Half of international marriage households earn less than minimum cost of living

By Kim Young-gyo
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- About half of international marriage households in
South Korea earn less than the minimum cost of living, a researcher said
Wednesday.
"In the regions around South Jeolla Province and the city of Gwangju, 48.9
percent of international marriage households are known to have earned less than 1
million won (US$718) a month in 2006. About 80 percent of the international
marriage households in the area earned less than 1.5 million won," said Kim
Hye-young, a researcher at the Korean Women's Development Institute.
She added that 52.9 percent of international marriage households nationwide
earned less than the minimum cost of living, citing 2005 government statistics.
According to South Korea's government report last year, 41 percent of marriages
in rural parts of South Korea in 2006 were international marriages, reflecting
difficulties male South Korean farmers have in finding spouses. An increasing
number of them have turned to Vietnam, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian
countries to find wives.
"An international marriage is often considered an alternative option for South
Korean males who are not able to meet eligible spouses within the country," Kim
said.
"The majority of them are in the low-income bracket or physically disabled," she
said.
Economic strain is one of the most common reasons for the collapse of
international marriages, she argued.
"The high expectations foreign wives have before marriage turn to disappointment
when they arrive in South Korea," she said.
Agreements between South Korean husbands and foreign wives that financial support
will be provided for the wives' families in their native countries are often
broken due to the financial circumstances of the couple.
"Disagreements over the allocation of money is sometimes all it takes to end a
marriage already aggravated by cultural differences," said Kim.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)