Korea has seen a steady increase in the number of marriage immigrant women since 2000. In 2023, a total of 140,369 such migrants, primarily from countries like Vietnam and China, were living in Korea as members of families and work communities. Migration from one country to another tends to affect the health of individuals in various ways. In adapting to their new environments, migrants face multiple challenges. Marriage immigrant women warrant still more attention, as many of them, after their migration, experience pregnancy and childbirth and the attendant health issues from which it is difficult for them to recover due to a lack of communication proficiency and limited knowledge of how the Korean health system works. In the June issue of the Health and Welfare Forum, we focus on the ‘Health of Marriage Immigrant Women.’ Using data from a national survey conducted last year on marriage immigrant women, the contributed articles explore the characteristics and vulnerabilities of these women and attempt to assess their health in terms of self-rated health levels, mental health, and health management. Along with this, their health status is also examined in light of such health-affecting factors as socioeconomic status and health literacy. In this context, readers may want to take extra caution when examining cases where incident counts are fewer than 10. We hope that the analyses presented here will serve as a first step toward understanding the health of diverse population groups in our increasingly globalized society.

This study aims to examine the health and socioeconomic vulnerabilities of Marriage-Immigrant Women in Korea and to identify the limitations of the current health survey system as a foundation for more evidence-based policy. These women faced a wide range of health-related risks, including physical and mental health problems, language barriers, employment insecurity, and social isolation. However, existing national health surveys fail to adequately capture the unique circumstances of this population. In response, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), commissioned by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, developed a survey protocol and conducted a pilot study in 2025. The questionnaire covered various domains including sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, mental health, access to and use of health services, and health literacy etc. Multilingual questionnaires and culturally sensitive item designs were employed to enhance accessibility and validity. This study provides a understanding of the health status of Marriage-Immigrant Women and serves as a resource for the establishment of regular health surveys and life-course-oriented health policies.

Marriage immigrant women not only face challenges common to all migrants, such as language acquisition and cultural adaptation, but also undergo acute changes in their physical and psychological conditions as, upon migrating, they form a new family, become pregnant, and give birth. However, despite their unique circumstances and their likely health issues, they have not received adequate attention as a target group in policy discussions. Thus, this article examines the health of marriage immigrant women and its determinants, using survey-measurable indicators. The findings suggest that child-related factors are a marked influence on self-reported health, dental health, and life satisfaction. To ensure the healthy adaptation of marriage immigrant women to Korean society, continuing health surveys on this group are essential. Furthermore, there is a need to develop questionnaires that enable a multidimensional assessment of their health.

Marriage immigrant women are not a homogeneous group, and their mental health can vary depending on factors such as country of origin, timing of migration, age at migration, and post-migration socioeconomic conditions. This article examines their mental health status, awareness of mental health issues, and experiences with consultation services, using data from an online survey conducted in 2024 as a preliminary to developing a health status survey protocol for this population. In addition to emphasizing the need for further research to deepen the policy understanding of mental health issues facing marriage immigrant women, this article also highlights the need for measures to improve their own understanding and awareness of such issues.

Marriage immigrant women, a chief segment of Korea’s migrant population, continue to grow in number, with their countries of origin also becoming more diverse. Drawing on a health survey conducted in 2024 of 519 marriage immigrant women aged 19-64 from China and Vietnam, this article assesses the current state of their health management in terms of health behaviors and healthcare use. The prevalence rates of smoking and high-risk drinking were relatively low at 0.6 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. An estimated 65.3 percent reported doing physical exercise on a regular basis. Healthcare utilization rates were found to be rather low: 54.0 percent reported having visited healthcare providers such as hospitals, clinics, dentists, and public health centers in the year preceding the survey; 62.2 percent had received a health checkup in the two years preceding it. About 17 percent of those surveyed had low health literacy, a group characterized by a lack of regular physical exercise and high healthcare utilization and thus regarded as at risk for health issues due to limited health literacy.

Since the 2018 amendments to the relevant law, the Public Guardianship Program for People with Dementia has been implemented with the aim of protecting the dignity and self-determination of individuals experiencing cognitive decline due to dementia. However, the current implementation remains limited in scope. This report proposes several directions for improvement, including stepwise adjustments to the delivery system, systematic training to enhance guardians’ competency, increased public awareness of guardianship systems, and strategies to align support with actual needs over the medium to long term.