An Analysis of the Problems and Causes of the Formation of Multicultural Families in Korea 2010-20201

Abstract

This article aims to examine the status of multicultural families in Korea from 2010 to 2020, while analyzing their problems and reasons from a multi-layered perspective, to provide an academic foundation for reference in supporting a social safety system for the stable settlement of those families. Although foreign immigrants experience a certain acceptance due to economic necessity, this attitude is often only a conditional and partial acceptance that does not consider migrants as full members of the community and, moreover, sometimes even suspects them of promoting social division through their presence. This study comprehensively analyzes the current status, problems, and causes of problems in multicultural families in Korea through related data between 2010 and 2020. The problems of multicultural families are manifested mainly in economic, cultural and social terms, and each of these problems is organically interconnected. International marriages between Korean men and female immigrants from developing countries are facing a special set of issues such as unequal status of the spouses or specific problems in child’s education. These problems are serious in the sense that they are not only a temporary burden for the multicultural families, but can also affect future generations, the chances of their development and their inclusion in society. Analysis of these problems, which lie in factors of the social environment and cultural differences, can serve as a basis for countermeasures that will benefit multicultural families in Korea. The problems of multinational families must be understood and addressed in their intertwined complexity in order to find solutions that benefit not only these families, but ultimately society as a whole.