UNIT

3
SWING ENGLISH

International Marriages
 Match each word with its correct definition

1. Discrimination a. a person’s heritage ; the family someone came from

2. diversity b. the state of becoming part of the culture of a

population
3. applaud c. relating to several different cultures

4. assimilation d. the variety within a group

5. multicultural e. to show approval

6. ancestry f. a way of treating someone based on class rather

than merit.
Check your English Level
Synonym: “assimilation”

C2 acclimatization

C1 inurement

B2 domestication

B1 fitting in

A2 settling in

A1 adjustment
 Intermarriage: The Dark Truth

Many people applaud the increases in intermarriages and the

creation of multicultural families. Others worry about
discrimination, domestic abuse, and illegal immigration. Being a
member of Korean society has long been blood-based. This has
made "fitting in" a challenge for multicultural families. Despite
being Korean, these people face discrimination. While low birth
rates are helping people realize the value of an open society,
such change is moving at a snail's pace. One problem is that the
choice of intermarriage is often economic. Less educated, rural
Korean men often marry less educated and poor foreign
bridges. Further, there is often a higher level of poverty,
violence and divorce in these types of marriages
 The fact is that intermarriages can help with the shortage if
wives in rural areas. However, the children of these unions
often face hardships due to their mixed heritage. Today,
multiethnic children account for only about one percent of the 12
million Korean youth under the age of 19. These birth rates are
rising. If they continue, more than 11% of children in urban areas
and 49% in rural areas could be of mixed background by 2020. It
should be noted that since intermarriage is somewhat new,
very few mixed children have even reached primary school
age. Of those that have, the drop-out rate is 22 times higher than
the national average. This likely stems from the lack of
knowledge foreign bridges have of Korean culture and society,
 Foreign wives say that despite their best efforts to blend in,
being accepted as Korean is challenging. Some say that this is
because Korean men often see them and their children as
second-class citizens. A further issue facing foreign wives is
spousal abuse. Some believe this has been due to a lack of
leadership. Few laws have been made to protect the rights and
culture of immigrants. Instead, more emphasis has been placed
on assimilation to Korean culture. At the same time, diversity
has been ignored. The result has been a 30% increase in the
number of divorces among mixed marriages.
 While often helpful, intermarriages are sometimes used as a
way of getting into a country illegally. To prevent this, Korea
has decided to tighten up its borders. As such, health and
criminal records must now be submitted before getting a visa. It
is hoped that this will also promote the entry of those who wish
to legally marry Koreans. Korea is often though of as more
"open" than other, smaller Asian countries. Despite this, it still
has a long way to go in welcoming Koasians, those of mixed
Korean and Asian ancestry.
UNIT
3
SWING ENGLISH

International Marriages