Paths to Civic Engagement: Opportunity Structures and Marriage Immigrants' Associational Lives in South Korea*

Immigrants' participation in voluntary associations has drawn much scholarly attention in recent years. However, how women marriage immigrants form their own associations and mobilize for their rights have been understudied. This study examines Filipina marriage immigrants' voluntary associational experiences in South Korea to fill this gap in the research. Drawing on ethnographic research including in-depth interviews and observations, this article identifies institutional and discursive resources that contribute to marriage immigrants' involvement in voluntary associations. Our findings are organized around three institutional settings—religious, governmental, and ethnicity-based—where marriage immigrants find possibilities and constraints that affect their associational activities. Within each institutional setting, marriage immigrants adapt discursive frames that represent social expectations and values associated with gender and ethnic identity.