The number of Vietnamese men marrying Korean nationals increased by more than 35% in 2023, with many women marrying local men.
Data released by the Korean Bureau of Statistics last week showed that the country last year recorded 20.000 marriages between Korean citizens and foreigners, an increase of 18% compared to last year.
These dual-national marriages account for more than 10% of all marriages in Korea. Vietnamese women marry Korean husbands the most among foreign brides, accounting for 33,5%, followed by China with 18%, Thailand with 14%. Many Vietnamese women choose to become Korean citizens after marrying a local husband.
Meanwhile, the largest number of American men marry Korean women, accounting for nearly 28%, followed by China with more than 18%, and Vietnam with 16%.
A couple expressing their affection at Seoul Station, Korea, 2020. Photo: AFP
Although ranked third, the number of Vietnamese men marrying Korean nationalities increased by more than 35% over the same period last year. Statistics Korea officials believe this is because more and more Vietnamese women marry Korean men to become naturalized citizens, then break up and remarry Vietnamese men.
The number of women with Korean nationality marrying a Vietnamese husband for the second time increased from 420 in 2021 to 556 in 2022 and 752 last year. The number of divorces among multicultural couples increased by 5,1%, to 6.000 cases in 2023.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said that the new data raises concerns that Vietnamese women may want to marry Korean men just to gain citizenship.
According to chosun, many Korean men shared online about being left by their Vietnamese wives. More than 300 such divorce cases were reflected on social networks in 2023.
"There are girls who have lovers in Vietnam, but still marry Korean men to naturalize and then remarry their lovers," an international marriage company said. "This problem is partly due to the fact that many Korean men believe that marriage with Vietnamese women is a 'transactional' relationship and consider women as property."
Duc Trung (Follow Yonhap, Chosun)
