• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.145-170
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study was to figure out married female immigrants' experience and process of investing in human capital in Korea. The participants were 11 women from multicultural families who had experience of investing in human capital in Korea, could communicate in the Korean language, and were living in Daegu. The data were collected using intensive interviews. The major findings were as follows: The participants' level of education and work experience in native country were not accepted as human capital and offered no advantages or obtaining employment in Korea, while English language skills were useful for those pursuing an English lecturer position. The motives for investing in human capital were 'adjusting to early stage of marriage and a new environments', 'for their childrens' education', 'to improve female immigrants' level of education', 'seeking a better job', and 'advocating more education'. The types of investing in human capital were 'learning Korean language and culture', 'applying to Open University or taking a middle or high school qualification examination', 'obtaining certification', and 'entering regular university'. The participants' plans for investing in the future were 'finding their own job', 'entering regular university', and 'participating in useful educational programs including Korean language skills for daily life' The results showed that the participants' motives for investing in human capital were related in the stage of their marriage. The phases and changes in their motives during a marriage proved that the participants continued to invest in human capital according to their needs and situation.