(Yonhap Feature) Multicultural marriages no longer confined to the countryside

By Ben Jackson
Contributing Writer
SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Until recently, any introduction to South Korea
included the mention of its ethnic homogeneity without fail. Once known as a
"Hermit Kingdom," the country was where blood and nationhood were one and the
same, and mixing with foreign blood was considered undesirable.
These days, however, South Korea's rapid economic, cultural and demographic
changes are unleashing new trends and currents that flow far beyond the country's
borders. International marriage, once regarded as an anomaly by many Koreans, has
become a significant social phenomenon.
"Recently, opposition to international marriage within Korean families is
decreasing, since such marriages have now been occurring for a while and less
shame is associated with them," said Jang Mi-yeong, a college professor who has
authored a book on multicultural society in Korea.
"And Korean women now enjoy a stronger and more independent position in society,
so they are less inclined to fill the traditionally demanded role of a wife in a
patriarchal system," said Jang, who teaches English language and literature at
Jeonju University.
Mixed-nationality unions in South Korea are often regarded as being confined
largely to the countryside, where many young men struggle to attract Korean
spouses to a life perceived as less comfortable than the city, but statistics
show that the practice is now far from uncommon in Seoul and other metropolitan
areas.
According to 2009 research, the rising ratio of men to women of "marriage age"
would reach a peak by 2014. This means that in terms of pure numbers, two out of
every 10 men will be unable to marry because of a lack of women.
Women also appear to be putting off marriage: While in 1975 only 11.8 percent of
women aged 25-29 were unmarried, the figure had risen to 59.1 percent by 2005.
According to the Korea Immigration Service, the number of registered foreign
spouses in the country has shot up, rising from 25,000 in 2001 to 138,000 as of
August this year.
The actual number of international marriages in South Korea may be higher when
foreign spouses that have now adopted Korean nationality are taken into account,
it said.
In annual terms, according to Statistics Korea, 33,000 international marriages
took place in the country in 2009, of which 76 percent (25,142) involved Korean
males and foreign females, while 8,158 Korean females married foreign males.



Though the number of international marriages remains significant, it has in fact
dropped slightly each year since 2005.
Korean central and local governments have responded in various ways to the new
social requirements of international spouses and "multicultural families."
Seoul Metropolitan Government operates six multicultural childcare centers that
provide programs for children from multicultural families to help them develop
their senses of cultural identity, as well as six multicultural family support
centers and hotlines offering counseling services.
The Ministry of Gender Equality & Family, meanwhile, has made protection of
migrant women -- a significant proportion of whom are the wives of Korean men --
one of its main tasks.
Already in 2007, ministry officials said, eight out of every 100 married Korean
men had foreign wives, a figure that rose to a huge 40 percent among workers in
the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries.
The rate of experience of violence among migrant women in international marriages
in Korea has risen to reach 47.7 percent, according to one survey conducted in
2008.
They include a few shocking incidents such as the murder in July of a 20-year-old
Vietnamese woman by her 47-year-old Korean husband, who had a history of mental
illness, just eight days after she arrived in the country.
Such incidents have raised the profile of international marriage and brought its
wider implications for Korean society under scrutiny once again.
In response, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has established a 24-hour
hotline for migrant women (1577-1366), offering consultation in eight different
languages as well as Emergency Support Centers for Migrant Women in Seoul and six
other cities.
"Our hotline and emergency centers are run by a combination of married migrant
women who speak good Korean and are trained for the job, and Korean workers who
can help with Korean family matters, act as a police liaison and so on," said
Kang Sung-hea, chief director of the Central Emergency Support Center for Migrant
Women in Seoul.
"From January to September this year, our hotline and centers dealt with 38,937
cases of contact from migrant married women on issues ranging from daily life --
hospital visits, school inquiries, cooking questions, interpretation requests and
so on -- to legal inquiries, residency and work, family disputes and family
violence," she said.
The Korea Immigration Service, meanwhile, recently launched a program of three
hour-long lectures for prospective husbands of migrant brides.
"During the first lecture, they are taught about the culture and different
systems of the country from which their wife will come," said an official from
Korea Immigration Service.
"During the second one they learn about the legal and bureaucratic procedures
they and their new wives will have to undergo in Korea. And in the third lecture
they are told by an external lecturer about previous cases of mishap in
international marriage," he added.
The programs are set to run twice a month at 14 locations throughout Korea.
Around 400 men, 120 of them from Seoul, took part in the first program in
October.



The Jeonju University professor, Jang, emphasizes the need for Korean husbands to
show interest in their foreign wives' languages and cultures if balanced
multicultural families and society are to take shape.
"At the moment, due to Korean patriarchal ideas, it is seen as the wife's duty to
learn the language and culture of her husband, but only as a non-essential choice
for the husband whether to reciprocate," she said.
The professor expects the annual number of international marriages between
foreign women and Korean men to remain similar in the near future.
"A lot fewer Joseon-jok (ethnic Koreans living in China) are marrying Korean men,
while the number of brides from places like the Philippines and Vietnam is
increasing," she said.
"The recent decrease may be because Koreans and foreigners are becoming more
aware of the potential difficulties of international marriage, and because many
men that were looking for international marriages have now tied the knot."
Jang also points out that in terms of sheer numbers, many more international
marriages take place in Seoul, its metropolitan region and other big cities
because of the overall concentration of population in these areas.
In terms of percentage, more international marriages still occur in rural
regions, she said.
Jang is optimistic about the future of multicultural society in Korea.
"This country adapts very fast," she said. "It was reduced to almost nothing by
war just 60 years ago and is now among the world's leading nations. Foreign
spouses and migrant workers are a very new phenomenon for Koreans, but I think
they will adapt fast to this, too."
What effect the high number of international marriages will have on Korean
society as a whole remains to be seen. But what is certain is that as the number
of children of multicultural parenthood rises, traditional Korean ideas about
blood and nationhood are bound to change somewhat. As the number and age of such
Koreans of multicultural parentage increases, so will their political, social and
cultural influence.
writer@seoulselection.com
(END)