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While foreign brides are surveyed to be generally happy with their lives in South Korea, a significant share has seen the dream of a better life turn out to be an illusion.
A recent survey by a lawmaker of 3028 non-Korean brides in the southern province of North Cholla found that while 56 percent of those surveyed said they were generally happy, eight percent called their married life unsatisfactory.
Most of them cited economic difficulties as a key reason for making their life harder than expected, and 75 percent of those polled wanted to get jobs so they could be more financially secure.
Although 36 percent of those surveyed said they married South Koreans because they loved their grooms, 38 percent said they tied the knot with South Koreans in the hope that they could live in an affluent country and their husbands would help their families back home.
| 'If money is the reason, the marriage is more likely to end up being a disappointment' | "If love is the reason for a cross-cultural marriage, there would be little room for disillusionment, but if money is the reason, the marriage is more likely to end up being a disappointment," warned Lee Yong-Hwan, who heads the Hansun Foundation for Freedom and Prosperity.
Chinese brides accounted for 41 percent, or 1235, of the wives surveyed, followed by 677 Vietnamese, 516 Filipinos and 389 Japanese.
The law office said that in 2006, one in every eight newlywed couples was cross-cultural.
A gender imbalance caused by abortions of female foetuses has led South Korean grooms to turn to foreign brides. The imbalance is felt particularly in Confucian-oriented rural communities, where 110 boys are usually born to every 100 girls. Most of those girls also leave their hometowns for study or jobs.
The law office said that of every 10 grooms in rural areas last year, four tied the knot with non-Koreans. Brides from China, Vietnam, the Philippines or Thailand are most common.
The rapid growth in cross-cultural marriages has become a source of both hope and concern in South Korea.
Growing numbers of foreign brides have injected a vitality in rural communities, which have been experiencing shrinking, ageing populations and low birth rates.
On the other hand, lack of communication and false information about life in South Korea have sometimes led to frustration and abuse.
The United Nations has called on the Seoul government to eliminate any elements of racial discrimination against foreign brides in a society that has taken pride in being ethnically homogeneous.
The United Nations said in a report that an emphasis placed on the ethnic homogeneity of Korea might represent an obstacle to the promotion of understanding, tolerance and friendship among the different ethnic and national groups living there.
It also asked the government to promote banning the use of the terms "pure blood" and "mixed blood". - Sapa-DPA
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