[Column] Preparing for a society of diversity

Kim Yeon-myeong, professor of Social Welfare, Chung-Ang University

There exists a society in which 31 out of every 100 married couples involves a bride from another nation, according to figures mentioned in a recent presentation by a professor from Taiwan’s National Chi Nan University at a recent conference on East Asian social policy at the University of Bristol.

14.1 percent of marriages in Taiwan were international marriages in 1998, but five years later, in 2003, they accounted for 31.4 percent. Granted, since many of the women in those marriages are from the Chinese mainland, 31.4 percent could be somewhat exaggerated as far as being "international" in the regular sense of the word. In Korea, international marriages grew from 3.7 percent in 2000 to 13.6 percent in 2005. In Korean agricultural regions, these types of marriages stand at more than 35 percent of the total. Korea and Taiwan are experiencing similar demographic changes, so Korea will soon be facing the same situation as Taiwan.

The sudden increase in international marriages in Taiwan has brought with it serious problems for the migrant women as mothers and wives. Commercial marriage arrangement services are using slogans like, "If your bride runs away, we provide another one," and "Free for the first year." That is a serious form of racial and sexual discrimination, as well as a violation of civil rights.

In addition, brides from Southeast Asia are very young; on average, 12 years younger than their Taiwanese husbands. In Taiwan they experience economic difficulties and problems stemming from patriarchal family culture, discrimination in the workplace, and social isolation.

The educational and living environment for the children of these marriages is becoming a new social problem. In 2003, there were 28,666 children born from these marriages, 13.4 percent of all children born in Taiwan that year. For women from Southeast Asia, it is hard to be a "good mother" when they have a hard time reading and writing Chinese. Their children are experiencing various forms of discrimination and isolation at school. Another Taiwanese professor said the bigger social problem is the structural discrimination these children will experience as they grow up.

The problems experienced by the women who come to Korea through marriage and their children are still seen in our society as largely "someone else’s business." Make no mistake about it, however. The pain experienced by the families and children of international marriages is soon going to be an issue for all of us. Korea has no experience accepting families of different racial composure, and we have never been systematically educated on how to live together with them.

What we need most urgently in order to be prepared for being a racially and culturally diverse society is to better educate people about diversity in human life, from elementary school through university. American and European universities have long had university-level classes on diversity, and in some instances they are required courses. The open use of racially discriminatory language is criticized and socially disciplined in Western society, regardless of what the reality about actual discrimination there may be. The social regulation of discrimination is not something that happened overnight.