• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2023

With the restriction of foreigners' entry into Korea due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fishery industry faced significant challenges in supplying migrant workers. In response to this, there is growing interest in methods that could facilitate the stable employment of migrant workers. This paper investigates whether the current system used for the employment of migrant workers in the fishery industry, which is highly dependent on them, adequately performs its function of providing a stable and skilled workforce amid the intensified labor shortage resulting from decreasing numbers of households with employment in the fishery and the aging Korean fishermen. To this end, past studies and government documents pertaining to the current system were analyzed, and a survey targeting the owners of offshore fishing boats that employ migrant workers was conducted. A total of 147 owners of fishing boats responded to the survey, and the data of 499 migrant workers employed by them were used for the analysis. The analysis indicated that the migrant fishermen had difficulty in acquiring minimum scores for the change of visa status according to the criteria for the Skilled Worker Points System. Furthermore, distinct differences were found between the characteristics and working conditions of migrant workers employed through the Employment Permit System (EPS) and the Foreign Seamen System. Based on this result, this paper suggests the reorganization of the skilled migrant worker system in the fishery industry and the expansion of the regional specialized visa pilot project.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.303-343
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• 2024

Globalization and the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the post-pandemic context continue to play a critical role in shaping the workforce of emerging countries. In Vietnam, evidence obtained during the pandemic revealed that the well-being of employees, especially migrant workers, was extremely poor due to both work and non-work factors. This paper examines the most significant factors that impact the well-being of workers employed by various FDI companies in two Vietnamese industrial parks. The survey evidence (n=200) shows that worker well-being is influenced by seven key factors categorized in three dimensions, namely material stressors, social stressors, and human stressors. A further qualitative analysis of 60 participants provides an understanding of the ways in which each factor affects workers' well-being and how elements of well-being in the Vietnamese context are different compared with other countries. Low salaries, lack of social support, work-life imbalance due to job demands, and the interplay between these three determinants significantly affect the overall well-being of workers. In the current business climate, it is important to have well-targeted policies that encourage high-tech investments as well as persuade domestic firms to address low salaries and economic migration. To manage valuable human resources and keep competitive advantages, foreign firms need to authentically implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives focusing on workers' benefits, especially providing workforce housing. This will bring about win-win outcomes of improved employee well-being and business sustainability.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.13-36
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• 2012

This paper is to reconsider comprehensively and systematically major issues on transnational immigrants, increased rapidly since the beginning of the 1990s, and their impacts on socio-spatial changes in S. Korea. Foreign immigrants who have moved on the contexts of unevenness of globalization and advancces in transport & telecommunication technology on the global level and of economic development and shortage of cheap and unskilled workers have been distributed unevenly, concentrating on the Capital region and local areas with industrial complexes. Foreign workers seems to have some negative influences on regional economies in the long-term, though positive in the short-term. Domestic people seem to have an ambivalent attitude which accepts necessity of multi-culture, while simultaneously continues to be self-confident on ethnic homogeneity. The Korean government has launched multicultural policies for foreign immigrants by the mid-2000, but still continues some policies with assimilationism and differential exclusionism, marginalizing them socio-spatially, while lacking local government's policy and programmes. In conclusion, in order to resolve these problems and to transfer multicultural societal space of Korea, a geography of transnational migration which promotes especially discourse and policy with authentic multiculturalism, extending roles of local government, and ensuring glocal citizenships.

• The Journal of Korean-Japanese National Studies
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• no.34
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• pp.77-123
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• 2018

The liberated korea has the estimated population 16 million in 1945, and added 2.5 million just after an year. The korean repatriates returned by way of 2 main routes. The returnees, Wol-Nam-Min(former residents in north korea), and repatriates from Manchuria came into south korea over the 38th division line. The other repatriates from japanese islands and pacific areas came into Busan port and the vicinity. The repatriates who returned from the China and the Japanese islands made up about 80% of the total added population. However, the influx of overseas repatriates who explosively increased between 1945 and 1946, declined abruptly in April of 1946, and at last illegal re-emigration group to Manchuria and Japan Appeared, who had repatriated from those areas. This study deals with the "re-migration phenomenon of 1946" in korea, mainly focuses on 1) the motivation for those who decided to remigrate, their prospects of resettlement in Manchuria and post war japan after re-migration, 2) the structural problems of the Korean society in 1946-1947, and 3) the social recognition for the people who letf for Manchuria and Japan. This study proved the cause and background of re-migration phenomenon. The Manchuria case, the local authorities wanted farmers and peasants who could cultivate the abandoned land which had been originally pioneered and reclaimed by korean poor peasants, who repatriated to korean peninsula. On the other hand, the korean repatriates had a hard time in tenanting farmland, and so much difficulty in getting farming tools including fertilizer. That's why they left korea for Manchuria again. The Japanese case, the korean repatriates had a tough life owing to the restriction of properties left in japan, while the inflation and food shortage in korea got worse and worst. Accordingly, many koreans tried illegal entrance into post war japan. This study is a part of clarifying the universality and specificity of post war repatriation and migration issues developed in the south Korea. Through this study, we can find how difficult it is for newly liberated areas to accommodate repatriates and make them ordinary nationals in harmonic way with successful social integration. and we can observe the social aspect and administrative ability of newly liberated south korea in detail, Because the present korea has faced with so many problems connected with immigration workers and re-setting with korean communities abroad, we should introspect these historical experience of our own.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.18-37
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• 2024

This study examines migrant workers' occupational health and safety issues through a case study of the UK construction industry, focusing on structural vulnerabilities. Migrant workers are at the bottom of the hierarchically fragmented labour market, performing outsourced hazardous work. Structural vulnerability focuses on the social structures that create hierarchies and increase risk in the workplace, rather than on individual responsibility or 'cultural' differences of migrant workers. The study considers the structural factors that perpetuate the migrantisation of risk in the UK construction industry, focusing on the structural necessity of low-wage migrant labour, precarious employment and the legal status of migrant workers, and discusses how these three factors interact to increase migrant workers' vulnerability to health and safety. The migrantisation of risk is not only a matter of occupational health and safety or universal workers' compensation, but also of the intertwining of labour migration policies with employment structures that rely on low-wage, low-skilled labour. This calls for proactive measures to address structural risks that go beyond passive declaratory policies that do not exclude migrant workers from education, training or legal systems.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.185-201
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• 2015

This paper suggests how Korean housemaids, called Sikmo, and Korean-Chinese migrant domestic workers have similar class positions and therefore form a dual identity in their interactions with female employers. rough spoken stories of the experiences of 27 females from Seoul, including Korean-Chinese domestic workers, Korean housemaids, and their employers, this research effectively overcomes the dichotomous discourse of natives versus foreigners. Instead it suggests the new interpretation that it is not foreignness but class inferiority of the domestic workers that plays a key role in establishing relationships with employers. Korean housemaids and Korean-Chinese domestic workers, both groups of whom are migrant workers, have developed coping strategies to enhance their labor value by spatially relocating themselves from their home society to a new society. They possess a similar labor status in women's history, being of low income, low education, and rural births. Consequently, these women experience 'translocal anchoring,' meaning their identities are intertwined with that of their home societies, and employers perceive them based on the characteristics of these places. The Korean employers perceive that the domestic workers' morality and intellectuality are inferior based on their class differences. This stigmatizing process leads employers to regard domestic workers as ambivalent people, not only threatening outsiders but also objects of pity, needing love and protection of their employers. The employers educate them culturally, teaching them skills to survive in the urban environment. These skills include cooking and language, in addition to advice on long-term plans to blend into society.

• 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.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.376-387
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• 2017

The creative class is the class of workers whose job is to create meaningful new forms. Recently, much attention has been focused on the role of the creative class in regional development. Many policy makers have invested to amenities to attract more creative class into their cities or regions for regional economic growth. However, there are only a few studies about the migration of the creative class in Korea. The purpose of this study is to make an analysis of the movement of the creative class by using the 17th Korean Labor & Income Panel Study. According to empirical results, the creative class are more likely to move than the non-creative class. The characteristic of creative class who moved is related to married man aged 20s and 30s without own house. Also, there is the difference between determinants of migration of the creative class and the non-creative class. It was founded that the most important determinants of migration of the creative class are housing related reasons such as home ownership and job reasons. Relationship, convenient facilities are not important factors when the creative class make a decision to move.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.77-123
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• 2011

Recently, Southeast Asian people, its food, natural sceneries and so on have been increasingly exposed to Korean people through mass media and multi-cultural events. At the same time, Koreans can frequently encounter Southeast Asians in their everyday lives. Thus, specific images and discourses of Southeast Asia has been established in our society, which creates a new social trend called 'Southeast Asia phenomena'. In short, 'Southeast Asia phenomena' means a totality of Korean people's experience of Southeast Asian and their perception on the region. On the one hand, 'Southeast Asia phenomena' is a result of inflow of Southeast Asians and their culture into Korea. On the other hand, it is also a consequence of Korean people's understanding of Southeast Asia from their trip to Southeast Asia or from their interactions with Southeast Asian people. This article aims to analyze the origin and diffusion of 'Southeast Asian Phenomena' in Korea in the context of Southeast Asia focusing on 4 topics, that is, migrant workers, overseas investments, retirement migration, study-abroad categorized as human movement. This article is also about a country-by-country comparative analysis both at the macro level and the micro level. At the macro level, overseas investments and trade, human exchanges, positive perception to Koreans which considered to be the structural causes become a strong mechanism playing a important bridge role between Korea and Southeast Asia. So these create the high probability of the emergence of 'Southeast Asian Phenomena' At the micro level which is more direct causes of 'Southeast Asian Phenomena', the economic cause is the most important common cause for 4 Southeast Asian Phenomena. Additionally, Korean wave is also remarkable common cause creating 'Southeast Asian Phenomena' even it is not the origin in the context of Southeast Asia. The diffusion of 'Southeast Asian Phenomena' is different by the topics and the elements contributing to create the favorable situation for the diffusion are not only overseas investments and trade, human exchanges at the macro level but also policy elements at the micro level. The relative differences of the causes of 'Southeast Asian Phenomena' in the country-by-country analysis are found. Regarding overseas investments in Vietnam and Cambodia, the economic degree of freedom in Cambodia is higher than in Vietnam. Even Korean Wave has had the longer history in Vietnam, but the favorable perspectives on Korean Wave are stronger in Cambodia. For migrant workers from Vietnam and Indonesia, the economic causes in Vietnam are more significant than in Indonesia. The impact of Korean Wave is stronger in Vietnam than in Indonesia. In case of study-abroad, the social-cultural elements and policy elements are more diverse in Malaysia than in Korea. For the Korean retirees who immigrate to the Philippines and Malaysia, the economic causes in the Philippines is more significant in Malaysia.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.64-88
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• 2010

Rapidly increasing transnational migration can be seen as a typical process which has proceeded under macro-contexts of socio-spatial characters of origin and destination country and their relationships, shaped with global uneven regional development in the process of glocalization and development of transportation and communication on the global level. In order to consider macro-contexts of transnational migration, this paper emphasizes the concept of multicultural space and some key elements implied in it, that is, place, territory, network, scale (suggested by Jessop et al.) and spatial flow and difference. As results of questionnaire analysis of foreign immigrants' recognition of macro-contexts, this paper suggests some findings: that is, a high level of recognition of all types of foreign immigrants on global changes, the most negative recognition of migrant workers among 4 types of foreign immigrants on economic and social conditions of their origin country, a positive recognition of people in all regions of their origin (except few countries such as Japan) on international migration, and a low level of their recognition in all types on S. Korea's characters as their destination country.