KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

This study aims to develop an indicator system which represents a condition of both male and female marriage immigrants in various areas including family, economy, culture and social activity and the standard of social integration in Korea. Futhermore, this study aims to propose some suggestions in order to improve the production and use of indicators of social integration for them. To achieve this purpose, first of all, this study defines the related concepts such as male and female marriage immigrants and examined the condition of social integration for both male and female marriage immigrants and the relevant policies. Secondly, this study analyzes the immigration-related statistics and the indicators for immigrants inside and outside of the country. According to the analysis, this study developes the indicators of social integration for both male and female marriage immigrants and chooses the detailed indicators based on the survey for specialists. Key findings of the study are as follows.

1. The indicators of social integration which are specialized for both male and female marriage immigrants have not been produced from preceding studies inside and outside of the country.

2. Comparable indicators by immigration positions among immigrants and natives have been produced in the major countries such as Sweden.

3. A couple of marriage immigrants can be clarified from a household in which more than two couples are living together by understanding the mutual relations among family members (matrix approach) at the Population Census in the United Kingdom.

4. This study has developed the indicators of social integration for both male and female marriage immigrants based on the survey for specialists. By these indicators, the social and economic status of them can be compared to those of the rest immigrants and the natives.

Based on the main results mentioned above, this study proposes following suggestions in order to improve the indicators of social integration for both male and female marriage immigrants and the current immigration statistics.

1. A question to identify immigration positions should be included in the major surveys of approved statistics in Korea such as the Economically Active Population Survey and the Social Survey by the Statistics Korea in order to respond to the increasing demand of the immigration-related statistics such as both male and female marriage immigrants.

2. The established questions about the relations between a householder and other family members should be changed to the matrix approach in order to understand the mutual relations among family members in every household survey including the Population Census.

3. The National Survey of Multicultural Families 2012 should include the general public as a subject of the survey in order to compare the results of the survey from marriage immigrants with those from the general public.

4. A longitudinal survey should be conducted in order to trace and observe the various experiences of immigration families and the integration process of immigrants in Korean society.

5. An immigration position should be included as an approval subject of approved statistics in Korea in order to include a question of the immigration position at all approved statistics and to improve the immigration-related statistics.

6. A legal basis related to the link of administrative databases which are produced by each government ministry such as the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security should be prepared in order to effectively produce the indicators and statistics of immigration.

7. The indicators of social integration for both male and female marriage immigrants should be built in the Gender Statistics Information System at Korean Women's Development Institute and managed to raise the practical use.