00:02Under the watchful gaze of a goddess of compassion, hopeful singles are taking a leap of faith.
00:09Young men and women lead their partner towards a gate that legend says makes dreams come true, like finding their
00:16soulmate.
00:16Away from dating apps and instant messaging, this trust exercise takes place on the hallowed grounds of the 7th century
00:23Naksansa temple.
00:26Getting to know people in a temple is a completely new experience for me, which feels really fresh, and I
00:31think it allows me to get to know someone more seriously.
00:34Instead of speed dating, 10 randomly matched couples don temple uniforms and spend two days sharing tea, strolling through the
00:42woods, and completing shared tasks to see whether sparks fly.
00:48Since this is a program in a temple, I figured more decent guys who were selected would be coming here.
00:54Since 2023, the Korean Buddhist Foundation for Social Welfare has run these retreats to help bring the nation's singles together,
01:01and they've been popular.
01:05Only 20 singles were chosen from a record 4,200 applicants this year.
01:12Since the 20 of you here were selected from among all those earnest applicants, I hope you join this program
01:20with sincerity and bear fruit.
01:22Although South Korea's fertility rate marginally increased last year, it's still not enough to maintain the current population.
01:30By 2072, the government estimates the population will shrink by a third.
01:35That's leading some to seek more creative solutions.
01:40When I was little, my parents brought me to the temple whenever they couldn't handle me.
01:44It would calm me down, so I think it's a good place where you can communicate with a calm mind
01:49and in a respectful way.
01:51At the end of the retreat, the Foundation said half the couples successfully matched, giving dating apps a run for
01:57their money.
02:01You
