STUDENTS at two South Korean universities are being offering courses that make it mandatory for them to date their classmates as the country battles to reverse one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
Seoul’s Dongguk and Kyung Hee universities say the courses on dating, sex, love and relationships target a generation which is shunning traditional family lives.
Many young people have given up on courtship, wedlock and childbirth because of economic pressures such as housing costs, unemployment and tuition fees.
The steep decline in marriage has given rise to the new term: the sampo generation.
Professor Jang Jae-sook, who founded a “Marriage and Family” course at Dongguk University, said students were being taught how to find the right partner and sustain healthy relationships.
Trump to transform spaceflight from spectacle to status quo targeting 3 launches per day
Revealed: The ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ That Kept Devastating Karmelo Anthony Evidence Out of Court and What that Evidence Was
Surprise election upset shows hating Trump is no longer enough as Democratic voters turn to new playbook
Surrogate Mom and Baby Flee to TX for Protection as Bio Parents Sue Her for Refusing to Abort Baby
Karmelo Anthony fights for new trial as lawyers clash over unwritten deal that shaped case
Top JPMorganChase exec warns regulatory proposal could squeeze credit for millions of small businesses
AOC blasted as too moderate by Maoist DSA faction as 2028 buzz grows
Trump reaches deal to halt tariffs on beef for 90 days in bid to lower prices
Videos show three suspects in shooting death of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez
Watch: Latest Physical Attack on Caitlin Clark Is So Outrageous Commentator Uses Football Term to Describe It
Professor Who Flagged Jason Arday Cambridge Cheating Scandal Suspended: ‘They Will Almost Certainly Fire Me’
Budget red ink threatens to spike inflation and unemployment
EXCLUSIVE: Fentanyl deaths plunge 22% as Trump White House touts crackdown on deadly drug crisis
Singham-linked nonprofits fight House subpoenas, accuse lawmakers of McCarthy-era ‘witch hunt’
Blue wave depth will be tested in a GOP-friendly Virginia House district
She said: ”Korea’s fall in population has made dating and marriage important but young Koreans are too busy these days and clumsy in making new acquaintances.”
And as part of the course, students have to date three classmates for a month each.
Homework includes going on dates and discussing scenarios such as jealousy and conflict.
Ms Jang designed the curriculum to include dating in the belief that learning from real-life experience is as important as studying theory.
She said: ”Korea’s fall in population has made dating and marriage important but young Koreans are too busy these days and clumsy in making new acquaintances.”
Trump to transform spaceflight from spectacle to status quo targeting 3 launches per day
Revealed: The ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’ That Kept Devastating Karmelo Anthony Evidence Out of Court and What that Evidence Was
Surprise election upset shows hating Trump is no longer enough as Democratic voters turn to new playbook
Surrogate Mom and Baby Flee to TX for Protection as Bio Parents Sue Her for Refusing to Abort Baby
Karmelo Anthony fights for new trial as lawyers clash over unwritten deal that shaped case
Top JPMorganChase exec warns regulatory proposal could squeeze credit for millions of small businesses
AOC blasted as too moderate by Maoist DSA faction as 2028 buzz grows
Trump reaches deal to halt tariffs on beef for 90 days in bid to lower prices
Videos show three suspects in shooting death of Tucson police recruit Carlos Ramirez
Watch: Latest Physical Attack on Caitlin Clark Is So Outrageous Commentator Uses Football Term to Describe It
Professor Who Flagged Jason Arday Cambridge Cheating Scandal Suspended: ‘They Will Almost Certainly Fire Me’
Budget red ink threatens to spike inflation and unemployment
EXCLUSIVE: Fentanyl deaths plunge 22% as Trump White House touts crackdown on deadly drug crisis
Singham-linked nonprofits fight House subpoenas, accuse lawmakers of McCarthy-era ‘witch hunt’
Blue wave depth will be tested in a GOP-friendly Virginia House district
And as part of the course, students have to date three classmates for a month each.
Homework includes going on dates and discussing scenarios such as jealousy and conflict.
Ms Jang designed the curriculum to include dating in the belief that learning from real-life experience is as important as studying theory.
The crude marriage rate – the annual number of marriages per 1,000 people – was 5.5 last year, compared with 295.1 when statistics began in 1970.
Seoul has spent about £50 billion trying to boost the birth rate.
Story cited here.
