These days many Korean bachelors in the rural farming sector are confronting with difficulties in seeking their fiancés. Thus, they are trying to find out their brides from abroad, particularly from China and South-east Asian countries. It is of course that the increasing numbers of immigrant brides make Korean society multicultural and multiracial. Currently, immigrant brides are usually introduced to Korean bachelors by religious groups or professional matchmaking agencies. However, many of the immigrant brides in the Korean rural farming sector are suffering from diverse kinds of difficulties, largely caused by the cultural, value and linguistic differences between their maiden home countries and Korea. Therefore, Korean government has introduced a variety of support programs to help the adequate adaptation of immigrant brides to Korean society. But, notwithstanding the pouring of public money, many of government programs are being criticized for their lack of adequacy, integration and effectiveness. In particular, the government's service delivery system exposes many problems in terms of linkage system, performance, and client satisfaction. Against these backdrops, this paper aims to establish the adequate service delivery system in supporting the immigrant brides in the Korean rural farming sector, from the theoretical viewpoint of local governance. For the aim, this article, at first, widely refers to the literature and statistic data of relevant fields. Deeper analysis will be conducted by structured interview with immigrant brides and relevant public officials. In conclusion, the question of this study is understand how each government construct the local governance system to support the immigrant brides. For solving this question, this study will contain different contents. Part Ⅰprovide the background and necessity of this study. Part Ⅱfocuses on the theoretical discussion of local governance system. The framework of this study is covered in Part Ⅲ. Part Ⅲof this study is also devoted to the analysis of local governance system.

Full paper download: Yoon K_contructing local governance.pdf

In recent years many Korean farming bachelors fail to marry Korean women, and thus they try to find out their brides from developing countries, such as China and Southeast Asian countries. As of 2007, around 40 percent of marriages in Korean rural communities are matched between Korean farming bachelors and immigrant brides, making the Korean rural farming sector truly multicultural. However, not long after marriages, many immigrant brides realize their Korean dreams have been naïve and are confronted with severe difficulties in adapting themselves to the Korean rural society, in terms of social, cultural, educational, linguistic, and economic lives. They are culturally excluded and economically poverty-stricken. Not a few immigrant brides stop staying in marriages and return to their maiden home. Sometimes international marriages give rise to serious diplomatic problems between Korea and the maiden countries of immigrant brides. It is of course that the Korean government is implementing the diverse policies or programs targeting to support the early adaptation of immigrant brides to the Korean society, even though many of them hardly produce effective results. Against these backdrops, this paper aims to examine the following: the difficulties with which the immigrant brides in rural communities are confronted in adapting themselves to the Korean society; the assessment of immigrant brides' needs on government policies or programs; and the suggestion of policy responses to meet the needs. For the aim, this paper will explore, at first, the current situations that the immigrant brides in Korean rural communities are faced and trace the reasons why immigrant brides suffer from difficulties in adapting themselves to the Korean society, in terms of social, cultural, educational, linguistic, and economic lives. The next part assesses the needs that immigrant brides want to be fulfilled, by undertaking survey research and in-depth interviews. What will follow is to scrutinize the effectiveness of the government policies and programs aiming to support the adaptation of immigrant brides to the Korean society. This paper concludes with the exploration of policy responses to facilitate the early adaptation of immigrant brides to their newly settled communities in Korea.

Full paper download: Go S_immigrant brides to Korean rural communities.pdf

During the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of Southeast Asian women married to Korean men. Subsequently, various disciplines such as social work, psychology, women's studies, education etc, have looked into various topics related to this population. The purpose of this study is to examine past & current trends of studies on this population by analyzing scholarly data bases and to seek for implications for future studies, social policies and practices in social welfare and other related fields. Authors will look into topics of the studies in data bases and categorization of thematic topics will be made. Then, authors will examine abstracts of studies and compare and contrast studies in thematic topics in-depth. Anticipated topics may include adaptation and acculturation, family relationships (couple relations, parent-child relationships, Southeast Asian women-in-laws, etc), social policy and services, research issues, etc. Authors will then discuss future directions in studies, research methods, social policies and practice in social welfare perspective.

Full paper download: Nho C_southeast asian women.pdf

With the increasing pace of globalization and internationalization, new immigrant problem is becoming a conspicuous problem in most metropolitan cities in Asia, of which Hong Kong is a typical example. The problem is exacerbated with the rising demand on welfare and the increasing pressure on welfare reform. However, in Hong Kong, studies on ethnic minorities from South Asia countries are scarce. We understand very little about the situation of ethnic minorities; their social needs are neglected and their voices are suppressed in mainstream social policy making. This paper is based on a research conducted by the authors in 2004 and 2005, which aimed to explore the problems and needs of ethnic minority children in education. We focused on four low-income ethnic groups, namely the Filipinos, Pakistanis, Indians, and Nepalese. There are various education reforms in Hong Kong after the change of sovereignty in 1997, such as policy on medium of instruction and integration of ethnic minorities into mainstream Chinese schools, which have significant impact on ethnic minority school children. Based on both quantitative and qualitative data from our questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews, our research points out that these education reforms seems to create more opportunities for ethnic minorities, however, this also leads to new problems and may contribute to further marginalize and exclude ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. This paper concludes with suggesting cultural sensitive policy and practice that helps Hong Kong to develop into a truly international city.