Marriage Market of Immigrant Families from outside the Korean Peninsula before the Colonization

Sangwoo Han, Autonomous University of Barcelona

The myth as an ethnically homogeneous nation, Korean has, was an antithesis of Japanese colonialism in the early 20th century, and remained strong after the independence in 1945. However, the belief has collapsed for recent decades with the increasing number of immigrants and international marriages. The fact that there were a significant number of immigrants from outside the Korean peninsula before the 20th century has not been noticed yet by academic researchers. The number of immigrants from the outside rapidly raised with the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598. This international war between Joseon Korea, Ming China, and Toyotomi Japan brought an unprecedented number of foreigners, and some of them remained in the peninsula. The social status of the mother was one of the most crucial factors on one’s social status in premodern Korean hierarchy system. In this context, this study will focus on the marriage patterns of women of those immigrants from outside the peninsula after the Japanese invasions. According to prior comparison studies on family, the marriage customs were different between East Asian countries. So, I will explore marriage patterns and the marriage market of immigrant families, such as whom they married and where they resided after the marriage.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 165. Bringing Women Back into the History of Joseon (Korea) in Comparative Perspective