An Analysis of Determinants of Immigrant Brides Adaptation to Their Communities in Korea

Abstract

Immigrant brides have increased since the mid-1990s in Korea. Thus, their adaptation to Korean society has been a big social issue in Korea. There are a lot of academic studies on their adaptation to Korean society. Nevertheless, we cannot adequately understand the major factors of their adaptation to Korean society because of methodological problems in existing studies. In particular there are few studies on immigrant brides adaptation to their communities. This study analyzes determinants of immigrant brides adaptation to their communities, using stepwise multi-regression. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey on immigrant brides in Seoul and Kyŏnggi province, Daegu and North Kyŏngsang province, and Kwangju and South Chŏlla province. Dependent variables are community life, spatial cognition and activities, and neighbor relations. Each dependent variable is analyzed with 30 independent variables through stepwise multi-regression. As a result, sixteen positive and two negative determinants are selected. Positive determinants are identity as a local resident, age, adaptation to home, the number of Korean and native country-born friends in Korea; linguistic ability is not selected as a significant factor. This is different from conventional expectations. Similar to existing studies, the importance of social network and adaptation variables is also identified in this study.