The rate of naturalized Korean women marrying Vietnamese men has increased sharply.

Marriages between Vietnamese men and Korean women are much higher than the average rate of marriages with foreigners in Korea - Photo: PULSE NEWS KOREA

According to data from Statistics Korea on March 20, the number of marriages involving foreign elements dropped sharply to 15,300 cases in 2020, compared to 23,600 in 2019, and continued to decrease to 13,000 in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the number increased again with 17,000 cases in 2022 and up to 20,000 cases in 2023.

Of the total marriages in Korea in 2023, marriages involving foreign elements accounted for 10.2%, up 1.5% from 2022.

Vietnamese brides account for the largest proportion of total marriages with foreign women in Korea, reaching 33.5% in 2023, followed by China at 18.1% and Thailand at 13.7%.

Among marriages with foreign men, the US accounted for the largest proportion at 27.7%, followed by China at 18.4% and Vietnam at 15.8%.

Notably, the rate of Korean women marrying Vietnamese men in 2023 reached 7.5%, 4.7 times higher than the general growth rate of marriages between Korean women and foreign men.

Of the 556 Korean women who married Vietnamese men in 2022, 482 (86.7%) were naturalized Koreans. All 482 women were originally from Vietnam and obtained Korean nationality through marriage to Korean men and subsequent divorce.

According to Statistics Korea, the number of women with Korean nationality remarrying Vietnamese men increased from 420 in 2021 to 556 in 2022, and 752 in 2023.

At the same time, data shows that the number of divorces between multicultural couples will reach 6,000 in 2023, up 5.1% from 2022.

According to Chosun News Agency, the significant increase in the number of Vietnamese women naturalizing as Koreans through marriage and then remarrying Vietnamese men has raised concerns that some women may marry Korean men simply because of their nationality.

“Some girls already have boyfriends in Vietnam, but still marry Korean men to obtain Korean citizenship, then remarry their boyfriends back home,” said an official from an international marriage brokerage company.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ti-le-phu-nu-han-quoc-nhap-tich-ket-hon-voi-dan-ong-viet-nam-tang-manh-2024032610151633.htm