It seems that the South Korean government have finally been shamed into altering the system for helping men find wives overseas, and have outlined plans to help these women better integrate themselves within Korean society. I find it astonishing that the government of Cambodia, a poor country, were able to recognise these problems and force the government of the worlds 11th largest economy into finally acting to protect these vulnerable women. I say women, because these guidelines are obviously set up to help men finding wives from third world countries. Once the new initiatives are being practiced, I will personally test them and see how well they cater to men who have decided to settle with Korean wives.
The Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh issued a statement in April that refuted any claim that Korean people were involved in the trafficking of people. They took issue with the phrase Human Trafficking and claim that what is happening in Cambodia does not fit the UN definition: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation”.
It seems that the South Korean government do not recognise that offering money to the families of young vulnerable women, in exchange for “allowing” her to marry a man twice her age, is the very definition of people trafficking. Cambodian wedding custom dictates that the woman will usually marry a man chosen by her parents. If that man happens to pay a relatively large sum of money to the parents in order to marry their daughter, is this not coercion? Is it not an abuse of power, or abusing a position of vulnerability? Paying money in order to gain the consent of marriage and then moving that person overseas where they can be (and often are) exploited is covered quite clearly in the UN definition!
But, I digress. The latest offering of the South Korean government is clearly in response to cambodia’s decision to ban marriages, and the South Korean government even goes so far as to say that the marriage brokers activities “have been a headache for the government.” Notihng serious then!
I must admit though, I have a few reservations about their statement.
The agencies must be registered and have properly trained staff who know the facts about interracial marriages and ethics to be eligible to do business. Illegal agencies will have their registration revoked or face fines, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said Tuesday.
I am not convinced that this will be a detterant. Korean businessmen are well known for being unscrupulous. People expect to be cheated when they do business in this country. Besides anecdotal evidence that I have heard, or read about in various blogs, there are also warnings about doing business with Koreans (related to EFL teaching) on the US Embassy website, and the UK embassy website. Both embassies make a point of saying that unethical business practices are not uncommon and people should be aware of them before coming here.
The problems with the EFL situation, and one that I believe will be mirrored when these new policies for interneational spouises come into effect, is that the Korean legal system is very broken!
Here are some facts to consider:
- When dealing with foreigners, there are many obstacles to reporting any issues and bringing succesful legal action. The Korean Legal system discriminates against foreigners on almost every level. Convincing the Police to take sides with a foreigner is tough. Bringing a successfuk case is tougher, and will be especially tough when the person bringing the case is obstructed by the immense language barrier.
- Korean Immigration does not (except in extreme cases) offer any protection to foreigners unless they have been successfully married to a Korean for a number of years. If these brides are living a life of near poverty, and the husband controls the money, she will NEVER be able to afford to bring a case. A woman who goes against the wishes of her husband can easily be deported – all he needs to do is ask Immigration to get rid of her and they will give an exit order.
- Divorce is still heavily stigmatised in South Korea, as is being single and childless. The same men who care enough to pay for a wife who does not speak the same language as him would rather have his wife dissapear (by killing her, as has been done, or by deporting her) than risk having people know that he divorced by bringing a case up against a marriage broker.
- If, after all of these things are taken into account, the broker is successfully sued, he will be ordered to pay a fine. As is usually the case in South Korea, any fine will be negligable and the business witll continue as usual.
- If the brokerage license is revoked, the broker will get a new license (by giving the business a new name) or get a license for his wife/cousin/dog and business will continue as usual.
BEST OF ALL: If you sue a marriage broker and tell anybody about it, YOU CAN BE SUED! Libel in South Korea is determined by damage done to a reputation and how much business you lsoe a person, and IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU ARE TELLING THE TRUTH!
The registration rule is part of a government plan to provide tailor-made services for foreign spouses in Korea. The government has already dispatched two officials to the Philippines and Vietnam to provide information to citizens there wishing to marry Koreans. Next year, officials will be posted to Cambodia and Mongolia.
Eighty government-administered Interracial Marriage & Family-Support Centers nationwide will give assistance to foreign spouses here. Korean language, culture including structure and other aspects of family life will be taught, and 960 visiting instructors will give orientation to interracial marriage seekers.
How about offering something to all of the Westerners who choose to marry Koreans? Come June 11th I will be curious to see just how many of these services are offered to western men who dare to marry Korean women. I would love free language classes! As for the aspects of family life, I have a feeling this will focus exclusively on how best to serve your new husband and your in-laws.
Before their wedding, Korean spouses-to-be will be educated on their counterparts’ culture and ways of avoiding domestic violence.
If ever there was a “what the fuck” moment, this has to be it! Rather than enforce strict punishment on people who abuse women, the Korean governemnt chooses to educate women on how to avoid violence. The culture is such in Korea that people beat women and children to show that they care about them! Corporal punishment* in school is brutally administered by way of the “love stick“**, and it is seen as a mans right to beat his wife in order to educate her – which of course he would not do if he didn’t care aboiut her!
* The solution to ensure this kind of embarrasing incident never happened again was to ban all cellphones from teh classroom.
**This teacher was punished with a warning!
These new guidelines are a step in the right direction, but I fear it is too litte. The marriage brokering hbusiness is HUGE business now. According to the Korean Statistical Information Service there were 345,592 marriages in 2007. Taking the figure of 11.1% from the article in question (a low number as the rate has been increasing over time, and it was 17% in 2006 – the 11.1% is a figure covering all married couples in Korea), this means that 38,361 of those marriages were internarional marriages. It is no secret that most of these were Korean men marrying Southeast ASian women. I will take a liberty and say that they are only responsible for 15,000 of these marriages – assuming an average profit of $5,000 for the brokers, this translates to a $75m dollar industry! Without the risk of serious prison time for the people breaking any regulations, the regulations will continue to be broken. This is the way of Korea!
As an addition, whilst I was writing this post my wife told me about the huge numbers of Korean women who now marry Japanese men. Apparently, the brokers advertise this as a “pay off your debt” service! I will follow up on this when she has more time to research it for me.
