The examines the supply status and characteristics of the government-sponsored culture & leisure programs aimed at helping migrant brides adapt into Korean society. The analysis suggests the need for the awareness about these programs’ problem...
The examines the supply status and characteristics of the government-sponsored culture & leisure programs aimed at helping migrant brides adapt into Korean society. The analysis suggests the need for the awareness about these programs’ problems to be placed from the demand side of immigrant brides, as well as the need for seeking institutional changes in these programs (to better meet their need).
First, the notes a trend of Korean society to shift towards a multi-cultural society, driven by a rise in inter-racial marriages that result from low fertilities, inter-racial marriages and religion-based marriages. Then, the studies cultural background of their source countries to understand their respective cultural lifestyle. The analysis indicates a significant cultural difference between Korea’s largely patriarchal society and their source countries such as China, the Philippines, Vietnam, etc., where the culture of gender equality is found to be established well, finding that the difference leads to cultural conflicts and (unexpected) reality facing the immigrant women by marriage in Korea.
Next, the identifies hinderance factors or reasons for negative conditions that make it hard for foreign wives to engage in culture and leisure activities substantially. They are lack of leisure time, lack of economic ability, lack of leisure information, lack of Korean language, absense of their company to do leisure together, cultural difference, overload of double-roles, and housekeeping labor overlaod.
The status survey finds that the multi-cultural policies are executed by 여성가족부, 행정안전부, 문화체육관광부, 법무부, 고용노동부, 보건복지부, 농림수산식품부 to run these programs, and representative programs for immigrant brides are programs for learning Korean language and understanding Korean culture.
Then, the studies the supply status of culture programs at the multi-cultural family assistance centers that are executed by 여성가족부 in 2012. To this end, it surveys 23 multi-cultural family assistance centers in Seoul, and finds that the Seoul city government operates programs to teach Korean language for both parents and children, settlement & adaptation, multi-cultural integration, culture & leisure, start-up orientation, club organization, volunteer services, etc.
In this survey, the narrows down its focus on culture & leisure programs in order to identify their characteristics and problems. The survey finds these culture & leisure programs that consist of multi-cultural festival & event, culture & art activities, performances, experiencing Korean culture & arts, seeing arts & nostalgia performances, going camping, and other program.
Also, the analysis result finds these programs to share some characteristics and problems in common. First, these programs tend to objectify a group of immigrant brides. Second, they show a trend of Korean homogenization and assimilation. Third, these programs tend to be offered in uniform standard and just-one-time event. Fourth, there is a lack of pure culture and arts programs in nostalgia.
Based on these findings, in-depth interviews are conducted to deepen understanding of what programs these immigrant brides actually want to have, how they receive these programs and whether these programs are efficiently carried out. .
Interview results reveal several findings as follows. First, those who experienced multi-cultural festivals show a strong resistance against being specially treated as a vulnerable class of people since these programs tend to objectify and segregate them as a certain group identity of multi-cultural families, revealing strong intent to be integrated as a mainstream member of Korean society. Second, these culture & arts program (such as seeing Korean shaman dancing, experiencing Korean traditional culture, folding Korean traditional s handmade, etc.) are so uniformly designed to help them better understand Korean culture and adapt into Korean society, ignoring their cultural backgrounds and focusing on the assimilation purpose and thereby hurting their self-esteem. Third, they want these programs to be diverse and available continually. In the absence of a system to accommodate their opinions and intent, however, they have lost credibilities about the institutions, since they have experienced programs that (often) ended as one-time event and were offered in uniform standard. Fourth, immigrant brides show strong interest and cultural desire for pure arts and cultural performances as Korean women do, but they feel sorry about the lack of opportunity to release their cultural nostalgia, due to lack of information and, most all, due to lack of economic conditions.
Finally, the suggests the need for the concerned institutions to increase efforts, interest, cooperation and professionalism in order to run these programs as effectively as they intend to do. acknowledge cultural background differences about these immigrant brides, and. improve the public awareness about these foreign brides to receive them as our neighbor and live together.
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