• Seongnam's SOLOMON's Choice Season 2 matched 198 couples among 800 participants across eight events in 2026, a 49.5% annual match rate.
  • The 26th event drew 1,125 applications for 50 slots each for men and women, 11.3 to 1 and the highest since July 2023.
  • Since 2023, 2,820 people have taken part and 707 couples have matched, per the city.
  • Thirty couples have married or are preparing to marry, and nine have had or are expecting a child.

Seongnam city in Gyeonggi Province said on 9 November that its city-run SOLOMON's Choice Season 2 singles programme matched 198 couples among 800 participants (400 men, 400 women) across eight events in 2026, Seoul Economic Daily reported. The city puts the annual match rate at 49.5%.

That rate is couples divided by participants of one gender (198 out of 400), not a share of all 800 attendees. The final event, the 29th, was held on 7 November at Tap Public's Pangyo branch and produced 24 matches among 100 participants, a 48% rate, according to the report.

The DII Take

The match rate is the least interesting number here. Demand is the story: a lottery-selected, document-checked, in-person format is turning away roughly ten applicants for every place. For an industry fretting about trust and swipe fatigue, that is a pointed data point, even if a municipal programme with a birth-rate motive is not a commercial template.

Verification is built in

Seoul Economic Daily reports the 26th event drew 1,125 applications for 50 slots each for men and women. The Asia Business Daily reported in March that the first-half sessions drew 2,405 applications for 300 spots, about 8 to 1.

Eligibility, as reported by the Asia Business Daily in August, covers unmarried people aged 27 to 39 who live or work in Seongnam, who must submit proof of marital status and employment. Before an event ends, participants write down up to three people they like. The city identifies mutual interest and texts each pair's contact details.

Across all 29 events since 2023, 2,820 people have taken part and 707 couples have matched, an overall match rate of 50.1%.

Policy goal versus outcomes

The city says the programme exists to give unmarried young adults a natural setting to meet. Its stated aim is a marriage-friendly environment. A critic quoted by VOA in 2023 called it 'nonsense' to expect such events to raise birth rates. Mayor Shin Sang-jin said at the time that low birth rates cannot be resolved with a single policy.

The city's own tally is modest against the headline: 30 couples married or preparing to marry, nine with a child or expecting one. South Korea's fertility rate reached 0.80 in 2025, up from 0.72 in 2023, according to UPI, which cited the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Nothing in the figures links that rise to Seongnam.

What to watch

French broadcaster M6 filmed the 29th event and interviewed Shin, adding to earlier coverage the report lists from outlets including the BBC, Reuters and The Guardian. Watch whether the application ratio holds above 10 to 1 next year, and whether the city publishes consistent marriage definitions.

  • Seongnam's 11.3-to-1 application ratio shows demand for verified, in-person matching, though the programme's lottery and municipal backing make it a poor direct comparison for apps.
  • The 49.5% rate divides couples by one gender's participants, so operators should not read it as a share of all attendees matched.
  • Outcome data on marriages and births is small and defined by the city, so treat it as indicative only.

Sources: Seongnam Matchmaking Program Pairs 198 Couples in 2026 (Seoul Economic Daily); Seongnam's 'Solomon's Choice' Creates 70 Couples in First Half of Year (The Asia Business Daily); Seongnam City Recruiting 200 Participants for Sessions 25 and 26 (The Asia Business Daily); South Korean births rise for second year as fertility rate hits 0.80 (UPI); South Korean City Turns to Matchmaking to Increase Low Birth Rates (VOA Learning English)