Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eamo]

My whitey-wrangler approached me a couple of weeks ago and told me that someone from the Korean Womens Welfare Department wanted to interview me! I should say that I'm an Northern Irish male married to a Korean woman.

So, surprised, I asked why. Apparently, they are doing research on what anyone foreign, male or female, is experiencing as married to a Korean.

I agreed. (the promise of 50,000 won might have swayed me!) Two weeks later a very nice Kyopyo guy came to my apartment and conducted a 1 hour interview on the advantages and disadvantages of being a foreigner and married in Korea. Some of the questions were pretty personal. Income and sex life were questioned. He was very nice about it and assured me that I didn't have to answer anything I didn't want to.

I'm posting this because I'm wondering if anyone else did this interview. Also, I'm posting this because I really do believe that the old Hermit Kingdom is changing it's ways and trying to become a place which welcomes foreigners.

In fact, we talked about the fact that, as the Korean population ages and a labour shortage occurs, many more foreigners will come to Korea. He said that Korea could be as much as 10% immigrants before 2020. I think the Korean government is paving the way for this immigrant explosion.

He also said the purpose of the research was mainly to survey the female foreigners married to Korean men. 13% of all marriages in Korea last year were international. They are worried about the mail-order-bride situation. That was their main concern. I was interviewed to balance out the nationalities interviewed equation.


Anyone else interviewed?

[mervsdamun]

Yeah, I don�t think Korea has a choice but face what is going on.

This has been pointed out in quite a few places already but those people (both the long term migrants as well as the kids of mixed parentage) are going to constitute a significant voting block in a not too distant future.

Not to mention a significant consumer block.

And I bet quite a few people are beginning to appreciate the change for the diversity it brings. I�m certainly not crazy enough to suggest that this is the majority of the population, but as the OP pointed out, there are some positive trends emerging here.

Long way to go though.

[jajdude]

International marriages are cool. Mixture is interesting. Purity is nonsense and the idea needs to end. NOW dammit.

[bellum99]

Often they put mixed marriages on a t.v show (I forget the name). I wonder why those families do it...but they do. I wouldn't do it...I don't want 47 million Koreans staring at me like I was a monkey throwing dung...the odd 30 or so each day is enough, thanks.

[rothkowitz]

That sounds pretty interesting.

I'm glad they had a non-intrusive interview style.

I think Korea is opening up.It's going to take more co-ordination on a govt. and personal level.

I don't have the same hassles that I had 4 years ago.Things are getting better.I like the fact that I'm ignored more.

[three-legged dog]

[excitinghead]

I didn't have an interview, instead I was given a long questionaire to fill out, which someone picked up the next day. In hindsight, maybe I would have been interviewed if I'd been home.

The questions were clearly aimed at Vietnamese etc. brides, like eamo said, so many of them I couldn't answer simply because I'm a male, and in fact some of the pages you had to turn to if you were a man ( "if you're a male, turn to page 8" and things like that) were missing(!), so all in all I don't think anyone learned much from my answers.

Still, it's a very good step that the government is interested and concerned enough to send people to all those homes in Korea.

[three-legged dog]

[seoulsista]