• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.295-318
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• 2009

This paper explores micro-contexts of transnational migration and decision-making process of foreign migrants in Korea with four types, that is, married immigrants, immigrant workers, professional immigrants, and foreign students, analyzing dates of questionaries and interviews. Some findings can be summarized as follows. First, married immigrants and immigrant workers show relative lower level of micro-environments than professional immigrants and foreign students. Secondly, immigrants workers fill closest in geographical contiguity among immigrants' types, while married immigrants recognize more different in cultural comparison than the former. Both immigrants workers and foreign students think living environments of Korea better than other types, but immigrants workers consider relatively higher the level of technology, while foreign students evaluate lower that of education in Korea than other types. Thirdly, married immigrants give a relatively low score to the easiness of immigration, while both immigrant workers and professional immigrants give a high score to the job environment of Korea. Finally, all types of immigrants show a high portion in a self-decision making for international migration, while professional immigrants have much more experiences on visiting other countries than other types, and both married immigrants and foreign students seem to have utilized their networks with family members who live abroad.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.344-363
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• 2009

The number of International college students has dramatically increased in Korea since 2000 as the government has made a consistent effort to draw in international students to strengthen the competitiveness of higher education and to improve the international balance of payments. An increase of incoming international students help Korean universities solve a current problem of decreasing student numbers and bring financial benefits. However, not much is known about their intentions and decision-making process. This study tries to investigate their immigration process and backgrounds that have not yet been dealt with seriously in academic areas. The immigration process can be divided into 3 steps - pre-immigration, settlement and adaptation, post-immigration. Characteristic of each step related to a main decision-making are investigated in the paper. Their decision for studying in Korea depends on various factors and conditions. Especially, economical, personal, and vocational factors or motives in combination influence their decision-making at each step.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.581-595
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• 2008

This study attempts to provide the main reasons and decision-making processes for marriage migration from a Vietnamese' perspective. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted in Vietnam. Interviewees are those who got married to foreigners but are waiting for visas and parents whose daughters are marriage migrants. According to 23 interviewees, the main reasons of marriage migration are as follows: individual aspiration, sacrifice for others, and the circumstantial effects or love. Individual aspiration, in particular, leads to an active pursuit of international marriage. Parental involvement in the decision-making process is rarely found. Decision seems to be wholly made by the female migrant herself based on an individualistic orientation.