7 out of 10 'multicultural' marriages in Korea involve foreign wives

The Korea Herald · Lee Seung-ku · 2026-11-06 05:32 UTC

More than 70 percent of multicultural marriages in South Korea last year involved foreign wives and Korean husbands, and husbands in over one-third of such unio

More than 70 percent of multicultural marriages in South Korea last year involved foreign wives and Korean husbands, and husbands in over one-third of such unions were at least a decade older than their wives, government data showed Friday.

According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, marriages between Korean men and foreign women accounted for 71.4 percent of the country's 21,399 multicultural marriages in 2025, while marriages between Korean women and foreign men made up 18.9 percent. The remaining 9.7 percent involved naturalized Korean citizens.

Vietnam was the most common country of origin among foreign-born and naturalized wives, accounting for 25.3 percent, followed by China at 15.1 percent and Thailand at 9.2 percent. The shares of all three countries declined from the previous year.

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