Rural S. Korea sees bumper crop of foreign brides http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-03-31T144852Z_01_SEO198358_RTRUKOC_0_US-KOREA-MARRIAGE.xml&archived=False
Fri Mar 31, 2006
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean men in rural areas are having a tough time wooing local women with prospects of spending a lifetime with them on the farm and are increasingly turning to brokers to find foreign brides.
In 2005, more than one in three men in rural areas married a women from overseas, mostly from China or Vietnam, figures released this week by South Korea's National Statistical Office (NSO) showed.
"The rates of international marriages have increased because the values of Koreans have become more liberal," said Park Kyung-ae, an official with the NSO.
Several rural counties have launched programs to provide financial support for South Korean men to help them pay for mail-order brides. They have also set up programs to help foreign spouses adjust to a new life in the country.
One of the biggest growth trends in almost completely homogeneous South Korea last year was finding a foreign spouse, with 14 percent of all weddings in 2005 being international marriages, the statistics office said.
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