注：本文选自8月5日CNN News
South Korean authorities encourage men to marry foreign women. But their brides often become victims of abuse
韩国当局鼓励男性与外国女性结婚，但是她们经常遭受虐待
Foreign brides in South Korea
外国新娘在韩国
1.For decades, there has been a gender imbalance in rural parts of South Korea. Young women often head to cities for jobs and marriage, while their malecounterpartsstaybehindto tend their land and fulfill the Confucian expectation that they look after their elderly parents. In the 1980s, local governments started subsidizing privatemarriagebrokers who could introduce bachelor farmers to ethnically Korean women in China, paying the brokers 4 to 6 million won (then around $3,800 to $5,700) per marriage. It was an attempt to address the aging population by encouraging men to find a wife, and hopefully have children. In the decades after, brides were no longer only ethnically Korean and began coming from more countries -- the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.
几十年来，韩国农村地区的性别比例一直都很不均衡。年轻女性往往选择去城市工作结婚，而男性则留下来照顾年迈的父母。上世纪八十年代，地方政府开始补贴那些私人婚姻经纪人，让他们为农村的男性介绍中国的朝鲜族妇女，每撮合成一桩婚姻，这些婚姻经纪人能够赚取400万到600万韩元（约合3800至5700美元）。这是一个通过帮助男性娶到媳妇然后生下孩子以解决韩国人口老龄化问题的方式。在那之后的几十年里，新娘不仅仅是朝鲜族女性，还有其他国家包括菲律宾，越南和柬埔寨的妇女。
2.An industry oftransnationalmarriage brokers soon emerged. As of May, 380 matchmaking agencies were registered in South Korea, according to government statistics. These days, more foreign brides in South Korea come from Vietnam than any other country. Most marry men in rural areas of South Korea, where some provinces still offer subsidies -- South Jeolla province, for instance, offers men older than 35 who have never been married previously a 5 million won ($4,190) subsidy for marrying a foreign wife and presenting a marriageregistration.
跨国婚姻经纪人行业很快就出现了。据韩国政府统计，截至5月，韩国共有380多家登记在册的婚介机构。如今，来自越南的外籍新娘人数最多，而大多数外籍新娘都是嫁给了韩国农村的男人，在这些地区，政府仍然在提供补贴。在全罗道省，当地政府为35岁以上从未结过婚的男性提供500万韩元(合4190美元)的补贴，只要他们能够娶到一名外籍女性并办理结婚登记。
3.In 2018, 16,608 Korean men and foreign women married, with 6,338 coming from Vietnam, 3,671 from China, and 1,560 from Thailand. In total, 28% of all marriages between a foreigner and a Korean person involved a South Korean man and a Vietnamese bride. Part of the reason so many brides come from Vietnam is economic. According to CIA World Factbook, Vietnam's GDP per capita was $6,900 in 2017 -- that same year, South Korea's was $39,500. Brides are often young, and hoping for a better life. According to a government survey in 2017, the average age of marriage broker users was 43.6, while the average age of foreign brides was 25.2.
2018年，韩国共有16608名男性和外籍女性结婚，其中有3671名妇女来自中国，6338名来自越南，1560名来自泰国。总的来看，在跨国婚姻中，有28%的婚姻中是韩国男人娶了泰国女人。这么多越南女性嫁给韩国男性主要还是处于经济原因。根据CIA世界概况的数据， 2017年，越南人均GDP为6900美元，同年，韩国人均GDP为39500美元。这些外籍新娘往往都很年轻，都希望能过上更好的生活。根据韩国政府2017年的一项调查，婚姻中介用户的平均年龄为43.6岁，而外籍新娘的平均年龄为25.2岁。
Judge Kang Dong-hyeok ："The victim trusted the defendant -- she left Vietnam and began her life in South Korea."
法官Kang Dong-hyeok：“受害者信任被告——她离开了越南，在韩国开始了新生活。”
4.Experts and officials disagree on how to categorize this transnational trend. The United Nations Action for Cooperation againstTrafficking in Persons says Vietnamese women are trafficked to a number of countries, including South Korea, for "forced marriages." But Lee Jin-hye, a lawyer with Migrants Center Friends based in Seoul, said foreign brides are choosing to come to South Korea -- even if the primary reason is to send money to their families back home, rather than for their own personal benefit. In Trinh's case, court documents indicated she went to South Korea willingly. "The victim trusted the defendant -- she left Vietnam and began her life in South Korea," Judge Kang said.
专家和当局对这种跨国婚姻意见不一。联合国打击人口贩卖合作行动组织称，越南妇女被贩卖到包括韩国在内的一些国家，被强迫结婚。但首尔Migrants Center Friends的律师李金惠说，外籍新娘是自愿选择来韩国的，虽然她们来此的主要目的是给家人寄钱而不是为了自己的幸福生活。在Trinh的案件中，法庭文件显示她是自愿来韩国的。“受害者信任被告——她离开了越南，在韩国开始了新生活，”康法官说。
What goes wrong？
到底是哪里出了问题？
5.The South Korean government -- and countries in Southeast Asia -- have long worried that the foreign bride industry could lead to human trafficking and abuse. In 2010, Cambodia temporarily banned its citizens from marrying South Koreans. Vietnamese authorities have also raised concerns with South Korea, according to local Vietnam media reports.
韩国政府和东南亚国家长期以来一直担心，外籍新娘行业可能会导致人口贩卖和虐待。2010年，柬埔寨暂时禁止本国公民与韩国人结婚。据越南当地媒体报道，越南当局也向韩国表达了担忧。
6.In South Korea itself, the rules have also been tightened -- since 2014, Korean nationals and their foreign spouses must prove that they can communicate to get a visa. Applicants need to prove that the bride has at least basic Korean, or the couple can communicate in a third language. It's unclear how Trinh evaded this rule, despite the communication issues with her husband. There is no evidence of the husband's Vietnamese ability. Further, South Korea last year announced plans to prevent men with an abusive history from being allowed to sponsor a visa for a foreign bride. That law is set to take effect in October.
韩国自身也收紧了相关规定——自2014年以来，韩国国民及其外国配偶必须证明双方能够进行交流才能获得签证。申请者需要证明新娘会基本的韩语，或者夫妻俩能用第三种语言交流。目前尚不清楚Trinh是如何逃避这一规定的。没有证据表明她丈夫会说越南语。此外，韩国去年宣布了一项计划，禁止有虐待史的男性为外籍新娘提供签证担保。该法律将于10月生效。
7.But there are still institutional issues in South Korea that put foreign brides and their husbands on anunevenfooting. Under South Korea's immigration laws, foreign brides need their husbands to sponsor their initial visa, which lasts one year. After that, they need to renew their visa every three years. "There are cases of husbands threatening towithdrawtheir (support for the visa) if a wife wants separation," said Lee, the lawyer. Women on a spousal visa can work in South Korea, and can eventually becomepermanentresidents.
但韩国仍存在一些制度问题，使外籍新娘和她们的丈夫处于不平衡的地位。根据韩国移民法，外籍新娘需要他们的丈夫来担保她们的初始签证，有效期为一年。在那之后，他们需要每三年更新一次签证。律师李说:“某些情况下，丈夫威胁说，如果妻子想分居，他们会撤回(对签证的支持)。”持有配偶签证的女性可以在韩国工作，并最终成为永久居民。
8.If the couple divorces and does not have children, the wife must return to her home country, unless she can prove that her Korean spouse was responsible for the marriagebreakdownor that she has been a victim of abuse and needs time to recover. "These institutional conditions have the effect of strengthening the power of Korean spouses," said Heo Young-sook, head of the Korea Women Migrants Human Rights Center. "Even when there are problems, migrant women feel that they should maintain their unhappy marriage because of these institutional issues." In the 2017 National Human Rights Commission survey, most foreign brides polled said they didn't tell anyone about the domestic violence they had suffered. They said they were embarrassed, didn't know who to tell, and didn't expect anything to change by doing so.
如果夫妻离婚且没有孩子，妻子必须返回自己的国家，除非她能证明她的韩国配偶对婚姻破裂负有责任，或者她曾受过虐待，需要时间来恢复。韩国妇女移民人权中心负责人Heo Young-sook表示:“这些制度增强了韩国男性的权利，即使婚姻中存在问题，这些外籍新年也会选择维持这段不幸福的婚姻。”在2017年全国人权委员会的调查中，大多数接受调查的外籍新娘表示，她们没有告诉任何人自己遭受过家庭暴力。她们说，她们觉得很尴尬，也不知道该向谁诉说，更不指望能有什么改变。
What needs to change？
需要哪些改变？
9.It's not easy being a woman in South Korea. The country ranks among the lowest in the OECD in the World Economic Forum's latest Global Gender Gap report, partly due to unequal political and employment opportunities for women. Over the past few years, sex crimeallegations against entertainment stars, politicians and sports coaches have prompted a reckoning against what some see as a deeplypatriarchalculture.
在韩国，做一个女人并不容易。在世界经济论坛最新的全球性别差距报告中，韩国在经合组织国家中排名最低，部分原因是女性在政治和就业机会上的不平等。在过去的几年里，针对娱乐明星、政客和体育教练的性犯罪指控使得一些人开始反思其根深蒂固的男权文化。
Heo Young-sook, head of the Korea Women Migrants Human Rights Center : "Migrant women facemulti-layereddiscrimination -- it often is gender discrimination and racial discrimination, combined with institutional issues, that create problems."
韩国妇女移民人权中心的负责人Heo Young-sook说 :外籍新年面临着多重歧视，性别歧视，种族歧视加上制度歧视导致了这些问题。”
10.According to Heo, life is even harder for foreign brides. "Koreans often express a sense ofinferiorityto the West, even defining themselves as victims of racism, but act superior to people from countries where economic conditions are not as high as Korea," she said. "Migrant women face multi-layered discrimination -- it often is gender discrimination and racial discrimination, combined with institutional issues, that create problems."
Heo说，外籍新娘的生活更加艰难。她说:“对于西方国家，韩国人常常会有自卑感，甚至把自己归为种族主义的受害者，而对于那些经济不如自己的国家，韩国人却有一种优越感。外籍新年面临着多重歧视，性别歧视，种族歧视再加上制度歧视，导致了这些问题。”
11.That canplay outin a number of ways. Lee, from Migrants Center Friends, says women often feel discriminated against by their own extended family -- their mother-in-law might complain about their cooking, and some familiesexcludeforeign brides from decision making. Many wives don't get money to spend and have to ask for it, she added. The tide is slowly turning, however. This year, Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-yong proposed an anti-discrimination bill which, if passed, would be a first for the country.
这从多方面表现出来。来自Migrants Center Friends的Lee说，外籍新娘经常觉得自己受到歧视，婆婆嫌弃她们的厨艺，而有的家庭不让外籍新娘参与做决定。她补充说，许多外籍妻子没有钱花，不得不自己开口要钱。然而，情况正在慢慢改变。今年，韩国正义党议员Jang Hye-yong提出了一项反歧视法案，如果该法案获得通过，这将是韩国的首个反歧视法案。
12.South Korea doesn't have a law guaranteeing legal protection against discrimination for all citizens, including minorities and LGBT people. The proposed bill aims to protect people facing discrimination, and gives the state the ability to resolve disputes and protect individuals. It's unclear when the bill will be voted on, although parliament returned on July 17. If approved, Jang believes the law could help migrant women, although the law doesn't specifically mention abuse against them. It does, however, prohibit indirect discrimination that causes physical or mental pain to a group or individual.
韩国并没有保障所有公民包括少数民族和LGBT人群不受歧视的法律。这项拟议的法案旨在保护面临歧视的人，并赋予国家解决纠纷和保护个人的权力。尽管议会已于7月17日复会，该法案何时会进行投票还不清楚。Jang Hye-yong认为，尽管该法案没有特别提及外籍新娘受到的虐待，但是如果该法案获得通过，她们将会受益。该法案禁止对群体或个人造成身体或精神痛苦的间接歧视。
13."If (the way migrant women are treated) is defined as discrimination and can be corrected, I think that many migrant women in our society can live more safely and with more dignity." Lee, the lawyer, doesn't believe that the bill will be a quick fix for migrant women. Instead, she thinks the bill will help bring about a social shift, improving awareness of racial discrimination at work, school and at home. "I believe it willdiscouragepeoplefrommaking hate speech and encourage people to correct systematic discrimination. At least people will know what behavior and words are discriminatory and subject to punishment," she said.
“如果能够把对待外籍新娘的方式定义为歧视并对此进行纠正，那我认为我们社会中的许多外籍新年可以生活得更安全、更有尊严。” 李律师认为，该法案不会很快解决外籍新娘的问题。相反，她认为该法案将有助于实现社会转变，提高人们在工作、学校和家庭中对种族歧视的认识。“我相信这将阻止人们发表仇恨言论，并鼓励人们纠正系统性歧视。至少人们会知道哪些行为和言语是歧视性的，是会受到惩罚的。”
篇章结构
P1—P3：外籍新娘在韩国的情况：外籍新娘的起源以及现状。
P4：韩国当局和专家对外籍新娘的看法。
P5—P8：外籍新娘面临的问题：人口贩卖问题；歧视问题。
P9—P13：针对外籍新娘受到歧视的问题，有议员提出反歧视的法案，该法案将会带来一些改变。
重点单词
counterpart/'kaʊntəpɑːt/ n. 与对方地位相当的人, 与另一方作用相当的物
【例句】
Her counterpart left in vain and vapidity.
对方索然无味，徙劳而去。
stay behind留下来
【例句】
On wild days she stays behind with her mother.
在狂风大作的日子里，她留在家里跟妈妈在一起。
marriage broker媒人；婚姻介绍所
transnational/trænz'næʃ(ə)n(ə)l/ adj. 影响数国的;数国参与的;跨国的
【例句】
He doesn’t want his firm to be swallowed up by a transnational giant.
他不想自己的公司被一家大型的跨国公司吞并。
registration/redʒɪ'streɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 登记,注册,挂号；登记项目,记录事项；登记(或注册、挂号)人数；(管风琴)音栓配合(法)
【例句】
Certain charities are exempt from VAT registration.
某些慈善机构无须进行增值税登记。
traffickv.用…作交换;在…通行;交易;买卖(traffic)
traffickern. (尤指毒品的)非法买卖者
【例句】
They arrested him when they could prove that he trafficked in opium.
当他们证实他贩卖鸦片时，就把他逮捕了。
uneven/ʌn'iːv(ə)n/ adj. 不平坦的;不平滑的;不规则的；不一致的;不相等的;有差异的；(竞争等)不对等的；不稳定的;易变化的
【例句】
Her works have been rather uneven this year.
她今年的作品相当参差不齐。
withdraw/wɪð'drɔː/ vt. & vi. 取[收]回；(使)撤退[出]
【短语】
withdraw fromv. 退出；离开
withdraw money取钱
withdraw cash取现；取钱
withdraw troops收兵，撤军
【例句】
They have withdrawn to a safer area.
他们已经撤退到更为安全的地带。
permanent/'pɜːm(ə)nənt/ adj. 永久(性)的, 固定的
【例句】
He is one of our permanent employees.
他是我们的终身雇员之一。
breakdown/'breɪkdaʊn/ n. 损坏, 故障；垮台, 破裂；衰竭, 衰弱
【例句】
His remarks led to the breakdown of talks between the staff and the management.
他的话导致了劳资谈判的破裂。
allegation/ælɪ'geɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 陈述, 宣称, 辩解;陈词
allegation against针对…的指控
【例句】
The committee found no evidence to support allegations of smuggling.
委员会没有发现能够支持走私指控的证据。
patriarchal/ˌpeitri'ɑ:kəl/ adj. 由男人统治或控制的,家长统治下的；家长(似)的,族长(似)的,可尊敬的,威严的；宗法封建性的
【例句】
The North Korean system is fundamentally patriarchal.
从根本上来说，朝鲜的制度是父权制。
inferiority/in,fiəri'ɔrəti/ n. 劣势,劣等;下等;次级；自卑情绪,自卑感
【短语】
inferiority complex自卑情结；自卑感
feeling of inferiority自卑感
【例句】
Failure induces a total sense of inferiority.
失败使人产生自卑。
multi-layered/'mʌlti,leiəd/ adj. 多层的
【例句】
Each family keeps a kitchen garden modelled on the multi-layered structure of the surrounding forests, which the Dai hold sacred.
每户人家都有菜圃，是依周遭多层次的森林地形而建的，这也是傣族神圣守护的地方。
play out做完，放出，精疲力尽
【例句】
She continued to play out her role of dutiful daughter.
她继续克尽她作为女儿的职责。
exclude/ɪk'skluːd/ vt. 排除；排斥；拒绝接纳；逐出
【短语】
excluded from排除
【例句】
The court excluded the improperly obtained evidence.
法院不接受非正常渠道获得的证据
discourage/dɪs'kʌrɪdʒ/ vt. 使气馁; 使沮丧；阻碍; 劝阻
【同根】
discouragementn. 气馁；挫折；劝阻
【短语】
discourage from劝阻
【例句】
A spell of tough luck discouraged him.
一段时间的厄运使他失去了勇气。
- THE END -
坚持就会有收获！