• International Area Studies Review
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.145-167
• /
• 2009

This study aims to examine attitudes of Korean workers towards foreign workers and predictors of their attitudes. The data for this study come from a survey conducted among 500 Korean workers employed at the companies which also hire foreign workers in Gyeonggi and Incheon areas. The findings reveal that a little more than half of Korean workers agree to give foreign workers the same labor rights as Korean workers and to allow them to bring their family members into Korea while a little less than half of them do not agree to grant residentship or citizenship to foreign workers. Attitudes towards foreign workers tend to be favorable with increase in perception of multiculturalism, period of working experience with foreign workers and education, and with decrease in feeling of threat from foreign workers.

• Korea journal of population studies
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.147-168
• /
• 2007

The objective of this study is to examine the studies of foreign workers in Korea at a level of meta-analysis focusing on their subjects and methodology. Over the last 15 years, studies of foreign workers have diversified subjects and refined methodology reflecting major characteristics of migration patterns including a rapid increase in number, large populations of illegal sojourners, a majority low-skilled young male workers from less developed countries, and an active role of migrant-support NGOs. Nevertheless, the studies have shown problems such as a higher ratio of macroscopic discussions, overemphasis on social problematic issues and a tendency towards descriptive analysis. Methodologically, they have also revealed an inactive use of empirical and quantitative data, lack of representativeness of sample and disregard of an importance of language in the study of foreigners. Based on the analysis, this study proposes strategies to enhance researches of foreign workers in Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
• /
• 2023.11a
• /
• pp.251-252
• /
• 2023

Compared to other industries the construction industry experiences more casualties and property damage due to safety accidents. One of the reasons is the increasing number of foreign workers. For this reason, past studies have found that foreign workers at construction sites are more exposed to safety accidents than non-foreign workers. Nevertheless the proportion of foreign workers involved in safety accidents at construction sites is increasing, and there has been a lack of research to predict the risk of safety accidents at construction sites. Additionally, realistic safety management is lacking due to a lack of safety accident risk prediction research. Therefore, in this study, we would like to propose basic research that proposes an AI-based safety accident prediction model framework for predicting safety accidents of foreign workers at construction sites. The framework and results of this study will contribute to reducing and preventing the risk of safety accidents for foreign workers through risk prediction for safety management of foreign workers at construction sites.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
• /
• v.31
• /
• pp.395-414
• /
• 2013

EPS-TOPIK is a test of Korean proficiency which is enforced at the level of Korean government for the selection of competent foreign workers. Therefore, it must ensure validity and reliability, and practicability as a language assessment tool. For seeking a way of developing EPS-TOPIK, in this paper, the current state of EPS-TOPIK was investigated based upon the materials published by the Korean government, and the questions of EPS-TOPIK were analysed. Together with this, newspaper articles both in Korea and in foreign countries were also analyzed, and the directors of the EPS center abroad were interviewed. According to the survey results, as expected, the local environment of Korean education is poor in a number of ways to improve the Korean communication skills of foreign workers, as well as to prepare the EPS-TOPIK. To improve the efficiency of the EPS-TOPIK and to enhance the Korean communication skills of foreign workers, the Korean language institutions including the King Sejong Institute, which are in charge of the Korean language education should closely cooperate with the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, which is responsible for all of the influx of foreign workers.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.38-50
• /
• 2011

As the rate of foreign workers increasing, the rates of their children are rising, as well. The children's native countries vary from Japan, China to Indonesia, and difficulty of learning is expected in their entering the regular education due to the differences in the contents and curriculum they had learnt. This study analyzed the science textbooks of five Asian elementary schools including Korea, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Iran-in diversified sides focusing on the content of earth science, for the children of foreign workers. The characteristics of the elementary science textbooks of the subject countries were compared in seven criteria-the rate of earth science in the textbooks, how units are arranged, whether the earth science contents are included, the contents highly related to their socio-cultural traits, photographs, scientific inquiries, and test items. The textbooks showed numerous differences with their own characteristics, and it is expected that the children of foreign workers would face difficulties in studies taking parts in the Korean formal education. Hereupon, this study proposes the needs of development of sub-materials for the children of foreign workers adapting to schools, and reinforcement of educating teachers for understanding children, with a national plan for the children excluded from education due to problems such as an illegal residence.

• Korea journal of population studies
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.129-157
• /
• 2011

This study attempts to analyze the effect of level of education on the attitudes toward immigrants or foreign workers. More specifically, we examine whether there is significant difference in the effects of the level of education and global mind on the attitude among three East Asian countries (South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan), controlling other socio-demographic factors in relation to increase in immigrants and foreign workers. Using EASS data, we employs sequential logit model to the general attitudes toward immigrant workers into the weighted sum of transition probability within each educational level. One major finding is that there is clear and significant difference in the relationship between the level of education and the attitudes toward foreign workers among three countries. In general, while Japanese and Taiwanese tend to have more open-minded attitudes toward foreign workers as they have higher level of education, Koreans are opposite case that they are little bit more hostile toward to foreign workers with higher level of education. Especially, there is strong positive effect of education on the attitude in Taiwanese case. Another finding is that while there is strong resistance against increase in migrant population in Korea and Taiwan, Japanese respondents want current level of foreign population to remain in the similar level. Our findings imply that there is no one converging pattern of relationship between the level of education and the positive attitudes toward foreign workers which can be applied to any country. Therefore, this paper suggests that unique political, social, and cultural characteristics of each country should be considered to better understand the effect of education on the attitude toward immigrants and foreign workers. Also, we conclude that systematic comparative-demographic analyses should be utilized to provide more comprehensive picture of how difference in educational level affects the attitude toward immigrants and foreign workers.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.331-357
• /
• 2017

In this study, we explored the degree to which foreign workers in Korea are satisfied with their lives. We examined the extent of the respondents'educational mismatch, their experiences of discrimination, and the empowerment influence on their degree of life satisfaction. Based on this, we developed practical implications to improve foreign workers'life satisfaction in the country. The results show that life satisfaction significantly rises as the respondents'educational credentials increasingly match with the criteria for their respective jobs, given that they have not experienced discrimination and their empowerment level is high. Based on these outcomes, we proposed the following important policy measures: mediation and diminishing educational mismatch during job searches, establishing legal and institutional frameworks to prevent discrimination, and placing greater emphasis on efforts to improve foreign workers'empowerment. We expect our findings to provide an important empirical basis for efforts to facilitate foreign workers'integration into Korean society. This study is the first attempt to apply concepts such as foreign workers'empowerment and educational mismatch -as defined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (OECD PIAAC) -to foreign workers in Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
• /
• 2010.05b
• /
• pp.95-97
• /
• 2010

Current trends in the Korean construction industry, including the aging of the workforce, a lack of new Korean construction workers, and an inflow of unskilled foreign labor, have caused a range of problems, including quality deterioration, reduced productivity, insufficient understanding of the function and difficulties in communication, to name a few. Yet while countermeasures to these problems should be based on accurate and diverse fundamental data, including the current status of demand and supply of domestic and foreign construction workers, the perception of construction workers, studies on these questions have, thus far, been scarce. For these reasons, this study was conducted using a questionnaire for managers and workers on construction sites, to secure fundamental data relating to construction workers. The findings of the survey showed that it is urgent to prepare measures to educate, train and foster human resources, considering the aging of the construction workforce and the lack of an inflow of new construction workers.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.35-45
• /
• 2015

Total industrial accident rate in Korea is facing a record 0.7% for 10 years since 2000. After entering the continuous versus 0.6% (0.69%) in 2010. In 2011, the decrease was reduced to 0.65%. Conversely In contrast to foreign workers' share has increased dramatically over 10 years since 2000 to 2010 are expected to be difficult in the accident rate of 0.5% for the entry. Despite the ongoing disaster reduction efforts to reduce disaster (share) of foreign workers has been increasing rapidly Survey, Whilst the provision of disaster prevention system status and problem analysis and identify measures that can be established through such disaster reduction measures are urgently needed.

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