This study aimed to explore the perception of the change in work, family and leisure life among
international marriage migrant women in Korea, and to understand how the perception of the
change was related to their life satisfaction. This study conducted semi-structured in-depth
interviews with 13 marriage migrant women(core data) and with 11 Korean husbands(additional
data). The qualitative data were analyzed employing analysis methods of the categorizing. The
study found that most participants came to have different work and family lifestyle after the
arrival in Korea because they had to be responsible for family-care and upbringing work which
they had never experienced in the home country. Both the experience of international migration
and the housewife's working affected the change of the participants' leisure motivation, leisure
constraints, and the pattern of leisure participation. For the purpose of the family bonding the
interviewees mostly participated in family leisure. Also, in order to help their adjustment to
Korean society, most interviewees enjoyed educational leisure activities, such as Korean language
class and/or in social leisure with other international marriage migrant women who were from
the same country. The interviewees experienced more diverse leisure constraints in Korea than
in their home country because of their marriage life and the status of the international
migrants. However, the interviewees did not mention the unsatisfaction with their leisure. They
showed the negotiation for leisure satisfaction by placing very important meaning on family
leisure engagement or by considering the better leisure environment in Korea, such as more
diverse leisure programs and facilities than their home country. In terms of life satisfaction,
most interviewees were satisfied with their life because of the birth of their child(ren), of the
growth of the self-efficacy which were developed from working experiences in Korea, and/or of
the goal achievement of international migration. Finally this study found that the goal
achievement of international migration could be an important factor that affected the
interviewees' leisure satisfaction and life satisfaction.