Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine what factors affect the marital life of multicultural families. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 immigrated females and their husbands living in Yongsan-Gu, Seoul, Korea, by open-ended questionnaire. The interviews took place on September 11, 2008, and October 11, 2008. The major findings can be summarized as follows: Through the content analysis of the informants' responses, three major factors were found to influence the successful adjustment of the married female immigrants: personal factors, familial support, and social support systems. Among the personal factors, the self-esteem of the married couples is relatively high. However, the factor of the economic living conditions of the multicultural families indicates some difficulty. Finally, considering the level of self-development of the female immigrants' husbands, an older husband was viewed more negatively than a younger one. In terms of familial support, the most important factor affecting the adjustment of a foreign wife is the trust of her husband and her relationship with the husband's family. Accordingly, educational programs are necessary to promote multicultural understanding and the couples' relations. In social support systems, the female immigrants experienced neglect, as far as multicultural prejudice in society. Therefore, in order to revitalize the self-esteem of immigrants, we need to reach out to multicultural families. The center for support of multicultural families provides opportunities to find training, upgrade education for employment, and expand their social network. In addition, it is necessary for the national public relations industry to recognize improvements regarding the adjustment of multicultural families.

Keywords

• multicultural family;
• marital life factors;
• married female immigrants and their husbands

• 다문화가족;
• 결혼생활 관련요인;
• 결혼이민여성과 그 배우자;