Multicultural marriages decreasing

By Yoon Ja-young

The number of Koreans marrying foreigners dropped 9.5 percent last year. Babies born from interracial couples also decreased.

According to Statistics Korea, marriages between Koreans and foreign spouses totaled 24,387 last year, down 9.5 percent from the previous year. They accounted for 8 percent of all marriages.

The statistical office attributed the decline to the tightening of government regulations on interracial marriages, following a number of incidents where brides from developing countries suffered under hastily matched marriages.

“The government toughened qualifications for interracial marriages, taking into account Korean language ability of the foreign spouse and the annual income of the Korean spouse for issuing marriage visas. This led to a decrease,” said Lee Ji-youn, an official in charge of demographic data at the agency.

The ratio of interracial marriages was higher in Jeju Island and South and North Jeolla provinces at 8.7 percent or higher, while Daegu and Daejeon had fewer such couples at 5.8 percent.

Among the couples married last year, 63.6 percent were Korean men marrying foreign women.

The most typical examples of multicultural marriages in Korea have been older bachelors in rural areas marrying young women from developing countries in Southeast Asia. The tougher regulations seem to have decreased the marriage of such couples, as statistics also show that the age gap between brides and grooms is narrowing.

The average age of grooms in multicultural marriages was 35.2 years old, while brides were on average 27.8. In 2012, grooms were older at 36 years, while the average age of brides was a mere 26.9.

Of 37.5 percent of the multicultural couples who tied the knot last year, males were senior to their wives by more than 10 years. This compares with 2012 when 44.8 percent of the couples had such a huge age gap.

Among the males, 67.3 percent were Koreans, followed by Chinese at 9.5 percent, Americans at 7.2 percent and Japanese at 4.8 percent.

Among the females, 29.5 percent were Chinese while Koreans took up 24.4 percent. Vietnamese accounted for 20.9 percent, Japanese 5.5 percent, and Filipinas 4.9 percent.

A total of 12,902 interracial couples divorced last year, down 4.3 percent from the previous year and accounting for 11.2 percent of total divorces.

The number of babies born to interracial couples totaled 21,174 last year, down 0.5 percent from the previous year. They accounted for 4.9 percent of the total births. The ratio was highest at 7.3 percent in South Jeolla Province and 6.9 percent in North Jeolla Province, while lower in Daejeon and Daegu at around 3.5 percent.