20,000 International Marriages a Year… Middle-Aged Bachelors Crossing Borders in Search of Love
Asia Today, May 8, 2025 — Reporter Yoo Hye-on (Intern)
Asia Today — Reporter Yoo Hye-on (Intern) Mr. A, born in 1972 and working in air conditioner installation at construction sites, married Ms. B, born in 1990, through an international marriage agency in 2014. They have been married for 12 years and are raising two daughters together, building a stable family like any other couple. While Ms. B is a full-time homemaker, she occasionally works part-time as an interpreter for foreign tourists. Mr. A recalled their first meeting, saying, “I hardly felt any cultural differences with my wife. Since she is from northern Vietnam, which has similar holiday customs and Confucian traditions to Korea, adapting was easy.”
Even in an era where marriage is considered optional, international marriages continue to rise. According to Statistics Korea on May 8, the number of international marriages, which had dropped sharply due to COVID-19, recovered to 20,759 cases in 2024, up from 19,717 cases in 2023. The majority are between Korean men and foreign women, with Vietnam being the most common country of origin, followed by China and Thailand.
As with general marriage trends, the age of international marriages is also increasing. According to Ministry of Gender Equality and Family statistics, the proportion of Koreans in their 50s and older using international marriage services reached 30.7%, an increase of over 10 percentage points in the past three years. By age group, Koreans in their 40s accounted for the largest share at 55.7%, while 37.3% of foreign spouses were between 19 and 24 years old, showing a clear preference for younger women.
The time from first meeting to marriage in international arrangements is usually less than 10 days. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s 2023 Marriage Brokerage Industry Survey shows the average duration has lengthened somewhat—4.4 days in 2017, 5.7 days in 2020, and 9.3 days in 2023—but still remains under two weeks. Brokerage fees vary: about 15–20 million KRW for Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Thailand), and 30–35 million KRW for Central Asia (Russia, Ukraine, etc.).
A marriage agency representative explained: “Costs and procedures are generally similar. After paying a 10% deposit, clients select their partner through video calls until they are satisfied. When traveling abroad, a one-on-one escort accompanies them. These days, women’s education, appearance, and demeanor are all high, so success rates are good. Once marriage is confirmed, 90% of the total fee is paid before departure, and the final 10% is settled after arrival in Korea.”
But international marriages are not always smooth. Some foreign spouses, after expressing affection and cooperating with the process abroad, change their attitude once in Korea. According to the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, the most common reason for divorce in multicultural families is “the wife’s disappearance,” accounting for 53.5% of cases. In some cases, women delay entering Korea while extracting large sums of money under the pretense of living expenses, or they leave shortly after arrival and become undocumented migrants. When a spouse disappears, divorce or annulment suits can take considerable time and expense.
Source: Asia Today
