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2026 Vol.32, Issue 1 Preview Page
Expanding Marriage Migration Infrastructure through Family Invitation
- Regional Embeddedness and Local Dynamics in South Korea -

결혼이주인프라의 확장과 지역적 배태
- 결혼이주여성의 가족초청을 사례로 -

고민경1 · 백일순2

Koh, Minkyung1 · Paek, Yilsoon2

1제1저자, 경북대학교 지리교육과 부교수
2교신저자, 서울대학교 아시아연구소 아시아도시사회센터 선임연구원
1First Author, Associate Professor, Department of Geography Education, Kyungpook National University
2Corresponding Author, Research Fellow, Center for Asian Urban Societies, Seoul National University Asia Center
28 February 2026. pp. 136-169
PDF Citation
Abstract
As South Korea’s marriage migration enters a phase of long-term settlement, this study examines the phenomenon of family invitations as an expansion of “marriage migration infrastructure” and analyzes how this infrastructure is embedded within local contexts. Moving beyond the view of invited parents as passive caregivers, this research investigates their repositioning as active agents addressing local labor and care gaps in specific rural and urban contexts. Based on interviews in urban-rural integrated cities, three residency patterns emerge: “Care-Agriculture Integrated”, “Seasonal Labor Integrated”, and “Care-Urban Labor Integrated”. In these models, marriage migrant women act as active informal brokers who strategize their parents’ labor and residency, thereby expanding the existing migration infrastructure. The study argues that marriage migration is a dynamic infrastructure reconstructed at the intersection of transnational family strategies and regional structural conditions. These findings offer a critical conceptual and empirical foundation for designing migration and care policies that are sensitive to the structural specificities of different localities in South Korea.
Keywords
marriage migration infrastructure
family invitation
transnational family strategies
regional embeddedness
marriage migrant
본 연구는 한국의 결혼이주가 장기 정주 국면에 진입함에 따라 친정가족 초청 현상을 ‘결혼이주인프라’의 확장으로 보고, 이 인프라가 어떻게 지역에 배태되는지를 분석하였다. 기존 연구가 친정가족을 주로 수동적인 돌봄 보조자로 간주했다면, 본 연구는 이들이 농촌과 도시라는 구체적인 지역 맥락 속에서 노동력 부족과 돌봄 공백을 메우는 핵심 행위자로 재배치되는 과정에 주목한다. 도농복합시에 거주하는 결혼이주여성 가구를 대상으로 심층 인터뷰를 진행한 결과, 친정부모의 체류 양상은 지역적 조건에 따라 세 가지 유형으로 분화됨을 확인하였다. 구체적으로는 농촌의 ‘돌봄-농업 결합형’, 지자체 제도를 매개로 한 ‘계절노동 결합형’, 그리고 도시의 ‘돌봄-도시형 노동 결합형’이다. 이 과정에서 결혼이주여성은 부모의 노동과 체류를 설계하는 능동적 중개자로 기능하며 기존의 이주 인프라를 확장하는 주체적 역할을 수행하고 있었다. 본 연구는 결혼이주가 단순한 국가 정책의 산물을 넘어, 초국가적 가족 전략과 지역의 구조적 조건이 결합하여 끊임없이 재구성되는 동태적인 인프라 체계로 이해할 것을 제안한다. 이는 향후 지역 사회의 특수성을 반영한 이주 및 돌봄 정책을 수립하는 데 있어 중요한 이론적·실천적 토대를 제공할 것이다.
키워드
결혼이주인프라
가족 초청
초국가적 가족 전략
지역적 배태
결혼이주자
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Information
  • Publisher :The Korean Association of Regional Geographers
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국지역지리학회
  • Journal Title :REGION AND GEOGRAPHY
  • Journal Title(Ko) :지역과 지리
  • Volume : 32
  • No :1
  • Pages :136-169
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.26863/JKARG.2026.2.32.1.136
Journal Informaiton REGION AND GEOGRAPHY REGION AND GEOGRAPHY
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