# Bonding Without Bridging: Social Capital, Integration, and Well-Being Among Filipina Marriage Migrants in South Korea

## TL;DR

This study explores how Filipina marriage migrants in South Korea experience social isolation despite strong ethnic community ties, highlighting implications for public health and integration policies.

## Contribution

The study reveals how bonding social capital in ethnic communities coexists with limited bridging social capital, affecting integration and health outcomes.

## Key findings

- 94.5% of respondents participate in ethnic community organizations, yet face persistent integration challenges.
- Language barriers and cultural misunderstandings persist, indicating limited bridging social capital.
- Public discourse often ignores the everyday experiences of marriage migrants, reflecting a discursive erasure.

## Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
This study examines persistent social isolation among marriage migrants as a structural health-relevant condition.It analyzes how marriage-based migration pathways constrain everyday social participation.

This study examines persistent social isolation among marriage migrants as a structural health-relevant condition.

It analyzes how marriage-based migration pathways constrain everyday social participation.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
Strong ethnic community participation coexists with sustained social isolation regardless of residence duration.A systematic gap exists between migrants’ lived experiences and public discourse representation.

Strong ethnic community participation coexists with sustained social isolation regardless of residence duration.

A systematic gap exists between migrants’ lived experiences and public discourse representation.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers, and researchers in public health?
Migrant-only support services may leave social isolation-related health vulnerabilities unaddressed.Integration strategies require sustained cross-group interaction opportunities alongside ethnic community centers.

Migrant-only support services may leave social isolation-related health vulnerabilities unaddressed.

Integration strategies require sustained cross-group interaction opportunities alongside ethnic community centers.

This study examined whether strong ethnic community participation facilitates social integration or reinforces social separation among Filipina marriage migrants in the Daegu–Gyeongbuk region of South Korea. A mixed-methods design combined survey data collected between 2018 and 2019 with a media discourse analysis covering 2020 to 2025. Survey results indicate extensive ethnic network participation, with 94.5% of respondents involved in religious or Filipino community organizations, yet persistent integration challenges. Language barriers were reported by 54.8% of respondents and cultural misunderstandings by 40%, suggesting strong bonding social capital alongside limited bridging social capital even after prolonged residence. Drawing on Putnam’s social capital theory, 328 news articles on Filipino–Korean relations were screened, of which only 10 directly addressed marriage migrants. None examined the routine experiences identified in the survey, reflecting discursive erasure shaped by polarized narratives of victimization or exceptional success. The temporal separation between the datasets enables an assessment of whether documented integration patterns are acknowledged in public discourse. The findings raise concerns about policy approaches that prioritize ethnic community centers without providing sustained opportunities for intercultural interaction, particularly given that many respondents entered marriage through religious matching programs that embedded them within ethnic networks, with potential health implications.