Legitimate Transaction? Regulating Commercial International Marriage Brokers in South Korea

Abstract

Marriages between South Korean men and women from less affluent Asian countries have been popular since the 1990s, and commercial international marriage brokers have played an important role in the trend. This article argues that the laws and regulations governing marriage brokers, such as Marriage Brokers Business Management Act (MBBMA) and consumer protection mechanisms, have reinforced the rights of citizen-husbands and legitimized claims from the men’s movement. As a result, the state’s regulation of commercial matchmaking endorses a form of commodified intimacy and protects the rights of male client-cum-“head of the family,” despite the consequences of commodifying the personhood of migrant women and legitimizing the violence of denying their personal autonomy. Data include public documents and policies from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Korea Institute for Healthy Family, Korea Consumer Agency, Fair Trade Commission, and MBBMA. Analysis of these public texts reveals the legal and policy language that sanitizes and disguises unequal gender roles and discrimination against foreigners.