Interracial marriages have become common in South Korea as more and more men, especially farmers, rush to tie the knot with foreign brides. One out of eight marriages were interracial last year, while four out of 10 single farmers married foreign women, mostly from China, Vietnam or other Southeast Asian countries. This means that Korea is rapidly moving toward a multicultural society.
The country can enjoy the benefits of this. First of all, Korea can promote cultural diversity as people live together with more foreigners and embrace their culture. However, it ought to overcome problems such as discrimination and prejudice against non-Korean residents. The nation is required to establish an open, fair and equal system for multicultural families who are none other than our neighbors.
It is not surprising that the number of foreign residents in the country has reached 1 million, accounting for over 2 percent of the total population. Some demographers predict that the foreigners' ratio will hit 5 percent in 2020. But frankly speaking, South Koreans are still not prepared to embrace a multicultural society. The stark reality is that most foreign brides have been ``imported'' for farmers and fishermen who could not find a Korean match.
As a result, many multicultural families in rural areas are subject to breakups due to domestic violence, rights abuses, divorce and even suicide. Many women from China, Vietnam, the Philippines and other developing countries ended up in failed marriages. It is sad to hear that their ``Korean Dream'' is often shattered. Finally, such a tragic situation made Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet ask the Seoul government late last year to help Vietnamese women married to Korean men lead better lives in South Korea.
Well aware of the dire situation, the government is actively implementing support programs to help foreign spouses adapt to Korean society. In addition, it is also providing better education programs for children of multicultural families. There are currently 18,769 schoolchildren who have one parent from another country. The number is up 39.5 percent from 2007 and up 134.6 percent from 2006. Ninety percent of the children were born from families of foreign mothers and Korean fathers.
Children from multicultural families are expected to account for 25 percent of students in elementary schools in rural areas in four to five years. Currently, such children experience difficulties in school because of communication problems and cultural differences. We must realize that children from multicultural families are part of valuable human resources in our society. Therefore, it is imperative to create long-term education programs specially tailored to these children.