Marriage Agency Under Fire For Problematic “Bride Guidelines”

An international marriage agency operating in South Korea recently received backlash from netizens for its online post about the guidelines of “bride education.”

The post with the title “We offer dormitory education” listed seven different topics the agency conducts classes on, specifically for Vietnamese brides-to-be. Some of these “guidelines” included instructions like “do not lie,” “do not use smartphones excessively,” “avoid Vietnamese people in Korea,” and “your husband is the only one to trust, and he is the best when you are in Korea.”

The posted guidelines for Vietnamese brides | SBS News

The agency in question arranges marriages between Korean men and Vietnamese women. In their promotional post, they also listed a bunch of pros and cons of marrying a Vietnamese woman. “Long straight hair” and “good figure” were some of the mentioned benefits, along with the fact that “surprisingly, many women have pale skin.” The cons of marrying a Vietnamese woman, according to the post, include “women who are obedient are rare,” “they don’t reveal their true feelings and stab you in the back,” and “husbands live under control when married.”

This post went viral online, especially on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), sparking a fierce debate. Many netizens called out the sexist and degrading remarks in the post. One comment described the marriage agency’s post as “an abnormal buy-and-sell marriage that goes against time.” The tone of the post also alarmed many about how foreigners who settle down in Korea through international marriages might be viewed and treated in society.

The number of international marriages in 2022 in South Korea was recorded to be 17,428, according to the data by Statistics Korea. Compared to the numbers in 2021, it was a whopping 25.1% increase. In 2022, multicultural marriages also accounted for 9% of the total marriages in South Korea. However, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, nearly 30% of female migrants who settled in the country out of marriage reportedly experience depression, nearly double the rate observed among married Korean women.

A joint multicultural wedding ceremony, Image used for illustrative purposes only | Newsis

In light of these harsh realities for foreign brides in Korea, the marriage agency’s post has been criticized for its tone-deafness and insensitivity. But in response, the company responded to the allegations, saying that the post was meant for educational purposes and only those who seemingly don’t know enough about international marriages raised issues with it.