The report suggested that stereotypes about gender roles among international couples are much stronger than those of Korean couples. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 20 (Korea Bizwire) — As the number of marriage migrant women continues to rise in South Korea, a new government report highlights the growing health disparities they face — including a higher prevalence of depression and limited access to critical health information due to language and cultural barriers.
According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), marriage migrant women — primarily from countries such as China and Vietnam — show greater vulnerability to both physical and mental health issues than their Korean-born counterparts.
In a report published Thursday in the June issue of Health and Welfare Forum, KIHASA researchers described these women as “highly vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and poor health literacy” due to unfamiliar social and cultural surroundings.
A survey of 519 marriage migrant women conducted between September and November 2024 found that 8.3% were living with depressive disorders, compared with 6.1% among the general adult female population in South Korea.
The rate was even higher among women with young children, lower incomes, or those who had experienced discrimination or lacked familial support during illness.
Married immigrant women seeking employment. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Although 12.9% of respondents said they had contemplated suicide — a lower figure than the national average of 16.3% among Korean women — the reasons differed. While financial hardship was the most common factor behind suicidal thoughts among Korean women, marriage migrant women cited emotional distress and conflict with spouses as the leading causes.
Despite signs of emotional strain, fewer than half of the respondents recognized the need for mental health counseling. Many lacked awareness of their psychological conditions, indicating a critical gap in mental health literacy.
The study also found that 16.6% of respondents had low “health literacy” — a term describing the ability to obtain, understand, and use health information effectively. Those with lower literacy levels were less likely to engage in regular exercise or other healthy behaviors and used medical services more frequently, yet less effectively.
Only 62.2% of marriage migrant women reported having undergone a health screening in the past two years, significantly below the national average of 75.9%. Their overall utilization of medical services also lagged behind, raising concerns that language barriers and lack of culturally sensitive healthcare may be discouraging visits.
“The relatively low medical utilization rate may reflect good physical health among this group, but it is also likely due to communication challenges and systemic obstacles,” the report noted. It called on policymakers under President Lee Jae-myung’s administration to strengthen health literacy initiatives and design inclusive, culturally attuned public health policies to better support this growing demographic.
The findings come at a time when South Korea, under a renewed alliance with the United States led by President Trump, is navigating sweeping demographic shifts amid a declining birth rate and aging population. As marriage migration becomes a more prominent feature of Korean society, experts stress the urgency of addressing the unseen health challenges facing its newest residents.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
