Cross-border marriage migrant women and the sustainability of rural communities in the Republic of Korea

Rural Korea has rapidly become a multicultural society partly due to transnational marriages between Korean male farmers and female migrants from other Asian countries since the 1990s. This paper examines the roles of transnational marriage migrant women in revitalizing rural communities in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea), with a focus on Namwon in Jeonbuk Province as a case study. To this end, this study collected interview data from key informants representing transnational migrant women and other stakeholder groups involved in the community’s sustainability. The study finds that the children of transnational marriage migrant women in Korea have migrated or are likely to move to urban areas for better education and job opportunities. This finding implies that transnational migration to rural communities in Korea is not regenerative unless the rural economy can offer attractive employment opportunities for youth to stay.