New Study Shows Korean Men 3x More Likely To Marry Foreign Women

Korean men are willing to break through the language barrier to marry someone from a different country.

More and more Korean men are breaking through the language barrier in the name of love!

Shin Joo Ah married Thai millionaire Saraut Rachanacun in July 2014.

 

A brand new study has shown that in the past couple of years the number of international marriages has been on the rise. According to Statistics Korea, there was an 8.9% increase in the number of international marriages in 2018 alone! They reported that for the 2018 year, there were 22,698 marriages between Korean nationals and foreigners.

“Family Ties” director Kim Tae Yong married popular Chinese actress Tang Wei in 2014.

 

Although international marriage, in general, has been on the rise in Korea, the numbers reflect that the majority of these international marriages take place between Korean men and foreign women. In fact, 73.2% of all international marriages were between Korean men and foreign women! This means that Korean men are about 3 times more likely to marry someone from a different country!

The international marriage status from the years 2009- 2017. Although numbers have fluctuated, the numbers have been back on the rise since 2016. Chart from e-NARA Index.

 

There have been many theories as to why this might be the case including the significant difference in male and female numbers in South Korea, an increase in the number of Koreans studying or traveling abroad, and the ease of communication via online social platforms.

 

But whatever the reason, more and more Koreans are taking the leap and crossing cultural and language barriers in the name of love, even some famous Korean celebrities!

Director Kim Tae Yong and his wife Chinese actress Tang Wei.
Source: Korean Times and e-NARA Index