The number of marriages between Koreans and foreign nationals has rapidly increased over the past few years and it also has become a great concern not only of the Philippine and Korean governments but also of private organizations like the Hyehwadong Filipino Catholic Commu-nity. At this juncture, it would be good to note some information about this phenomenon.
Changes in Korean Family
This situation can be attributed to a lot of factors. The low birth rate and aging society of Korea has a great impact on Korean population. Korean couples today either opt to have just one child or none at all. As an ef-fect, there are more Koreans belonging to the ―senior citizen‖ age bracket than those of the younger age bracket.
Due to modernization and the pursuit of a better life condition, new family types emerged such as: weekend couples, living separately while one partner is abroad due to child‘s education, DINK (double income no kids) couples, single parent family, elderly living alone, and single household.
Statistics
Between 1990-2004, there were about 130,000 foreign women married to Korean men, majority of which are from the rural areas. As per re-cord women from China, Vietnam, Philippines, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and countries from Central Asia top the list. Korea, which was once a homogenous society turned into a multiethnic, multicultural society.
In the case of Filipinas married to Koreans, between 2000-2007, there were approximately 3,790. However, it rapidly increased to 6, 500 in 2009. To date, there are about 8,000 Filipinas married to Koreans, ma-jority in their 20‘s to 30‘s, married to farmers and fishermen in the rural areas. Most of them live with their husband and in-laws.
Ways of International Marriage
The common ways by which foreign women meet Korean men are through the introduction of a friend or a family member. Some of them are through direct meeting, meaning it is by their own choice. A number of them are through religious organizations and through brokers.
Changes in Korean Family
This situation can be attributed to a lot of factors. The low birth rate and aging society of Korea has a great impact on Korean population. Korean couples today either opt to have just one child or none at all. As an ef-fect, there are more Koreans belonging to the ―senior citizen‖ age bracket than those of the younger age bracket.
Due to modernization and the pursuit of a better life condition, new family types emerged such as: weekend couples, living separately while one partner is abroad due to child‘s education, DINK (double income no kids) couples, single parent family, elderly living alone, and single household.
Statistics
Between 1990-2004, there were about 130,000 foreign women married to Korean men, majority of which are from the rural areas. As per re-cord women from China, Vietnam, Philippines, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and countries from Central Asia top the list. Korea, which was once a homogenous society turned into a multiethnic, multicultural society.
In the case of Filipinas married to Koreans, between 2000-2007, there were approximately 3,790. However, it rapidly increased to 6, 500 in 2009. To date, there are about 8,000 Filipinas married to Koreans, ma-jority in their 20‘s to 30‘s, married to farmers and fishermen in the rural areas. Most of them live with their husband and in-laws.
Ways of International Marriage
The common ways by which foreign women meet Korean men are through the introduction of a friend or a family member. Some of them are through direct meeting, meaning it is by their own choice. A number of them are through religious organizations and through brokers.
Common Reasons for Marrying
According to a survey, the common reasons of foreigners, specifically Filipinas, in marrying Korean nationals is that they consider it to be a passport for employment that could eventually help them in supporting their families back in the Philippines. For a few, it is just for some sense of adventure.
For Koreans, however, especially those who are in their 40‘s, they marry so that there is someone who could take care of him and his par-ents, bear children, and do house chores.
Common Problems of International Spouses
―Marriage is not always a bed of roses.‖ Problems arise and common of which are the following: abuses of marriage brokers, cultural and lan-guage barrier, verbal abuse and domestic violence, prejudice and dis-crimination, social isolation, and poor environment to raise children.
According to the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, the common problems noted based on those who seek their assistance are the following: do-mestic violence due to alcoholism of the husband, maltreatment by in-laws due to inefficiency in doing house chores, infidelity by the hus-band that results to frequent fighting, shouting matches, and misunder-standing, husband‘s deliberate denial of the children, and the husband‘s failure to support the children and the wife.
Korean Government’s Response
The Korean government is fully aware of this phenomenon and the issues and problems that go with it. This is the reason why it is provid-ing all the necessary programs and projects to be able to assist and help multicultural families to be able to integrate into the Korean family and society.
With this in mind, the Korean government came up with its integration policy for international spouses and came up with seven (7) priority areas. These are:
1. Stop irregular international marriage brokerage
2. Provide victims of violence legal status to stay in the country
3. Support early integration to Korean society
4. Facilitate adaptation in school life of the children from interna-tional couples
5. Expand social security services
6. Improve the image of international marriage
7. Establish an inter-ministerial cooperation mechanism
Our Response
Though international marriage offers a lot of good opportunities to couples, it also bring with it numerous challenges and prob-lems. Both parties need support from other people, from the gov-ernment and the private sectors.
As a community, one way of helping them is through education and advocacy. The HFCC, recognizing the fact that our fellow kababayans married to Koreans are part of the community, concretely responds to this challenge by featuring stories of interna-tional marriages in the SAMBAYANAN. This aims to enlighten readers about the different situations involving multicultural marriages, their hopes, their difficulties and challenges.
From January of 2011, we shall be featuring these stories, stories where we can learn from, stories which we can use in advocating for a better situation for multicultural marriages.
According to a survey, the common reasons of foreigners, specifically Filipinas, in marrying Korean nationals is that they consider it to be a passport for employment that could eventually help them in supporting their families back in the Philippines. For a few, it is just for some sense of adventure.
For Koreans, however, especially those who are in their 40‘s, they marry so that there is someone who could take care of him and his par-ents, bear children, and do house chores.
Common Problems of International Spouses
―Marriage is not always a bed of roses.‖ Problems arise and common of which are the following: abuses of marriage brokers, cultural and lan-guage barrier, verbal abuse and domestic violence, prejudice and dis-crimination, social isolation, and poor environment to raise children.
According to the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, the common problems noted based on those who seek their assistance are the following: do-mestic violence due to alcoholism of the husband, maltreatment by in-laws due to inefficiency in doing house chores, infidelity by the hus-band that results to frequent fighting, shouting matches, and misunder-standing, husband‘s deliberate denial of the children, and the husband‘s failure to support the children and the wife.
Korean Government’s Response
The Korean government is fully aware of this phenomenon and the issues and problems that go with it. This is the reason why it is provid-ing all the necessary programs and projects to be able to assist and help multicultural families to be able to integrate into the Korean family and society.
With this in mind, the Korean government came up with its integration policy for international spouses and came up with seven (7) priority areas. These are:
1. Stop irregular international marriage brokerage
2. Provide victims of violence legal status to stay in the country
3. Support early integration to Korean society
4. Facilitate adaptation in school life of the children from interna-tional couples
5. Expand social security services
6. Improve the image of international marriage
7. Establish an inter-ministerial cooperation mechanism
Our Response
Though international marriage offers a lot of good opportunities to couples, it also bring with it numerous challenges and prob-lems. Both parties need support from other people, from the gov-ernment and the private sectors.
As a community, one way of helping them is through education and advocacy. The HFCC, recognizing the fact that our fellow kababayans married to Koreans are part of the community, concretely responds to this challenge by featuring stories of interna-tional marriages in the SAMBAYANAN. This aims to enlighten readers about the different situations involving multicultural marriages, their hopes, their difficulties and challenges.
From January of 2011, we shall be featuring these stories, stories where we can learn from, stories which we can use in advocating for a better situation for multicultural marriages.
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