corporation and 'Exciting Day' by the Women and Family Department. However, according to findings from the working group, 'Couple Catcher' saw only 5 matches from 46 applicants in 2024, and 6 matches from 79 applicants in May of this year, with no follow-up to determine if these meetings led to actual relationships or marriages.
Nam Ho-jun, the representative member, stated, "Marriage information services are expensive, and existing local government initiatives often just fill quotas without leading to meaningful connections. Young people are unsure where or how to meet others, especially after COVID-19 significantly reduced opportunities for social interaction, creating a 'gap in meetings.'"
In response, the research group plans to implement a '5-Year Tracking System' that links meetings to marriage as a single policy cycle. Nam explained, "We will not stop at merely hosting events. With participants' consent, we will analyze and monitor whether their meetings lead to marriage over the next five years, and if not, investigate the reasons why."
Developing a 'Changwon Model' that reflects the city's unique characteristics is also a key focus of this research. The plan is to leverage the city's concentration of large manufacturing companies to build a network among young people across different firms.
Nam emphasized, "Changwon is a major manufacturing city. While young people work at companies like LG and Shinseong Delta Tech, it is often difficult to know who else is at other companies. We plan to facilitate connections between these businesses to promote meetings through administrative support."
To reduce any reluctance among young people regarding policy implementation, the atmosphere of 'forcing marriage' will be strictly avoided.
Nam stated, "It is important that meetings occur without the pressure of marriage from the outset. There is no law mandating marriage, so the priority of this policy is to create a social environment where young people can meet and socialize rather than being alone."
A significant aspect of this research is the consideration of establishing ordinances to systematically support practical benefits, such as marriage incentives, beyond mere matchmaking. The research group is broadly benchmarking leading examples from other local governments, including Daegu's Dalseo District, which has established a dedicated marriage support department, and Busan's Saha District, which offers support for dating expenses, rental deposits, and marriage congratulatory funds.
Nam expressed, "Through this research, we want to actively consider promoting marriage incentives. While Dalseo District has a dedicated department for marriage promotion, Changwon has been somewhat lacking in such policy benefits. We will examine what tangible benefits young people can feel when they marry and explore them comprehensively."
Despite the numerous economic challenges facing the youth generation, such as housing costs and job insecurity that hinder marriage, the starting point of this policy research is to first improve the environment where 'opportunities for meetings are nonexistent.'
Nam added, "Even economically struggling small business owners and factory workers face significant challenges in meeting potential partners. We will approach this by opening up opportunities for meetings."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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