This study aims to understand the lived experiences of marriage migrant women in Korean society from their own perspectives and to explore the marginalization experiences that emerge throughout this process. This study originated from the researcher...
This study aims to understand the lived experiences of marriage migrant women in Korean society from their own perspectives and to explore the marginalization experiences that emerge throughout this process. This study originated from the researcher’s interest in the lives of marriage migrant women in Korean society, and stemmed from questions regarding what kind of lives they lead after migrating to Korea and how marginalization is experienced. To address these questions, the study examined the concrete patterns and meanings of marginalization experienced in their everyday contexts.
A qualitative phenomenological methodology was employed. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight marriage migrant women who had resided in Korea for over eight years, and the data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s (1978) method. The analysis identified five categories, ten theme clusters, and twenty-seven themes related to the marginalization experiences of marriage migrant women. The main findings are as follows.
The first category was ‘marginalization in communication’. Limited Korean language proficiency led participants to experience communication breakdowns and exclusion from decision-making, which extended to linguistic and cultural distancing from their Korea-born children. This revealed marginalization experiences of exclusion, isolation, and marginalization within recurring social relationships. Second, ‘marginalization from culture’ led to difficulties in achieving a sense of cultural belonging due to the psychological burden and stress of having to adapt quickly to unfamiliar Korean culture and norms. The third marginalization experiences is ‘voluntary marginalization’. As they became dependent on their families in an unfamiliar culture and with an unfamiliar language, they suppressed their identities rather than revealing themselves, conforming to Korean norms and limiting their own expression and participation. Fourth, ‘forced marginalization’ the peripheral position of marriage migrant women was not a result of their own choice but was created by external factors. Due to social prejudice and discriminatory structures, they were still viewed as foreigners and their native culture was not respected, forcing them into a Korean-centric lifestyle. Finally, in ‘survival and response from marginalization’, a proactive transformation emerged where individuals formed new adaptive strategies to protect their own lives and those of their children, accepting recurring hardships as reality. This demonstrated that marginalization experiences did not merely leave negative impacts but also served as catalysts for new adaptations and strategies.
Research findings reveal that marginalization is not merely an individual experience but rather stems from discriminatory structures, extending into concerns and anxieties about potential social discrimination toward participants’ children. Marginalization experiences are not limited to the consequences of negative experiences; they also present the possibility of being reinterpreted as an opportunity for new growth within the unfamiliar context of life in Korea. This perspective expands the conceptual understanding of marginalization and underscores the significance of marriage migrant women’s agency in their adaptive processes.