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OMNES : The Journal of multicultural society
[ Article ]
OMNES: The Journal of Multicultural Society - Vol. 10, No. 1, pp.1-29
ISSN: 2093-5498 (Print)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2020
Received 15 Feb 2019 Revised 16 May 2019 Accepted 14 Nov 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14431/omnes.2020.01.10.1.1

Filipina Marriage Migrants’ Experiences of Human Rights Violation in South Korea and Their Negotiations across Structural Constraints

Jaran Shin
University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA

Abstract

Despite a worldwide trend toward the feminization of migration, international marriage migration has received less scholarly attention than other forms of gendered migration. Even though international marriage practices are complex, female marriage migrants are too frequently stereotyped as opportunists, victims, or active sovereign protagonists. To provide a more nuanced picture of their experiences, this study examines the narratives of three Filipina marriage migrants in South Korea through the lens of a human rights perspective. It (a) identifies the kinds of human rights violations that they have endured as brides-to-be, wives, mothers, workers, and/or residents/citizens and (b) demonstrates how they exercise agency in navigating structural inequalities in different settings. This study then discusses the broader circumstances that enable human rights abuses to occur in the ways that they do. Ultimately, it highlights the importance of incorporating the voices of female marriage migrants into the policy decisions that affect them.

Keywords:

international migration, marriage migrants, family violence, human rights, South Korea

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Biographical Note

Jaran Shin is an Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her research focuses on how language/culture learning experiences enable individuals to (re)construct their identities and how they engage with others, using languages to negotiate linguistic, cultural, and ideological differences. E-mail: jaran.shin@umb.edu