Korea is still a difficult place for expats

Expatriates recommend marrying a Korean spouse, but life is tough here because of the language barrier and discrimination, according to the results of a survey of non-Koreans released by the Justice Ministry yesterday.

The ministry surveyed 3,547 expats in total and placed them in five different categories: 504 expats who had Korean citizenship; 514 overseas Koreans who live in Korea; 1,006 married immigrants who live in Korea after marrying Koreans; 514 Koreans with dual-citizenship; and 1,009 foreign students who study in Korea.

Out of the 1,006 married immigrants polled, 77.8 percent said they would recommend marriage to a Korean spouse to their relatives and friends back home, and 58.9 percent of 504 expats polled who had Korean citizenship said they would also recommend getting married to a Korean.

All in all, 62.1 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with their life in Korea and eight in 10 married immigrants plan to acquire Korean citizenship.

But, despite efforts to make life in Korea easier for expats, the survey suggested the country still has a long way to go. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said the most challenging aspect of life in Korea is the language barrier, and 337 out of 504 foreigners with Korean citizenship (66.9 percent) who participated in the survey said Korean society discriminates against expats.

They said discrimination was based on nationality (51 percent) followed by language barrier (23.7 percent), job (11.6 percent), and skin color (10.6 percent).

Asked what aspect of life was the most negative in Korea, 18.5 percent of 504 foreigners who had Korean citizenship chose discrimination, followed by communicating in Korean (17.1 percent), education issues (16.1 percent) and wage and employment issues (15.1 percent).

An official at the ministry’s immigration and foreigner policy bureau said the large-scale survey on expats living in Korea is the second of its kind. The ministry released its first report in 2008.

“The ministry plans to conduct research on expatriates living in Korea annually as part of the ministry’s efforts to come up with measures to improve treatment and welfare for foreigners living in Korea,” the official said.

Meanwhile, 80.6 percent of the 514 Koreans with dual citizenship said they use a non-Korean passport when they travel abroad, and 76 percent of them said they haven’t yet decided whether they will choose Korean citizenship and give up their foreign citizenship when the time comes.

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