An Analytical Study on Factors Determining Subjective Wellbeing among Migrant Housewives of Korea- with Social Capital as Mediation

The number of incoming migrant women married to Korean locals is continuously increasing from the turn of 21st entury. Issues related to the adaptation of these women to the new country include overall satisfaction of basic needs such as language, education, and health, and material affluence such as earnings and housings in the early stage of settlement. Although it is essential to examine the psychological adaptation and happiness levels of those women, studies that found the factors on the subjective life satisfaction among this population is seriously lacking. For this reason, it is crucial to examine life satisfaction that reflects the hardships and the level of living of those women in Korean society. This study is interested in social capital as the way of independently sustaining self-supporting lives for future oriented improvement. The study found that life satisfaction was higher when the migrant women were with children, no Korean citizenship, no work experience, and dwelling in rural areas rather than urban areas. More specifically, positive associations were found with households’ income levels and social participation, but negatively with ages and periods of residence.