By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
For Sho Woo-geon, an ethnic Korean in China who migrated to South Korea after marrying a local man in 1998, quarrels with her husband over dinner are still part of her daily life.
``In China, dumplings and steamed bread are popular foods, frequently put on the table as dinner. I sometimes serve them to my husband, even though I'm aware that he dislikes them,'' Sho told The Korea Times. ``As expected, my husband gets mad at me and asks me to prepare steamed rice and soup. Although I've lived here for a decade and almost adapted myself to Korean society, the taste difference has hardly narrowed.''
And the cultural differences extend those hardships, continued Sho.
``It's common for couples in China to equally share household affairs such as childcare, dishwashing and cleaning. Even cooking has traditionally been considered one of the exclusive chores for a man,'' the 34-year-old Daegu resident said. ``But my husband has forced me to take full responsibility, saying that it's common here.''
While accepting that she can't expect her spouse to fully understand her culture, Sho said, ``I would like to see my husband at least make some effort to understand such differences.''
Sho's predicament is not an isolated case. Tens of thousands of immigrants in Korea through marriage share similar tales of woe.
According to a survey of 293 migrant wives here, 39 percent responded that their Korean husbands have little or no knowledge about the culture of their home countries.
Only 19 percent said their husbands have sufficient knowledge about their own cultures and traditions, according to a Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and Lotte Home shopping questionnaire.
Fifty two percent said their Korean spouses were poor in speaking and understanding their mother tongues, making it hard for them to communicate with their husbands in their own language.
Of those suffering linguistic troubles, 24 percent responded that their husbands have no knowledge of their native language, while about 17 percent said their spouses were fluent.
``The more knowledge a Korean husband has about his wife's own language and culture, the higher the quality of life for immigrant wives,'' the survey said.
The Korea Immigration Service (KIS) plans to provide educational seminars for both unmarried Koreans who are looking for foreign spouses, and those married to foreigners. It has yet to decide on the exact date for the launch of the program.
``Foreign spouses of Koreans participating in the session will be given advantages when applying for a residential visa or citizenship,'' said Cha Yong-ho, a member of the KIS social integration team. ``KIS plans to develop a variety of programs not only for immigrant wives but also Korean spouses.''
The Ministry of Justice estimated the number of marriage immigrants at 122,552 last year ― 87 percent of them female. Ethnic Koreans from China form the largest racial group at 35,707, followed by Chinese at 32,080 and Vietnamese at 27,092.