The purpose of this study was to examine immigrant spouses: why they chose international marriage, what kind of lives they were leading, what kinds of difficulties they were facing, how they were adjusting to Korea, and ultimately the solution to thei...
The purpose of this study was to examine immigrant spouses: why they chose international marriage, what kind of lives they were leading, what kinds of difficulties they were facing, how they were adjusting to Korea, and ultimately the solution to their problems. The focus was on the problematic issues of Korean society and plans in which to support the immigrant spouses. The sampling group used for the study was a group of immigrant spouses enrolled in a Korean language course at the Catholic Uijeongbu Migrant Worker's Center. Eight women out of the group of immigrant spouses enrolled in the language course and immigrant spouses signed up for counseling at the counseling center were chosen and interviewed in-depth.
The main problems found from the case study were as follows:
The first problem is domestic violence. Immigrant spouses experienced more conflict in their households than Korean spouses, due to their husbands’ personality disorders, gambling, and suspicion, thus exposing them to more domestic violence. Many immigrant spouses were victims to both physical and indirect abuse, such as verbal abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.
The second problem is economic burden. Generally men who choose international marriage are those alienated from society. The low socio-economic status of their husbands left immigrant spouses responsible for both domestic duties and making a living. Sending money to their family back home increased this economic burden even more.
The third problem stems from cultural difference. Many immigrant spouses experienced social isolation and communication difficulties because they did not fully understand their husbands’ culture and were not fully educated in their husbands’ language. They also experienced conflicts due to the difference in life styles from their home country. Some husbands and in-laws even forced immigrant spouses to convert to their own religion. A majority of immigrant spouses are thirteen to sixteen years younger than their husbands, so the large generation gap was also a problem.
The fourth problem is the instability of their legal status. The husbands of immigrant wives can easily cancel their certificate of status, so immigrant spouses are always in danger of becoming illegal aliens.
The writer would like to propose several solutions for the problems mentioned above:
First is cultural support. Proper education of the Korean language needs to be emphasized. Because the majority of immigrant spouses have only been educated in Korean for about three months, they experienced communication difficulties with their husbands, which stemmed to more problems. Education about the Korean welfare system, education, culture, and new technology needs to be emphasized as well. Marriage counseling by a social worker or counselor for the first two, three years of marriage would also assist immigrant spouses in adjusting to Korean life.
The second is economic support. If the immigrant spouse is raising a child with her husband, she needs to be protected by social welfare laws, such as the minimum living guarantee law and the mother-child welfare law. If the family is close to poverty due to the Korean husbands’ low social status, immigrant spouses need to be educated on self-support and vocational training. If the immigrant spouse is unable to gain Korean citizenship due to the Korean husband, she needs to be given equal rights as other single mothers in Korea and be given vocational training.
The third is legal support. If the husband of an immigrant spouse resorts to domestic violence, the immigrant spouse should be protected from the violence regardless of immigration laws. Currently immigrant spouses who are divorced or are in the process of divorce can only gain citizenship if they have married and lived in Korea for two years without leaving the country. The criterion for gaining residency is just as overwhelming-five years of living in Korea without leaving the country. In order for immigrant spouses to be able to settle down in Korea, the policies for gaining residency and citizenship need to become more lenient. In the meantime, economic activities and minimum living rights of the immigrant spouses need to be protected, regardless of their citizenship status.
From this study, it can be concluded that immigrant spouses can adjust to Korean life and lead a proper household if they are given the proper physical and emotional support. To better improve their marriage life and their overall quality of living, an expansion of the social welfare system, and an integrated mentoring system which will aid in solving conflicts and problems in the immigrant spouses’ households, is much needed. From evaluating the cases, it can be said that problems in immigrant spouses’ households are due to complications of conflict and mental suffering; therefore social workers or counselors specialized in a certain country or region would be ideal in resolving their issues. Rather than dividing up the immigrant spouses’ conflicts within the bureaucracy, the government needs to receive cooperation from an NGO and send out social workers who would visit immigrant spouses regularly and act as their mentor. The aim of this integrated mentoring system would be to find a support plan that fits each individual immigrant spouse and to give them the cultural, economical, and legal support they need; thus helping them to adjust to Korean life, solve their problems independently, live in healthy families and ultimately, to become a member of the Korean society.
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