Marriage migrant women’s friendship formation in South Korea

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite the substantial research on marriage migrant women in Korea documenting the challenges they experience as they adapt to Korean society, little is known about their relationships outside of families. To fill the gap, this study examines how marriage migrant women make friends, especially focusing on the concepts of intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic friendship. Our findings suggest that marriage migrant women are likely to form close relationships with people from the same country of origin as a buffer against adaptation stress, which indicates strong intra-ethnic friendship. Regarding inter-ethnic friendship, women tend to prefer friends who are from Korea to those from other East Asian countries, which indicates their desire of learning Korean language and ethnic culture. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of how women form a variety of friendships and how marriage migrant women’s co-ethnic friends as well as Korean friends assist in their transition to Korea.