Asian Cross-border Marriage Migration. Demographic Patterns and Social Issues

The past two decades have witnessed a rapid increase of cross-border marriage migration between Southeast- and East Asia. The majority of these marriages are between are men of wealthier countries/regions and women from economically less developed ones. The phenomena of “brides from Asia” in Japan, “Chosonjok brides” and “mixed marriages” in South Korea and “foreign and mainland brides” in Taiwan, all attract huge media attention, cause public panic, and challenge these societies whose population and immigration policies are based on mono-ethnic principles. Despite huge scholarly interest, we know very little about who these women are and why they marry and migrate.

This book provides an overview of the demographic patterns of, and social issues related to cross-border marriages in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam in the past two decade,s with contributions from scholars in the fields of demography, sociology, anthropology and social work. With its diversified methodologies and approaches, this volume will interest scholars and students of migration and gender studies. It also informs policy-makers and concerned civil society groups and practitioners.

Wen-Shan Yang is researcher fellow at the Institute of Sociology of Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan.

Melody Lu is research fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore and the International Institute for Asian Studies, the Netherlands.