One hundred men and women are here hoping to find love.

一百名男女在這裡希望找到愛情。

With the help of the government.

在政府的幫助下

For the next five hours, they'll play games, dance and dine until they find the one.

在接下來的五個小時裡，他們將玩遊戲、跳舞、用餐，直到找到真命天子。

But it's not all fun and games.

但這並不全是樂趣和遊戲。

South Korea is facing a demographic time bomb grappling with the world's lowest fertility rate that threatens its very future.

韓國正面臨著一個人口定時炸彈，世界上最低的生育率威脅著韓國的未來。

And the government is scrambling for solutions from cash for having babies to unconventional initiatives like this matchmaking event.

政府正在爭先恐後地尋找解決方案，從為生孩子提供現金，到像這次配對活動這樣的非常規舉措。

The country even declared a national emergency over the plunging birth rate.

該國甚至因出生率驟降而宣佈全國進入緊急狀態。

In countries that have low fertility rates, younger people don't find it worth it to have kids.

在生育率低的國家，年輕人覺得生孩子不值得。

There's a lot of negativity about parenthood.

關於為人父母，有很多負面的說法。

Experts warn of a demographic trap that could overwhelm economic growth.

專家警告說，人口陷阱可能會壓倒經濟增長。

By 2044, South Korea's workforce could shrink by nearly 10 million.

到 2044 年，韓國的勞動力將減少近 1000 萬。

But for many young South Koreans, it's personal.

但對許多韓國年輕人來說，這是個人問題。

Usually we think that getting married means sacrificing myself.

通常我們認為，結婚意味著犧牲自己。

What's unfolding here mirrors a wider global trend that's hitting East Asia the hardest.

這裡正在發生的一切反映了一個更廣泛的全球趨勢，而這一趨勢對東亞的衝擊最大。

So what can the world learn from South Korea's crisis, and what does it mean for their future?

那麼，世界可以從韓國的危機中學到什麼，它對韓國的未來又意味著什麼？

This matchmaking event has been running since 2023.

這項匹配活動從 2023 年開始舉辦。

And 28-year-old Eun Hye-bae hopes to find her future husband here.

28 歲的恩惠裴希望能在這裡找到自己未來的丈夫。

I'm here to find my future husband.

我是來找我未來的丈夫的。

The first step in overcoming the birth problem is to get married.

克服生育問題的第一步就是結婚。

We created this matchmaking event for young people who have a lot of work to do.

我們為有很多工作要做的年輕人舉辦了這次配對活動。

South Korean women are now having fewer children than ever before.

現在，韓國婦女的生育率比以往任何時候都要低。

Less than one child per woman.

每名婦女少於一個孩子

Far below the 2.1 rate needed for a generation to replace itself.

遠遠低於一代人自我更新所需的 2.1 倍。

The fact that there are numbers like this in South Korea, which is not even at war, means that there is no such thing in the world.

南朝鮮甚至沒有發生戰爭，卻有這樣的數字，這說明世界上根本不存在這樣的事情。

For this 26-year-old aspiring actress, individuality and career ambitions take precedence.

對於這位 26 歲的有抱負的女演員來說，個性和職業抱負是最重要的。

I don't think marriage or childbirth is a necessary element.

我不認為結婚或生育是必要因素。

As an actress, I have a lot of things I want to do in the future, and it's clear that I want to move forward.

作為一名演員，我未來有很多想做的事情，很顯然，我想繼續前進。

She believes her generation is dealing with larger issues beyond finding happiness through traditional family values.

她認為，她這一代人要面對的是更大的問題，而不是通過傳統的家庭價值觀來尋找幸福。

Economic power, time, state of mind, physical strength.

經濟實力、時間、精神狀態、體力。

I think these are all important.

我認為這些都很重要。

The latest government report in June says economic conditions such as work-life balance, housing, cost of living and job opportunities are key to marriage and childbirth decisions.

六月份的最新政府報告稱，工作與生活的平衡、住房、生活成本和工作機會等經濟條件是影響結婚和生育決定的關鍵。

In early May, I thought, how can I pay off my credit card bill this month?

五月初，我想，這個月怎麼才能還清信用卡賬單呢？

I don't think I'll be able to support myself in this low birth rate era.

在這個低生育率時代，我想我無法養活自己。

It's hard for me to make a living right now.

我現在很難謀生。

Now we have these highly educated generations, but there are so many financial and economic pressures on housing and all of those things that there's not a surety that people will be able to hit those markers of adulthood that we really relied on in the past.

現在，我們有了受過高等教育的幾代人，但在住房和所有這些事情上，存在著如此多的金融和經濟壓力，以至於人們無法確保能夠達到我們過去真正依賴的成年標誌。

South Korea's birth rate decline has been unfolding for decades.

韓國出生率的下降已經持續了幾十年。

A record 1 million people were born in 1971.

1971 年出生了創紀錄的 100 萬人。

Over 50 years later, 230,000 people were born last year and 250,000 people were born the year before.

50 多年後，去年有 23 萬人出生，前年有 25 萬人出生。

In 1997, there was the IMF economic crisis, and in 2020, there was the second moment when the number of newborns in South Korea collapsed.

1997 年，國際貨幣基金組織爆發經濟危機，2020 年，韓國新生兒數量再次出現崩潰。

Economic activity became very difficult and many people chose not to give birth.

經濟活動變得非常困難，許多人選擇不生育。

It is expected that half of South Korea's population will disappear in just 50 years.

預計在短短 50 年內，韓國將有一半人口消失。

Since the early 2000s, the country has rolled out a bunch of initiatives to tackle the declining birth rate, pouring in more than $280 billion so far.

自 2000 年代初以來，國家推出了一系列措施來解決出生率下降的問題，迄今已投入超過 2 800 億美元。

And yet, they have fallen far short, with one survey showing 90% of respondents find the birth rate campaigns ineffective.

一項調查顯示，90% 的受訪者認為提高出生率的活動效果不佳。

Some initiatives border on the absurd, like this politician promoting Kegel exercises, or this one suggesting girls start primary school a year earlier than boys to make them more appealing.

有些倡議近乎荒唐，比如這位政客提倡凱格爾運動，或者這位政客建議女孩比男孩早一年上小學，以使她們更有吸引力。

And let's face it, raising kids is downright expensive.

讓我們面對現實吧，養育孩子是一件非常昂貴的事情。

We're not just talking about diapers and milk anymore.

我們談論的不再只是尿布和牛奶。

A recent study revealed that South Korea is the most expensive country in the world to raise a kid, at 7.79 times the GDP per capita.

最近的一項研究表明，韓國是世界上養育一個孩子最昂貴的國家，是人均 GDP 的 7.79 倍。

And its education expenses, like cram schools or private tutoring that are taking up the single largest cost.

而教育費用，如補習班或私人輔導，則是最大的一筆開支。

In South Korea, we focus on pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing.

在韓國，我們關注懷孕、分娩和育兒。

But we also have to think about how to change the paradigm of a society where it's better to have kids and raise them.

但是，我們也必須思考如何改變這個社會的模式，即生孩子和撫養孩子更好。

That's certainly the case for Ji Hae-myung, who leads a busy life working for a foreign real estate company.

池海明當然也是如此，他在一家外國房地產公司工作，過著忙碌的生活。

Despite getting married five years ago, the 37-year-old remains deeply skeptical about having children.

儘管五年前已經結婚，但 37 歲的她仍然對要不要孩子深表懷疑。

My mom always said that don't get married.

我媽媽總是說，不要結婚。

That generation woman, their life is not that happy because our society, there is a really strong Confucianism, so the structure is not fair, especially husband and wife.

那一代女人，她們的生活並不那麼幸福，因為我們的社會，真的有很強的儒家思想，所以結構並不公平，尤其是丈夫和妻子。

Many companies, they still think that taking care of a child should be for a woman, not a man.

許多公司仍然認為，照顧孩子應該是女人的事，而不是男人的事。

Why we should choose family or my career, I think it's really unfair.

為什麼我們要選擇家庭還是事業，我覺得這真的很不公平。

The gender gap is one of the biggest in Korea.

性別差距是韓國最大的差距之一。

When a woman gives birth and comes back, the gap is wider.

當婦女分娩後再回來時，差距就更大了。

The fear of career setbacks for women is a major reason behind the falling fertility rate in South Korea, contributing to almost half of the drop.

婦女對職業挫折的恐懼是韓國生育率下降的一個主要原因，幾乎佔了韓國生育率下降的一半。

We see that women are increasingly sandwiched between caring for aging parents and young children and then also being asked to work more, and it's a nearly impossible task, right?

我們看到，越來越多的女性被夾在照顧年邁父母和年幼子女之間，同時還被要求增加工作，這幾乎是不可能完成的任務，不是嗎？

In fact, there are many women around me who gave birth at a similar time as I did, or are thinking about giving birth now, and they have concerns about whether they can return to work after giving birth, and sometimes they are actually fired.

事實上，在我身邊有很多和我差不多時間生產，或者現在正打算生產的女性，她們對產後能否重返工作崗位充滿擔憂，有時甚至真的被解僱了。

I think to have a baby is really a blessing for our life if I'm ready.

我覺得如果我準備好了，生一個孩子真的是我們一生的福氣。

But if I'm not ready, it could be a disaster.

但如果我還沒準備好，那就可能是一場災難。

Their stories reflect what's happening across the region.

他們的故事反映了整個地區正在發生的事情。

For the first time in modern history, the number of women in their prime childbearing years across East Asia is projected to fall below 100 million next year, according to the UN.

根據聯合國的預測，明年整個東亞處於生育黃金年齡的婦女人數將低於 1 億人，這在現代歷史上尚屬首次。

This problem is not limited to just one country, but it's a global problem, and it's a global problem.

這個問題不僅僅侷限於一個國家，而是一個全球性問題，而且是一個全球性問題。

It's a disadvantageous environment for low-income groups, the rural areas, and the younger generation.

對於低收入群體、農村地區和年輕一代來說，這是一個不利的環境。

It's the same in the Western society.

西方社會也是如此。

We need to see what the young people are thinking and how they are doing.

我們需要了解年輕人在想什麼，他們在做什麼。

We also need to see how the neighboring countries are doing.

我們還需要了解鄰國的情況。

Experts say the steep fertility decline won't be reversed, at least in the next few decades.

專家稱，至少在未來幾十年內，生育率急劇下降的趨勢不會逆轉。

So the question remains, what can be done?

那麼問題來了，可以做些什麼呢？

For some, it's helping women balance work and family life.

對一些人來說，它有助於婦女平衡工作和家庭生活。

And for the youth, it's creating a sense of stability and security.

對年輕人來說，這也是一種穩定感和安全感。

I think real estate prices and housing prices need to be stabilized.

我認為需要穩定房地產價格和房價。

And I think we need to get rid of this useless system that forces people to study.

我認為我們需要擺脫這種強迫人們學習的無用制度。

Our society needs to be more efficient and fair.

我們的社會需要更高效、更公平。

Other efforts look at core familial values, as Korea's work-life balance ranks near the bottom among OECD nations.

其他工作則著眼於核心家庭價值觀，因為韓國在工作與生活的平衡方面在經合組織國家中排名墊底。

After work, we should be able to have dinner with our families and children and talk about what we did today.

下班後，我們應該能夠與家人和孩子共進晚餐，談談今天做了什麼。

That's how we can have more children.

這樣我們才能有更多的孩子。

Experts say South Korea is in need of a bold vision.

專家們說，韓國需要一個大膽的願景。

I think one of the most important things that we can all do is just accept that fertility rates are low and start moving on.

我認為，我們能做的最重要的事情之一就是接受生育率低的事實，並開始繼續前進。

There is so much noise around low fertility rates right now that I fear is really preventing us from putting in place solutions for an aging population where we can be resilient and have this resilient world.

現在，圍繞低生育率有太多的噪音，我擔心這會真正阻礙我們為人口老齡化問題制定解決方案，從而使我們能夠具有復原力，並擁有一個具有復原力的世界。

We have to take some time to prepare for that and adapt.

我們必須花一些時間為此做好準備並加以適應。

This journey towards a resilient future requires bridging the generational gap.

要實現具有復原力的未來，就必須縮小代溝。

Rather than telling young people how to live, I think we should think about what to give to the next generation, the older generation, and the future generation.

我認為，與其告訴年輕人如何生活，不如想想該給下一代、上一代和未來一代什麼。

That's what I think.

我就是這麼想的。

I want to live happily.

我想快樂地生活

I think it's very important to walk in line with the changing times.

我認為，順應時代的變化非常重要。

If you really want to solve the low fertility problem, you have to do it.

如果你真的想解決生育率低的問題，就必須這樣做。