As China Ends Its One-Child Policy, Korea Reaches for Cupid's Arrow

While China’s decision to let couples have two kids grabbed headlines around the world, its neighbor South Korea has been doing some revolutionary thinking of its own on how to make more babies.

With a rapidly aging population and the third-lowest fertility rate in the world, officials in Seoul have come up with 200 pages of proposals that include a suggestion for local authorities to play Cupid by arranging matchmaking gatherings for singles.

Similar policies in Japan have yet to make a dent in its population decline and the fact they are being considered at all underscore the depth of the problems in East Asia as its biggest economies mature.

Other options being floated in Korea range from giving young couples priority for public housing, state-backed campaigns to encourage marriage and more support for people seeking fertility treatment.