A rural province in South Korea plans to give financial aid to help lonely male farmers pay for mail-order brides from overseas.
South Kyongsang province plans to start a trial program in which it will give 6 million won ($6,113) to male farmers who marry foreign women, an official said Tuesday.
South Korean farmers have been turning to brides from other parts of Asia in recent years after struggling to woo local women, who are often less than enthralled with the prospect of rural life.
"Young men in the countryside have a hard time finding brides and they started to look elsewhere," said Ryu Kum-ju, an agricultural policy official for the province, located in the southern part of the country.
"We decided to give financial support to those men for a trial period," Ryu said by telephone.
The province also plans to increase courses for foreign brides to help them adjust to life in South Korea.
The local government estimates it costs about 12 million won for a farmer to pay all the fees and travel required to find a bride overseas.
The number of South Korean men who have married foreign women has rocketed in recent years. It hit 25,594 in 2004, more than double the 11,017 in 2002, according to data from the Korea National Statistical Office.
China provides most of the brides, while Vietnam is second on the list.
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