Asian Values, Ethnic Identity, and Acculturation Among Ethnic Asian Wives in South Korea

In Korea as of 2009, the immigrant population comprised less than 2.5 % of the total population, whereas almost one in ten marriages taking place during the same year was international, of which more than 75 % were ethnic Asian women married to Korean men. On that ground, this study addresses the importance of Asian values and ethnic identity in ethnic Asian wives' acculturation to Korean society. The subjects of this study have been selected from three ethnic Asian groups-Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese women. Acculturation in this study has been measured in three aspects: Korean cultural attitudes and identity, linguistic assimilation, and the level of satisfaction with Korean culture. First, our findings have revealed that their recognition of Asian values plays an important role in improving their acculturation to Korean society, especially in the realms of cultural attitudes and identity, and satisfaction with Korean culture. Then, there has been no evidence that their sense of ethnic identity is a critical factor of their acculturation to Korean society. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.