International Divorce Rate Is Higher in Rural Areas

While the number of international marriages in Korea decreased for the first time in ten years last year, the number of international divorces soared.

Experts point out, “Korean men living in rural areas and getting financial support from local governments for marriage tend to rush to get married to foreign women with little understanding about their brides-to-be’s countries and cultures. As a result, many of the marriages end in divorce, failing to overcome cultural differences.”

The high international divorce rate in Korea is partly attributable to the increased number of ethnic Korean Chinese women who married Korean men only to get Korean citizenship.

Statistics on international divorce rates released by the Supreme Court on April 15 showed that the number of international divorces in Korea jumped 47 percent last year to 6,187, from 4,208 in 2005.

The international divorce rate has been increasing from 2,784 in 2003 to 3,315 in 2004, and further to a record last year. In 2003, international divorces made up only 1.6 percent of total divorces. But the number surged to 4.9 percent in 2006.

On the other hand, the number of international marriages has been on the rise, from 28,468 in 2003 to 36,934 in 2004, and to 43,815 in 2005, but decreased by 10.8 percent to 39,071 in 2006. International marriages accounted for just 11.6 percent of the total number of marriages in 2006, down from 13.6 percent in 2005.

In 2006, the number of divorces between Korean women and foreign men stood at 2,263 (36.6%), while those between Korean men and foreign women were 3,924 (63.4%). Men living in rural areas were relatively more likely to divorce their foreign wives.

In contrast, the number of divorces between Korean women and their foreign husbands living in Seoul was 946, while the number between Korean men and foreign women was 913. In South Jeolla Province, 67 Korean women got divorced from their foreign husbands, whereas 212 Korean men divorced their foreign wives in 2006. In North Gyeongsang Province, 78 Korean women divorced their foreign husbands while 227 Korean men separated from their foreign wives.

The statistics are a testament to the fact that bachelors in rural areas manage to marry foreign women but many of them end up divorcing their wives.

In South Jeolla Province, international marriages accounted for 22.7 percent, about one-fourth of the total number of marriages there in 2006. The number stood at 16.1 percent in North Jeolla Province, 15.1 percent in North Gyeongsang Province, and 6.2 percent in Daejeon and Gwangju. Jeju Island has the highest rate of international divorces in Korea with 7.9 percent, followed by 7.2 percent in South Jeolla Province and 5.7 percent in North Gyeongsang Province.

The statistics further showed the Chinese were the largest ethnic group that got married with Koreans. The Vietnamese were second only to the Chinese; 9,870 Vietnamese married Koreans in 2006, about a six-fold jump from 1,539 in 2003. Divorces between Koreans and Vietnamese also skyrocketed from 62 in 2003 to 589 in 2006.

will71@donga.com