Half Foreign Wife-Korean Husband Households Live in Poverty

Lee Sun-young

Lee Sun-young. 2005. “Half Foreign Wife-Korean Husband Households Live in Poverty.” The Korea Herald, July 15, 2005.

ore than half the foreign wife-Korean husband households are in absolute poverty, earning below the minimum cost of living, and only 10 percent of them benefit from the state subsidy programs, according to a survey released yesterday. The study, commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to keep abreast of the burgeoning ranks of female married migrants, was the first nationwide survey on the welfare conditions of foreign wives and thus is expected to lay groundwork for policy measures to be drafted in the future, explained professor Seol Dong-Hoon at Chonbuk National University, who led the research.

As of April this year, there were about 70,000 female married migrants in Korea, with 47 percent Chinese of Korean descent. Chinese nationals married to a Korean account for 17 percent of all foreign wives, followed by Japanese (10 percent), Filipinas, (8 percent) Vietnamese (7 percent) and Thai (2 percent), according to the Ministry of Justice.

Foreign wives of Koreans cannot acquire nationality until they reside in the country for two years, which effectively bars them from receiving government subsidies paid to low-income households, Seol noted. "The most pressing need for marriage migrants, we found, arises from the fact that even though there are some other support programs in place, albeit not enough, most of those in dire need of them don't get them simply because they were not aware of the aid," he said in a telephone interview with The Korea Herald. He suggested guide books in various languages should be the No. 1 priority of government policy measures.

International marriages were a rarity in the past in the proud-to-be homogeneous Korean society but they soared to more than 35,000 last year from less than 5,000 in 1990. According to the National Statistical Office, cross-border marriages accounted for over 11 percent of all marriages in Korea last year.

The survey, which covered 945 couples and 26 matchmaking agencies which specialize in international marriages, also found that about 80 percent of foreign wives entered Korea to marry their husband-to-be or after their marriage while the rest met their Korean spouses while either working or visiting here.

About 27 percent of the 945 couples said their marriage was arranged by religious organizations, such as the Rev. Moon Sun-myung's Unification Church, and 17 percent through matchmaking agencies. In the remaining cases, the couples met through an acquaintance or just causally.

Asked why they married a Korean, 41 percent of foreign wives said it was for economic reasons while 37 percent said it was for love. On average, Korean men were 7 years older than their foreign spouses. In 34 percent of the cases, the husband was over 10 years older than the wife. While families with Chinese wives mostly live in cities, Filipina, Thai and Vietnamese wives tend to be scattered in rural areas. Overall, one fourth of international-marriage families live in cities, the survey also found.

"One out of 10 marriages which took place last year in Korea were international marriages. But those marriage migrants are given no special considerations and still treated just like foreigners until they become naturalized, despite the fact that they are married to a Korean and gave birth to Korean kids," Seol said. "Supporting them is not only for the sake of the foreign wives but the healthy family as a whole, including the Korean husbands and their children," he stressed.

However, in order to adequately address the welfare needs of marriage migrants, a public consensus should be reached to amend related laws, officials at the welfare ministry said. They said measures will be drawn up swiftly to promote various help programs available for needy foreign wives at welfare facilities. By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldm.com)

The Chosun Daily. 2005. “Most Koreans With Immigrant Wives Are Poor.” The Chosun Daily, July 15, 2005.

ith international marriages rising to 11.4 percent of weddings last year, most households where the wife is an immigrant live below the poverty line, the Ministry of Health and Welfare revealed Thursday. A ministry survey of 945 couples of Korean men and immigrant women from December to June, 52.9 percent earned less than the minimum cost of living. Of such families with children under 18, 57.7 percent lived below the poverty line. But only 11.3 percent of the mixed household claimed benefits under the National Basic Livelihood Security System.

The ministry attributes the low figure to the fact that more than half of such households were unaware of the system and to a requirement for immigrants by marriage to spend two years in the country before they are given citizenship and become eligible to claim benefits.

Meanwhile, mixed couples offer a mirror of changing social trends. In the 1980s, Japanese women members of the Reverend Moon’s Unification Church marrying coreligionists in Korea made up the majority of foreign women immigrating by marriage. They were replaced by Korean-Chinese and ethnic Chinese after 1992, who were in turn overtaken by women from the Philippines, Thailand and Mongolia in the mid-1990s until Vietnamese and Russian women took the lead in the late 1990s. (englishnews@chosun.com)

Ser Myo-ja. 2005. “Seeking a Better Life, Many Foreign Wives Find Desperation.” JoongAng Daily, July 15, 2005.

uly 15, 2005 ㅡ A random survey by the government of foreign women married to Koreans shows that nearly half of them chose their husbands in the hope of improving their economic condition but then found themselves living in poverty here. The results of the survey on the living status of foreign wives of Koreans was released yesterday by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The ministry said it has conducted the survey because by the end of last year international marriages comprised 11.4 percent of the nation's total marriages, and foreign wives were considered a blind spot for policymakers. From December last year until June, the ministry interviewed 945 couples nationwide and 26 matchmakers who specialize in bringing foreign women into Korea as prospective brides.

According to Justice Ministry data, as of April, 66,912 foreign wives were residing in Korea, and 10,948 of them have taken Korean citizenships, while the rest retained their native citizenship. More than 47 percent of the foreign brides were ethnic Koreans with Chinese citizenship, while 17 percent were Chinese. Another 10 percent came from Japan, 8 percent from the Philippines and 7 percent from Vietnam. About 75 percent of the foreign wives were living in urban areas while the rest were living in farming villages. Most of the Korean-Chinese wives were living in cities, while those from the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand were living in rural areas.

Of the marriages, 27 percent were arranged by religious groups, while 17 percent were set up by professional matchmaking agencies. In most of the cases, the man and woman had never met before their wedding. Forty-one percent of the women said they married Koreans for economic reasons, while another 37 percent said it was because they fell in love with their husbands. Among those married through matchmakers, 73 percent said their marriages were for economic reasons.

The ministry survey said most of the foreign wives were from what would be regarded as relatively middle-class families in their home countries. More than 90 percent had job experience, and 60 percent are working in Korea. More than half of the foreign wives are working in service industries, such as waitresses and cooks, while another 14 percent work in factories, earning an average of 1.4 million won ($1,360) a month. Despite high employment, 53 percent of the households with foreign wives are still earning household incomes below the minimum standard of living ― 1.13 million won monthly for a four-person household. About 44 percent of the households were living in extreme poverty, earning incomes less than half of the minimum living standard.

And yet, nearly all of the foreign wives have failed to receive government welfare subsidies because foreigners are ineligible for the state benefits program. Only 10 percent of the foreign wives were benefiting from the government living subsidy programs. Over the past year, more than 15 percent of the foreign wives said they had to skip meals out of poverty.

More than 23 percent of the foreign wives do not have state medical insurance, although the nation's health policy allows them to join the program. The ministry said many of them were ignorant about the policies. Nearly half of the foreign wives suffered from verbal abuse. Many of them also faced physical violence. The ministry said the medical and social welfare systems should be expanded to provide benefits to the foreign wives, noting that thosemarried to Koreans and raising children here should be considered members of Korean society. by Ser Myo-ja