Seoul, South Korea - The Philippines, through the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), and South Korea, through the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today regarding Cooperation in Developing Capacities for the Resettlement and Adaptation of Filipino Marriage Immigrants and Promoting the Empowerment of Immigrant Women.

The MOU was signed by CFO Chairperson, Secretary Imelda M. Nicolas and Minister Kim Kum-lae of the MOGEF at the office of the Ministry in Seoul Korea. Among those present at the signing were Director In Sook Kang of MOGEF, Consul General Sylvia Marasigan of the Philippine Embassy in Korea and Cherry Joy Veniles of the CFO.
"There are over 9,000 Filipinos, mostly women, married to Korean nationals in Korea today. Both the Philippines and Korea see the integration of Filipino marriage migrants into Korean society as a way to ensure the protection of their human rights and to support their empowerment. The less they adapt into Korean life, the less empowered they become as migrants, workers, wives and mothers. This needs to be addressed comprehensively and creatively. This agreement demonstrates the strong partnership between our nations and emphasizes our joint commitment to respond to this challenge," said Secretary Nicolas.
"By seeking to develop new ways of providing information among marriage migrants through on-site multi-cultural orientation and language programs, we hope to be able to build the confidence of partners in intermarriages and more effectively address issues related to domestic violence and human trafficking.”
Since 1989, about 10,000 Filipinos have attended the CFO’s Guidance and Counseling Program for Filipinos marrying Korean Nationals. They represent the growing number of intercultural marriages in Korea that have, in recent times, grown to about 120,000 based on a Chosun Ilbo (Korean Times) survey in 2010.
The MOU between the two countries is expected to give greater access to information especially for newly arrived migrants; to increase the development of programs and projects for their welfare and protection; to result in more joint research and exchange of learning modules and to facilitate dialogues on various issues on intermarriages among experts, frontline service personnel and the marriage migrants themselves.
(For further inquiries, please contact Ms. Ivy Miravalles and Ms. Cheng Veniles of CFO, (632)552-4700, at imiravalles@cfo.gov.ph and cveniles@cfo.gov.ph, respectively.