Get South Korean Citizenship in 2023. An huge challenge.

Despite the distance, customs and cultural differences that living in a country like South Korea entails, due to its development, the country has been the migratory target of many people from all over the world. For some, settling in a country like this has been a previously analyzed personal choice, an obligation for others and an experience that luck has placed in the path of the lives of many more.

It is essential for any citizen of the world who has decided to emigrate and thereby establish themselves legally in a foreign territory, obtain its nationality in order to contribute to society and enjoy the legal benefits that it offers.

The process of obtaining a certain nationality depends mostly on the individual laws of each country, which respond to governmental and non-citizen interests. The requirements that each country imposes to obtain its nationality have been established in order to establish a natural migratory control without the need to build walls that limit one territory from another, precisely for that, immigration laws have been created.

A little history.

After the proclamation of Freedom of the Korean territory in 1945 with the end of World War II, the country headed in a relentless race towards development that we can see today.

In the mid-1960s, South Korea was going through an important process of economic development led by prostitution and the appearance of companies of global origin such as Hyundai, and the development of others previously founded such as KIA in 1944 and Samsung in 1938. From that moment and due to the existing economic friendship ties between the Korean and North American governments. Mutual protection and support agreements were signed once the war ended, which stimulated a large number of people of that origin to establish communities in this country.

From that time until the late 1980s, obtaining Korean nationality was a fairly simple process that depended mostly on meeting a 5-year time limit agreed by government institutions. After that, nationality was granted as long as the person had contributed to society throughout that period of time. There are other processes by which Korean nationalities were and are currently granted to certain people, such as direct family ties with Korean citizens, although that is not the specific topic of this article.

With the passage of time and the increasing development of the country, many people have decided to establish themselves in this society, although today as a result of situations that occurred in the past, the South Korean Government has decided to do everything possible to prevent a foreigner from obtaining legal rights in this nation. Let us also remember that Korean culture until just 15 years ago remained closed to the Western world.

Most common migration process.

Normally, in any country in the world, marriage is the most common way to obtain a citizenship as long as other requirements are met, such as not having a criminal record, speaking the local language, paying taxes, complying with an established period of stay etc. However, in South Korea they go much further.

Obtaining South Korean citizenship through marriage in 2023 depends on the national's economic situation and not on the foreign citizen's compliance with the law. I explain below.

A foreigner may meet all the requirements required by the Korean Immigration Office and still not be able to obtain the nationality of this country. Obtaining it will depend on the economic situation of the husband or wife. If he himself does not have a business, a bank account with a large amount of money or any property in his name, obtaining nationality for a foreigner in this country can only be a dream and although none of this is stipulated in the law, this has been the new way in which the Government of this country tries to keep foreigners who live here, many even parents, away from this society. An outrageous and disrespectful procedure that does not take into account our economic and cultural contribution to this country at all.

I know people close to me who have lived and worked legally in the country for more than 8 years, most of them speak the language perfectly, have a job, do not present criminal records and still do not obtain citizenship for the aforementioned reason.

This article does not require obtaining a citizenship for free without first having complied with the process established by law. It is required that the abstention of the same depend on the individual effort and not on another person.

In the case of people who live in the country and present a work visa obtained through the establishment of a contract with a national company, the process is even more complicated. A process from which the majority give up due to the barrier presented by the country's own language and the expense of time and economic resources that it entails.

To put into perspective what is explained here, we must first understand the economic situation of the country, which is not at all in line with the Government's demands.

Most of the people in this country have debts that even their children will not be able to pay. This is due to insufficient wages and the high price of living where a person will not be able to get a home without the help of the bank. Issues such as work or even the housing situation in this country are issues that will be explained in future articles.

The Korean media sends a wrong view of this society to the world.

It is becoming very common these days to forcefully place foreigners on Korean television programs in an effort to show the diversity and acceptance of this society to this group of people. All this is about a well-orchestrated circus which is totally far from the reality implied by the laws imposed by the Government aimed at foreigners residing in the country, which is why I refuse to be part of it.

Korean society generally does not accept accommodation with foreigners because this has been a doctrine implanted by the culture itself, a doctrine applied for decades which has contributed to the country's development and which millions of Koreans will never give up.

In summary, obtaining citizenship in this country is a selective and not meritorious process. Meritocracy is also part of a Democratic process which the Government of this country is hindering with its actions. South Korea is a great nation that offers many possibilities for self-improvement but it is also a place full of contradictions and arbitrary laws.