• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.390-413
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• 2010

Facing reconfiguration of world economic order in the process of globalization and changes in domestic economic and social conditions, Japan has experienced a rapid inflow of foreign immigrants and hence a restructuring of labor market and ethic and cultural mixture. This paper explores contexts of inflow and social and spatial characteristics of immigrant workers in Japan. Uneven regional development on the global level and shifting to flexible accumulation regime, depletion of previously underutilized labor resource, better-educated youth and shrinking and aging of Japanese populace on the national level can be pointed out as important elements of immigration contexts. This paper also explains the hierarchizaton of labor market and differentiation of spatial distribution of immigrant workers in Japan in terms of visa condition and nationality. In particular, focusing on the case of Hiroshima prefecture, this paper analyzes residential differentiation of immigrants according to their nationality. Finally, it finds out some problems which immigrant workers have confronted in Hiroshima region.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.369-392
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• 2009

Recently international movements of labour as well as those of goods and other production elements such as capitals and technology have been increased rapidly under the process of glocalization. The huge amount of immigrant workers' in-flows makes increasing influences on regional economy in South Korea. This paper examines such impacts of immigrant workers on local labor markets, productivity. and industrial composition and innovation on the basis of analysis of empirical data and review of existing literature on the subject. Despite a problem of simplification, some reasoning can be listed as follows: First of all, the inflow of immigrant workers has an effect of job displacement among domestic simple workers, with duel effects on the status of native workers; secondly, Immigrant workers give a positive effect on local productivity, but only with low level of wage and of purchasing power; thirdly, the in-flow of immigrant workers seems to prevent existing industries from transformation towards new ones and/or from automation and innovation of production facilities, while there seems no clear relationship with foreign direct investments of local firms.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.295-318
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• 2009

This paper explores micro-contexts of transnational migration and decision-making process of foreign migrants in Korea with four types, that is, married immigrants, immigrant workers, professional immigrants, and foreign students, analyzing dates of questionaries and interviews. Some findings can be summarized as follows. First, married immigrants and immigrant workers show relative lower level of micro-environments than professional immigrants and foreign students. Secondly, immigrants workers fill closest in geographical contiguity among immigrants' types, while married immigrants recognize more different in cultural comparison than the former. Both immigrants workers and foreign students think living environments of Korea better than other types, but immigrants workers consider relatively higher the level of technology, while foreign students evaluate lower that of education in Korea than other types. Thirdly, married immigrants give a relatively low score to the easiness of immigration, while both immigrant workers and professional immigrants give a high score to the job environment of Korea. Finally, all types of immigrants show a high portion in a self-decision making for international migration, while professional immigrants have much more experiences on visiting other countries than other types, and both married immigrants and foreign students seem to have utilized their networks with family members who live abroad.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.109-132
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• 2011

This study is to explain the interaction of muslem immigrant workers in korea. The author approached new ethnography study method. Ten of Muslem immigrant worker and 10 korea participated this research. Data were collected by in-depth interview and non-participation observation The author analyzed the date according to Spradey(1979)'s Developmental Research Sequence model. As result "From secular way to religious way", "Reconstruction of ultra ethnic religious" were presented cultural theme.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.68 no.1
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• pp.23-52
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• 2016

This study aims to reveal the meaning and essence of male immigrant workers' life who underwent industrial accidents through specific experiences. This study is based on the Van Manen(1990)'s lived experience phenomenological method, which actively describes the experiences about the industrial accidents in the perspective of male immigrant worker. The in-depth interviews were carried out with the thirteen male immigrant workers participants who underwent the industrial accidents. Through the interview, 121 meaning units and 38 disclosed themes were constructed. The following is the summarized results as 9 essential themes: < the oppression of the Industrial accident compensation insurance's hospitals to the aliens >, < being treated like the surplus man who lost the labor force >, < the class rank below despite undergoing the industrial accidents >, < survival having resistance sentiments >, < living at the anonymous lands as the Homo sacer >, < the stratified strategies between the immigrant workers >, < the origins as the bodiless shadow >, < struggling to escape the present conditions >, < present circumstances tied by the past experiences without hope >, researcher sought the essential meaning structure about the four Life-world Existentials (Body, The other, Space and Time) of constructing human's live-world. Based on the study results, some suggestions were made to restore the male immigrant workers' damaged quality of their lives who experienced industrial accidents and to contribute the social integration in view of the social welfare.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.319-343
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• 2009

This paper considers some kinds of socio-spatial constraints and strategies for overcoming them which immigrant workers in Korea have experienced in their work-place and life-space, with an analysis of questionnaire data and of direct interview materials on them. Though they appear somewhat satisfactory or positive with their work-place, this can be seen as a hypocritical or false attitude rather than a real one: they are forced to work with long hours (more than 70 hours per week) and rigid controls in the other' territory. Their daily life-spaces also are severe: they can be hardly embedded in an existing community with a sense of place due to serious institutional and interaction constraints, even though they seem to have a basic mobility to survive in life-spaces. In order to escape or alleviate such local constraints, they try to constitute multi-scalar (local, trans-regional, and transnational) networks, and to find informations and means to resolve or cope with them. However, this kind of endeavors of immigrant workers to make a trans-national network and social space has a limitation for them to be free entirely from constraints, which might be strengthened with a lack of geographical knowledge of them. Then immigrant workers in Korea live ineluctably with not only hybrid national identity but also with disturbed local identity in an aliened workplace and life-spaces.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.1-15
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is getting information for making a plan of immigrant workers in Korea. As a first step to suggest plans for immigrant workers who have multi-cultural background, this study investigated to the domestic living of Koreans(ChoSun-Tribe) of Gillim province in China. For this, usage of domestic space questionnaire were used. Results of the research were as follows. 1. The most popular LDK type was the one which kitchen was separated from living room and dining room. Most of them thought that kitchen and living room have to be separated. 2. There was no plan for laundry room specially and most houses have a washing machine in the bathroom. Most houses didn't install a bathtub in the bathroom and they didn't think that it was indispensable. 3. It was estimated that they used a living room as a multi-purpose room for the family but used a master bedroom for its own purpose. 4. They used a table and chair for meals normally but they took meals sitting on the floor with a large family or guest. 5.All of them took off the shoes inside of the house for hygienic reason. There was no plan for the space to take on-off shoes in most houses and they just put the mat on the floor for it. 6. Modified Ondol system which use water pipe under the floor was popular in apartment while most detached houses had traditional Ondol system. The satisfaction about Ondol system was very high compared to other ones and also Ondol system was the most desirable one for ChoSun-Tribe.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.4370-4379
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to identify the utilization of health services and factors influencing the quality of life(QOL) of migrant workers. The participants were 135 migrant workers in Korea. Data was collected from September 10th 2012 to November 15th 2012. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheff' test, and hierarchical multiple regression. Immigrant workers experienced difficulty in using health services and had a $14.25{\pm}2.01$ QOL, which was relatively low. The factors influencing QOL were the length of stay in Korea, residence areas, and satisfaction with health services. Final regression model accounted for 16.7% of the variance in QOL. The satisfaction level with health services was the most influential factors in the level of the QOL. Therefore, diverse strategies should be developed to enhance the satisfaction with health services in Korea migrant workers.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2007

This document is about immigrant worker who use counseling office for human rights in the Daegu Gumin Church. We researched their oral health state so that we can understand their situation and support them properly. General characteristics of study subjects, habits related to oral health, the oral examination and treatment clinic, participated in oral heath education program were studied by designed administered questionaire. And decay, filling(treatment teeth), missing tooth(lost teeth by dental-caries)was counted by oral examination, and calculated DMFT-index. This study was done from the July, 9, 2006 to Aug. 8, 2006. In a total of 289 immigrant worker, 77.9% of them were men and 22.1% of them were women. 55.7% of their salary was from 1,000,000 won to 1,500,000 won and most of them were working for a fiber industry. Many of them are living in korea for more then three years. DMFT index for men was 2.77 and for women was 4.06 so average of DMFT index was 3.06. 46.7% of them said that they are healthy in oral health state. The question for having difficulty using dental clinic in korea, 65.1% of them said "it is difficult". First reason was a communication problem and second was time. Most of them didn't have a oral health education but 85.1% of them said that they are looking forward to attending oral health education. Immigrant worker had better DMFT index then that of korean blue color worker. But still it is quite difficult for them using dental clinic in korea also cost. It is necessary to support them properly that medical insurance system, medical facilities of quality, medical insurance subscriber beside, made by their language, manual for them. At once, medical service improvement a policy is necessary for immigrant worker in korea.

• The Journal of Asian Women
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.75-110
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• 2014

This research examines marriage migrant women's interpreting and translation work as an ethnic labor, analyzing its creation and work experiences. Major findings about ethnic labor in the research are as follows: First, Korean gendered and discriminatory- exclusive immigration policy enables the creation of interpreting and translation job to marriage migrant women. While the policy limits settlement and employment fields of male immigrant workers, marriage migration women are allowed to settle and find any job. Second, job security and wage of marriage migrant women's interpreting and translation work are still low, although the job is considered a relatively decent one in foreign immigrant labor market. Finally, they experience conflicts between role as neutral interpreters and identity as migrant women, facing native Koreans' distrust and discrimination against them. In conclusion, this study suggests some issues on marriage migrant women's empowerment and their labor market prospect in terms of the sustainability of this job.