Factors that influence marital satisfaction among foreign brides in Korea

Abstract

Data have revealed that the divorce rate in cross-cultural marriages in Korea has been on the rise. According to popular ideas in the literature, this is suggestive of low marital satisfaction in these marriages. It is based on this problem that this research attempted to understand the factors that influence marital satisfaction among foreign brides in Korea. Four research questions and hypotheses were presented to guide the study. The research made use of data from the 2017 Marriage Brokerage Survey which was conducted by the multi-cultural division of the Korean Ministry for Gender Equality and Family. The national survey which utilized a sample size of 514 aims to among other things, gauge the marital as well as living experiences of foreign brides in the country. The study observed that communication conflict has a negative relationship with marital satisfaction among foreign brides in Korea. Also, it was revealed that both age and level of education have no significant relationship with marital satisfaction among foreign brides in the country. Conversely, it was identified that having a paid job is associated with a reduction in marital satisfaction among foreign brides in the country. On the premise of these findings, policy recommendations to enhance peaceful communication in multi-cultural marriages in the country and stimulate better marital satisfaction of foreign brides were put forward.