[Journalism Internship] How an influx of immigrants is changing Korea

Journalism Internship

Published: 27 Jan. 2024, 00:43

[Journalism Internship] How an influx of immigrants is changing Korea

Foreign workers hold a protest outside Yongsan Station in central Seoul on Aug. 20, 2023, demanding better treatment for non-Korean laborers. [NEWS1]

KIM DAHYE, HONG YOOJOO, KIM ILJOONG, MOON HYEONHO

An increase in Korea’s foreign population has led to a number of changes, both economic and cultural, within the country.

Korean institutions are actively seeking skilled foreign workers, which has contributed majorly to their numbers.

A total of 2,258,248 foreign citizens resided in Korea as of 2022 — a substantial on-year increase of 5.8 percent, or 123,679 individuals.

Korea has accessible and transparent systems designed to facilitate the integration of foreigners, offering many user-friendly structures.

A well-structured medical system, for example, helps attract foreign citizens. Korea also has favorable work environments and easy transportation, which contribute to making it an attractive destination for foreign workers.

As a result, immigrants have been actively participating in both manual and complex labor in the domestic market.

Korean jobs also pay well compared to those of other countries in Asia.

There’s a notable disparity, for example, between the average monthly wages of foreign employees in Korea and China. Korea’s estimated monthly wage ranges from 2 million won ($1,530) to 3 million won. Foreign employees in China earn a higher average income of 4,615 yuan ($646).

As a consequence, Korea has seen an increase not only in only the number of blue collar workers, or individuals who engage in physically weary manual labor, but also in that of white collar workers, or individuals who perform professional jobs.

Korea provided a total of 10,711 special visas to foreigners who applied for white-collar jobs in 2010, according to the Korea Immigration Service. That was almost 2.5 times the number provided in 2005.

The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) initiated a program called the “Brain Pool” in 1994 with the purpose of “enhancing the R&D level” of the country’ and “building an international cooperative network with leading international scientists.” The program attracted a total of 1,841 foreign workers between 1994 and 2016.

Of those workers, 937 were scouted by universities, 755 by governmentfunded institutions, 27 by non-profit organizations, and 122 by other research institutes, according to the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the NRF launched a 2023 version of the Brain Pool for outstanding overseas researchers as well.

The rise in the number of foreign workers has had noticeable implications for Korea’s economy. The United Nations “World Population Prospects 2022” showed that the country has seen a steady decline in its fertility rate since 1957. The lack of childbirths has resulted in an increase in the elderly population in Korea where, according to Statista, 18 percent of all Koreans were over the age of 65 in 2020 compared to 11.7 percent a mere 10 years prior in 2012.

Foreign workers could fill that void in the labor market, Randall S. Jones, a distinguished fellow at The Korea Economic Institute of America, wrote in a recent article. “Meeting Korea’s demographic challenge requires a comprehensive strategy . . . making greater use of foreign workers,” he wrote.

But not only do foreign workers perform necessary jobs; they can also bring beneficial diversity to Korean society.

With an increase of multicultural families and international marriages, Korea society is becoming racially and culturally diverse, and people of different nationalities are interacting more regularly.

“The more you live with people from different cultures, the better you will understand other cultures and our culture, and our lives and knowledge will be enriched,” Lee Byung-hee, a professor of multicultural education at Gongju National University, said in an interview.

But that integration may hit roadbumps along the way, as stereotypes and prejudices still exist in Korean society.

In the Ministry of Justice’s 2021 Public Perception Survey on Foreigners and Immigration Policy, most of the respondents (66.4 percent) approved of embracing foreigners as a part of Korean society. However, a majority of them disapproved (52.3 percent) of giving those foreigners rights equal to those of to Korean citizens.

One Muslim, Bangladeshi worker in Jeonju requested a change of workplace for religious reasons in May and was denied, according to reports. The worker’s union, on the grounds that the employee could not exercise their right to work if they were denied religious freedom, urged the government to take action.

“This division and disregard and distrust of other cultures can lead to separation, inequality, isolation, alienation of minority groups, violence, riots and terrorism among all cultural groups,” Lee said.

“It may be an uncomfortable truth of a multicultural society that cultural differences may divide our society, deepen conflicts between cultures and cause social chaos.”

BY KIM DAHYE, HONG YOOJOO, KIM ILJOONG, MOON HYEONHO [kimdahye061204@gmail.com, hyj01090134522@gmail.com, ijkim25@kis.ac, hhmoon25@kis.ac]