International Marriages in Korea
Did you know the number of Koreans marrying foreigners have increased recently?
Korea used to have a distinct culture of marrying from the same ethnic background. The number of Koreans who marry foreigners has stayed low for many years. However, in 2018, that tradition shifted, and the number of marriages between Koreans and foreigners has increased dramatically. Today we have analyzed the trend of international marriages between Koreans and foreigners.
Source: kostat.go.kr
In 2018, the number of international marriages in Korea increased to 23,773 pairs, which is 9.2% of the total number of married couples in Korea. From the graph, you can see that this was not the trend from 2010 to 2016.
Source: kostat.go.kr
The number of foreign women married to Korean men in 2018 was 67%, and it has risen 2% since 2017. On the other hand, the number of foreign men married to Korean women decreased to 18.4%, and those who have changed nationality decreased to 14.6%.
Source: kostat.go.kr
According to the 2018 data, Vietnamese women marrying Korean men increased to 7,100 people, accounting for 30% of the total, which overtook the first place from Chinese women that have continuously decreased since 2008. As for Thailand women, the number of marriages with Korean men has increased steadily since 2013.
Chinese men, on the other hand, ranks atop in marrying Korean women with 9.4% in 2018, followed by the US with 6.2% and Vietnam at 2.5%.
| Korean Groom Foreign Bride | In 2018 | Korean Bride Foreign Groom | In 2018 |
| Vietnam | 30% | China | 9.4% |
| China | 21.6% | USA | 6.2% |
| Thailand | 6.6% | Vietnam | 2.5% |
| Japan | 4.2% | Canada | 1.7% |
| Philippines | 4% | Japan | 1.3% |
| USA | 2.7% | Australia | 0.8% |
| Khmer | 2.5% | England | 0.8% |
| Taiwan | 1.3% | Taiwan | 0.6% |
| Uzbekistan | 1.2% | Cambodia | 0.6% |
| Russia | 1% | France | 0.5% |
| Others | 6.1% | Others | 4.8% |
As you see, the brides are mostly from Asia. Foreign women married to Korean men are all over Korea. Of the 23,773 pairs, 6,605 are in Gyeonggi-do, 4,891 are in Seoul, 1,487 are in Incheon and other places like Gyeongnam, Chungnam, and Gyeongbuk.
Why do you think Uzbekistan is on the list? This is because 0.7% of the Uzbekistan population is Korean. When the Russo-Japanese War broke out, many Korean refugees crossed the border and went into Russia. However, the Soviet Union forced these Korean refugees to leave their country, so they had to go further into the continent to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The age of Korean men marrying foreign women is as follows. 35 to 40 accounts for 19.6%, 40 to 45 for 17.8% and over 45 accounts for 26.9%. From the information, an older man has a higher probability of marrying foreign women. The number of Korean men who are much older then their spouse account for 40.9%.
It's the opposite when it comes to Korean women marrying foreign men. Korean women tend to be older than their foreign husbands. Women aged 25 to 29 accounts for 27.6%, 30 to 35 accounts for 22.3% and 20 to 25 accounts for 18% of the whole international marriage.
The marriage rate of all Koreans is declining sharply, and the average age of marriage in Korea has increased. This is also related to the increased ratio of international marriage in recent years. In 2009, the average age of Korean men getting married was 31, but in 2018 it went up to 33. For women, it was 28 in 2008, but in 2018 it went up to 30.
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