Marriages between North American men, Korean women top 2,000 in 2011

The annual number of foreign men from North America marrying Korean women exceeded the 2,000 level for the first time last year, government data showed Thursday.

The number of the total male foreigners who in 2011 tied the knot with Korean women and settled down here reached 7,497, according to Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family.

Of the total, the bridegroom from the North American region, namely the U.S. and Canada, accounted for 2,080, the first annual figure surpassing the 2,000 threshold in history.

A total of 1,632 American men married Koreans last year, up 50 percent from the corresponding number in 2002 while the number of Canadians tying the knot with Koreans doubled to 116 last year from 2000, according to the data.

The increase is attributable to an increased inflow of foreigners into Korea gaining more international attention, the government agencies said.

Meanwhile, the annual number of the total male foreigners marrying Korean women shrank by 464 to 7,497 last year, the data also showed.

The decrease reflects fewer Chinese and Japanese finding Korean brides.

A combined 1,869 Chinese men married Koreans and settled down here last year, down sharply from 5,037 Chinese men in 2005. A total of 1,709 Japanese males tied the knot here last year, compared with 3,423 in 2005, according to the data.

Despite the recent dip, Chinese men account for the biggest nationality group marrying South Korean women, followed by Japan, the U.S. and Canada, the government data indicated.

During last year, a total of 22,265 foreign women married South Korean men with Vietnamese wives representing the biggest group among them.(Yonhap)