The video posted last Saturday showed the 36-year-old man slapping his wife in the face, kicking her and repeatedly punching her in the head and stomach as she crouched in a corner.

The beating lasted for three hours last Thursday at their home in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, 300 km south of Seoul, and was witnessed by their two-year-old son who was seen crying loudly beside his mother.

A Vietnamese witness filmed the assault and reported the case to the police a day later. The victim, 30, and her child were moved to a local women’s shelter for protection, according to Vietnam News Agency.

She is receiving medical treatment for a fractured rib at a hospital. Her injuries will require four weeks of treatment, according to the hospital.

The police claimed the reason for the assault was that the woman could not speak Korean well. The suspect reportedly told them he was drunk when he assaulted her.

The Vietnamese woman started dating the Korean three years ago, and returned to Vietnam when she was pregnant, according to police. They reunited last month and have lived together since, media reports said.

But the man is said to have often sworn at her after drinking, berating her language skills and also beating her.

Vietnam has overtaken China as the country sending the largest number of foreign brides to South Korea, according to the South Korean Embassy in Hanoi.

In the last few years around 6,000 Vietnamese women have been marrying South Koreans every year.

Vietnamese women, many from poor rural families, have for long been marrying South Korean men in the hope of finding a better life in the wealthy nation.

But it has not always been a fairy-tale ending for them though the number of suicides and fatal beatings has reduced in recent years.