Jindo County head Kim Hee-soo suggested 'importing' women from Vietnam and Sri Lanka to marry local men.
The proposal was intended to combat the declining birth rate and rural depopulation in South Korea.
Human rights groups and the public have widely condemned the language as dehumanizing and sexist.
The controversy underscores the ongoing demographic crisis in South Korea, which has the world's lowest fertility rate.
📖 Full Retelling
Kim Hee-soo, the head of Jindo County in South Korea, sparked widespread national outrage this week after suggesting during a local council meeting that the government should 'import' young women from Southeast Asian nations to address the region’s plummeting birth rate. The proposal, which was voiced during a session aimed at finding solutions for rural depopulation, specifically mentioned bringing in women from Vietnam or Sri Lanka to marry young men living in farming communities. This controversial statement has ignited a fierce debate over human rights, gender equality, and the ethical treatment of migrants in a country currently grappling with the world’s lowest fertility rate.
Critics and human rights organizations have condemned the remarks as 'dehumanizing' and 'anachronistic,' arguing that the county head’s language treats women as mere commodities or demographic tools rather than individuals with agency. The backlash highlights a growing tension in South Korean society between traditional patriarchal views on marriage and modern values of social justice. Many observers noted that the suggestion fails to address the underlying socioeconomic issues—such as high living costs and lack of rural infrastructure—that discourage young people from starting families, instead opting for a superficial and potentially exploitative fix.
This incident is not an isolated one, as several rural administrative districts in South Korea have previously implemented controversial 'bride subsidies' or marriage brokerage programs to pairing local bachelors with foreign nationals. However, the explicit use of the word 'import' by a high-ranking official has touched a particular nerve, leading to calls for accountability and more structural reforms to the nation's immigration and family policies. As the central government spends billions of dollars to reverse the demographic crisis, the focus is increasingly shifting toward creating a more inclusive and sustainable environment for all residents, regardless of their origin.
🏷️ Themes
Human Rights, Demographics, Social Issues
📚 Related People & Topics
South Korean
Topics referred to by the same term
South Korean may refer to:
Something of, from, or related to South Korea, a country in East Asia, in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula.
Jindo County (Jindo-gun) is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. It consists of the island of Jindo and several smaller nearby islands. Jindo Bridge connects Jindo county with Haenam county.
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. Like North Korea, South Korea claims...
