An Exploratory Study on Perceptions Regarding the Children, Spouses and Their Own Lives of International Married Couples in Rural Areas
Eun Ha Lee , Ju Youn Kyun
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in international married couples perceive the lives of their spouses as well as their own, and the ways in which they perceive their relationships with their children. In addition, the study attempts to explore the implicit meanings at work in the lives of international married families. The participants in this study were eight international married couples from rural areas and the data were gathered by means of semi-structured interviews. According to the findings, international married couples perceived their relationships with their children in terms of individual-specific maternal roles versus the Korean culturally-specific paternal roles. Secondly, in terms of their spouse` life, husbands relied more on their wives and had high expectations of them. On the other hand, wives had the tendency to pay more attention and place more hope on their children rather than their husbands. Lastly, regarding their own lives, the findings revealed that wives tended to maintain the hope and desire for a better life, whereas the husbands were unable to adapted to their reality and tended to look back on the past. In addition, the limitations of this study and suggestions for future studies were also discussed.
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