Era of 200,000 Multicultural Students... Many Left Neglected in Broken Families [The Reality of International Marriages]

Struggling with Korean Despite Bilingual Upbringing, Only 40% Enter University
Shortage of Foreign Language Counselors and Specialized Educational Institutions
"Government Must Begin with Accurate Assessment"

Editor's NoteAlthough the proportion of international marriages in Korea now exceeds 10% of all marriages and is becoming increasingly common, various side effects continue to emerge. Due to the persistent practices of illegal brokerage agencies, controversies over marriage by purchase and reports of fraudulent marriages are ongoing. The resulting breakdown of multicultural families leads to educational challenges for students. This article examines the unfair practices prevalent in the international marriage brokerage market, explores the structural causes, and considers possible solutions.

Multicultural students are attending Korean language classes at the Multicultural Education Center of Pyeongtaek University in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Huh Younghan

The number of multicultural students born as a result of international marriages is on the verge of surpassing 200,000 this year. As international marriages increase, about 4% of all elementary, middle, and high school students are now multicultural students. Over the past five years, the number of "multicultural student-concentrated schools," where more than 30% of the student body is multicultural, has increased by 40%. However, the majority of these students are struggling to adapt to Korean schools. In particular, among students who spent their childhood abroad due to family breakdowns such as parental divorce and returned to Korea-so-called mid-immigration students-many cannot even speak Korean properly and have difficulty integrating into Korean society. There is also a lack of accurate understanding of the realities faced by multicultural students who have grown up without receiving adequate educational or career counseling.

Born in Korea, Yet Korean Remains Unfamiliar to Multicultural Students

Korean language textbook for multicultural students at Pyeongtaek University Multicultural Education Center. Chinese annotations are written next to the Korean text. Photo by Younghan Heo

"Today, let's learn how the words 'disaster' and 'catastrophe' are different. Please make a sentence using each word."

This is a Korean language class at the Multicultural Education Center of Pyeongtaek University. Students with diverse skin tones and eye colors, reflecting their international backgrounds, began diligently writing example sentences in their notebooks as the teacher gave instructions. When one puzzled student asked a classmate what "jaenan" (disaster) meant, the friend whispered, "In Chinese, it's 'zainan (??).'"

Most of the students gathered here were born to international marriage families with one Korean parent, but their Korean language skills were weak. Many were mid-immigration students who had spent most of their childhood abroad before returning to Korea, so the class materials were adjusted to a basic level to accommodate their limited Korean proficiency. The content of the textbooks consisted of very basic Korean expressions such as "Open your book," "Look at your book," and "Sit down."

According to the Ministry of Education, multicultural students from international marriages are largely divided into those born in Korea and mid-immigration students. Mid-immigration students are defined as: ▲ children born to a Korean and a marriage immigrant but who grew up outside Korea due to family dissolution and later entered Korea, or ▲ children brought to Korea by a marriage immigrant who remarried a Korean.

Students born and raised in Korea are generally familiar with the Korean language, but mid-immigration students often struggle with Korean, leading to cases where they are bullied or unable to keep up in regular schools.

These students tend to gather at local multicultural centers or multicultural education institutes for Korean language education. Professor Yoo Jini, Director of the Multicultural Education Center at Pyeongtaek University, said, "At first, multicultural students who had difficulty speaking and adapting to school become more active and participate enthusiastically in class after meeting friends who speak the same language here."

Multicultural Student Population to Surpass 200,000 This Year... But University Enrollment Lags Behind

The number of multicultural students in Korea continues to rise. According to the "2024 Basic Educational Statistics Survey" compiled by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Educational Development Institute, the number of multicultural students enrolled in elementary, middle, and high schools increased from 147,378 in 2020 to 193,814 last year. Multicultural students now account for 3.8% of all elementary, middle, and high school students. At the current rate of increase, the number of multicultural students in Korea is expected to surpass 200,000 this year.

The number of so-called "multicultural student-concentrated schools," where the proportion of multicultural students exceeds 30%, is also rising significantly. According to the "Report on Innovation Measures for Schools in Immigrant-Concentrated Areas" published last year by the Korean Educational Development Institute, there are currently about 350 such schools, accounting for 2.96% of the 11,819 elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide. This is a 40% increase over five years, compared to around 250 schools in 2018.

Despite the growing numbers, the university enrollment rate for multicultural students is significantly lower than that of general students. According to the Ministry of Education, as of 2023, the university enrollment rate for multicultural students was 40.5% on average, which is 31 percentage points lower than the national average of 71.5%.

"Children Marginalized by Both Youth and Multicultural Support Systems-A Need for Accurate Assessment"

Professor Eugene Yoo, Director of the Multicultural Education Center at Pyeongtaek University, is discussing the reality of multicultural youth education in an interview with Asia Economy at the Education Center office within Pyeongtaek University. Photo by Huh Younghan

Experts explain that the gap is widening because many multicultural students are unable to adapt to Korean schools and do not receive adequate academic or career counseling. Professor Yoo said, "The issues faced by multicultural students are both youth issues and multicultural family issues, so no single government ministry is responsible, and these students fall through the cracks. Even when there is a desire to provide support, there is a severe shortage of counselors who are proficient in foreign languages and have a deep understanding of multicultural family issues."

There is also an urgent need to survey the actual conditions of mid-immigration students who grew up in broken families. Professor Yoo advised, "Some Korean men, even after having children with foreign women through marriage, are reluctant to grant citizenship to their children out of fear that their wives might run away. As a result, many families end up divorcing, and the children are left in limbo, often spending their childhood in their mother's country before returning to Korea, where they struggle to adapt. It is urgent to both assess their actual circumstances and expand the workforce for career counseling."