[Park Sang-woo] Stressing the benefits of international marriages

Nowadays there are many international marriages not only in Korea, but also around the world. Since 1990 the number of men has increased more than women. So the number of international marriages has also increased and most international marriages are arranged marriages with people who live in poorer countries. Because of this, arranged marriages with people who live in other countries are looked down on. However, this is not good for Korea in this age of globalization.

Eight years ago, my brother went to India to study. After five years, he brought his girlfriend to Korea and will marry her now. Because of this, my brother often makes me call her. I am learning not only English but also Hindi by talking to her. She is also learning Korean by talking to me. At first, I was concerned about the communication between my brother and his girlfriend, but it is not a problem because they can communicate using both English and Chinese. I can use English and Hindi by talking with them, so international marriages can help you learn other languages.

Secondly, I have learned not only Hindi but also the culture of India while talking with my brother and his girlfriend. I can understand many things about India directly from them. For example Indian culture involves eating food with the right hand, toilet business with the left hand, there are many animals on the road, and there are many of kinds of curries. Five years ago, I had a chance to visit India for volunteer service. Although I went there with many people, I was probably one of the only people who accepted Indian culture quickly. While many people had a difficult time eating food with their hands, and working, I knew how to live there thanks to advice from my brother’s girlfriend. Also due to this experience, I could extend my awareness about the world and understand other countries well. As we approach the global age, experience that increases world knowledge is important and international marriages can help this.

Thirdly, many people talk about their children after international marriages. In Korea, many people say that a multicultural family’s children may have difficulty, but I disagree. Recently I have worked as an assistant in the Global Multicultural Bridge Program supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. So I teach and also play with about 30 multicultural children. At first I thought that many of them had difficulty living in Korea but many are exuberant, self-confident and very creative. One of them comes from a Chinese mother and a Korean father. He had a good command of Korean and Chinese and got along with many friends. He is not the only one. Many children from different cultures, like Japanese-Korean, make friends with each other. I realized that a multicultural child could learn about both cultures and languages from their parents and it would be advantageous for the child.

When my brother said “I will marry an Indian girl,” someone asked him “Why you going to marry an Indian girl, not a Korean girl?” But my brother replied, “Why should countries contribute to the love between a man and a woman? There are a few problems but international marriages have a lot of benefits.” If you marry a person from another country, you can learn a lot of things such as language and understanding another country’s culture. International marriages will bring a lot of benefits for you and your family. If you look down on international marriages, then you need to change your thinking. 

By Park Sang-woo

Park Sang-woo is an undergraduate student of the Department of Physics at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon. ― Ed.