It pays to be lonely in one South Korean province.

The government in South Kyongsang province plans to give $6,113 to single male farmers in order to help them pay for mail-order brides from abroad, an official said to Reuterson Tuesday.

South Korean farmers have had a difficult of time finding wives who want to live in the countryside, so they have been seeking brides from other Asian countries.

"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.

"We decided to give financial support to those men for a trial period," Ryu said by phone to Reuters.

Provincial authorities also plan to provide more courses for mail-order brides to assist them in adjusting to South Korean life.

There has been a large increase of South Korean men who are marrying foreign brides. The number rose from 11,017 in 2002 to 25,594 in 2004, according to the Korea National Statistical Office.

Most of the brides come from China and Vietnam.