Gender, Migration and Civil Activism in South Korea *

Transcription

1 Gender, Migration and Civil Activism in South Korea * Hye-Kyung Lee Pai Chai University Since the late 1980s, Korea has experienced an influx of migrant workers from neighboring Asian countries. The total number of migrant workers in 1990 was less than 20,000, but rose to 340,000 in International migration in South Korea shows less extensive feminization than in comparable receiving countries in East Asia. This paper examines why female migration, which accounts for only percent of all migrant workers, is less extensive in South Korea, and why domestic work, the major occupation which has accelerated female migration in the region, is not popular in South Korea. It also assesses the current state of migrant and civil society movements providing assistance to migrant women in South Korea. Although the number of these NGOs is small, their activities have highlighted the problems and issues in international marriages and the entry of foreign female entertainers in the sex industry. The paper argues that civil movements for migrant women have contributed to reconsiderations of notions of nationality and citizenship in Korea. Introduction Since the late 1980s many Asian countries have experienced several interrelated trends, such as economic globalization, political democratization and the growth of civil society movements, as well as an increase in * This reseach was supported by a Pai Chai University Grant in My special thanks to Dr. Keiko Yamanaka, University of California, Berkeley and Dr. Charles Hawksley, University of Wollongong, Australia, for their helpful comments and suggestions. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1-2,

2 128 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL migration within Asia. Economic globalization accelerated the movements of goods, capital, labor and ideas across national boundaries, producing an accelerated effect on these social transitions. During this period, Korea has also experienced a growth in migration resulting in its transition to a laborimporting state (Lee, 1994, 1997a; Pang, 1993; Park, 1994). However, the sudden influx of migrants to Korea, which had few legal or institutional systems in place for these new migrants, became an issue with which the growing civil society movements have had to deal. While some Asian migrant-importing countries and cities such as Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong have experienced feminization of migration (Huang and Yeoh, in this volume; Lee, 1997b; Wong, 1996), in Korea women comprised only 30 percent to 35 percent of migrants since Accelerated feminization of migration in Asia has been driven by the need for domestic workers in Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, but not in South Korea. Why is the feminization of migration less extensive in South Korea, and why does South Korea go against the general trend of the Asian Tigers in employing foreign domestic workers? What industries employ migrant women in Korea, and what issues arise from their employment and for civil society? This paper briefly reviews social transformation, labor migration trends and government immigration policies in Korea. It then examines the patterns of gendered migration to Korea and the issues and problems faced by female migrants. Furthermore, it explores the rise of gender-specific grassroots civil activism of leading NGOs and the outcomes and implications of this activism in Korean society. Finally, this paper attempts to relate female migration to the position of Korean women, especially in the labor market. Since very few studies focus on migrant women in Korea, this paper hopes to illuminate gender issues in migration studies in Korea. Social Transformation and Labor Migration in South Korea The Late 1980s: A Transition Period in Korea The late 1980s was a significant transition period in Korea which affected not only the economic but also the political and social structures. First, following a period of rapid industrialization after the Korean War, the Korean economy entered a mid-growth stage in the late 1980s and its structure had to adjust to the transition (Uh, 1998). Employment in the manufacturing sector reached its peak (29 percent) in 1988 and has decreased since. In contrast, employment in the service sector expanded from 51 percent in 1985 to 69 percent in 2000.

3 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 129 After three decades of authoritarian military rule, a serious civil revolt broke out in June This led to a direct presidential election, resulting in political democratization. Labor and civil society movements, which had been instrumental in ushering the change, flourished in the new climate of openness. These political and social transitions accelerated labor market segmentation, especially between large and small firms. Until the late 1980s, there were only slight wage differentials for all production workers, although there were some significant wage gaps by gender. The former government s labor policy, especially its oppressive wage controls, did not allow wage differentials for production workers. From the late 1980s however, labor movements have become more vigorous. As the labor movements in large firms were more organized than those in small firms, wage differentials sharpened for workers in large firms and small firms from For example, employees in small firms received about 90 percent of the wages of those in large firms until 1986, but this fell to 72 percent in 1995 (Lee, 1997a: 356). These changes were accompanied by labor shortages in production industries, especially in the contracting manufacturing sector. Structural changes in Korea s labor supply started since the mid-1970s. The slowdown in the growth of the labor force is a consequence of the early demographic transition, the exhaustion of the rural labor surplus and the declining labor participation rate of the youth population (the age group) due to longer schooling (Abella and Park, 1994: 4). In addition, the expansion of the service sector and the accelerated labor market segmentation since 1987 led to uneven labor shortages in Korea. The labor shortages were more serious in manufacturing than in the service sector, and within the manufacturing sector, smaller firms were more badly hit than larger firms. In 1991 unfilled production jobs numbered 222,000 (Lee, 1994; 1997a). The more educated local labor force tended to avoid taking production work, especially 3D (dirty, difficult, and dangerous) jobs. In order to cope with the labor shortages, rising labor costs and aggressive labor movements, employers tried either to relocate their firms overseas in developing Asian countries or to bring in migrant workers to Korea. Korean firms relocated to China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh; soon after these countries began to send their workers to Korea. Overseas Korean firms tend to hire more female local workers than males as labor-intensive firms can pay less to their female workers (Lee et al., 2002). Although the proportion of female workers varies according to industry, the overall proportion of female workers in overseas Korean firms is nearly 70 percent in 1999 (Table 1). However, the proportion of female migrant workers in Korea was just 24 percent, lower than their share in overseas firms within the same industrial categories.

4 130 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL TABLE 1 FEMALE PRODUCTION WORKERS BY INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (IN PERCENTAGE) Industrial Classification Overseas Korean Firms Domestic Korean Firms Textile Clothes and Fur Leather, Bags, and Shoes Timber and Wood Chemical and Chemical Products Rubber and Plastic Assembled Metal Electric Machine Picture and Sound Equipment Medical and Precision Machine Others Total N SOURCE: KMRN Survey Data, , see Lee et al. (1998 and 2002) for more details. NOTE: - % is not reported due to small numbers of cases (N<10). Migration Flows to South Korea In 1990, Korea had fewer than 19,000 migrant workers; by 2002, the migrant worker population soared to 335,000 (Table 2). A peculiar characteristic of migration in Korea is the large share of unauthorized migrant workers. About percent of migrant workers, have been unauthorized workers during the past decade. Table 2 shows this rapid increase in unauthorized workers for all years except 1998, when the Asian financial crisis hit Korea. The migration flows to Korea began with visiting Korean-Chinese who found work opportunities on construction sites in the late 1980s. They were followed by Filipinos and Bangladeshis who filled labor shortages in the manufacturing sector in the early 1990s (Table 3). Until the early 1990s, Korean-Chinese, Filipinos and Bangladeshis were the major groups working in Korea. With the introduction of the trainee program, which imported trainees from different Asian countries, the ethnic composition of migrant workers has diversified (Table 3). As of 2002 Korean-Chinese are still the dominant group, seconded by the Chinese. Presently, migrant workers are drawn from over 90 countries.

5 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 131 TABLE 2 NUMBER OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN KOREA BY STATUS, Year Industrial Trainees Unauthorized Total Migrant Workers Trainees (D-3s) Regular Workers (E-8) ,402-18, ,877-42, , ,528-70, ,048 a (27.7)* - 54,508 (32.5) 62,556 (31.9) ,050 a (31.3) - 48,231 (30.7) 72,281 (30.9) ,716 a (35.6) - 83,103 (33.0) 125,819 (33.9) ,791 b (32.4) - 129,054 (32.1) 175,845 (32.2) ,416 b (30.6) - 148,048 (31.9) 209,464 (31.5) ,820 b (33.5) - 99,537 (34.6) 141,357 (34.3) ,944 b (31.5) - 135,338 (35.5) 196,433 (34.8) ,492 b (29.2) 2,068 (24.2) 188,995 (36.0) 260,550 (34.1) ,855 b (30.4) 8,065 (20.6) 255,206 (35.9) 307,126 (34.7) ,699 b (30.0) 12,191 (22.1) 289,239 (36.3) 335,129 (35.1) SOURCES: Data for are from Lee (1998:41); data for are recalculated from the Ministry of Justice, ROK ( ) NOTES: * Figures in parentheses refer to percent female. - Not classified a Registered trainees b Registered trainees; those who ran away and became unauthorized.

6 132 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL TABLE 3 SOURCE COUNTRIES OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN KOREA, 1993 AND 2002 (IN PERCENTAGE) Country Male Female Total Male Female Total China Korean-Chinese Chinese Philippines Vietnam Indonesia Thailand Bangladesh Pakistan India Nepal Mongolia Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Others Total N 42,630 19,926 62, , , ,129 SOURCE: Ministry of Justice (1993:238, 286; 2002:272, 328, 468) Government Policies on Immigration Korea s Immigration Law prohibited unskilled labor immigration until the early 1990s. As the labor shortages worsened, the Korean government began to utilize the trainee program as an avenue for importing unskilled migrant workers beginning in The government decided to expand the industrial trainee program in November 1993, and later modified it into the employment after trainee program. The change allowed trainees to receive one-year work permits upon completing two years of training and passing an examination. 2 In April 2000, this was further modified by 1 Originally, the trainee program allowed Korean firms with overseas operations to bring their foreign employees to Korea for training. 2 These are regular workers who were previously trainees (E-8 visa-holders) in Table 4.

7 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 133 allowing trainees to receive a two-year work permit upon completing a year of training and passing a qualifying examination. This new program is similar to the technical internship program in Japan. Thus, instead of opening its door to unskilled migrant workers, the Korean government used a loophole in the law by accepting migrant workers disguised as trainees. The major reason for the trainee program is to maximize economic benefits and to minimize social costs. As 'trainees,' the government and employers avail of cheap and docile labor, with the flexibility to cut jobs when required. Because trainees are not regular workers by definition, their training allowances are set very low, and they could not participate in any labor movements. Moreover, since their permitted stay is short (about two to three years) in Korea, they can neither form families nor bring their families with them. However, the trainee program did not work out as planned. It has instead become a pool of unauthorized workers. Migrant workers began to protest against their conditions, with the support of civil society movements. As the majority of migrants are unauthorized, the government cannot control their stay and the formation of families. Therefore, migrant workers are neither as cheap nor as docile as the government or employer groups intended. Table 4 shows that over 30 percent of registered trainees ran away and became unauthorized workers. The proportion of trainees becoming unauthorized workers has increased over time: about percent of trainees became unauthorized in 2002; and about 35 percent of trainees-turned-regular workers also became unauthorized workers in By the end of 2001, the number of unauthorized workers was over 250,000 (see Table 2). In 2002, the government offered another amnesty program: unauthorized workers who voluntarily register with local authorities between 15 March and 29 May 2002 would be allowed to stay in Korea until March About 260,000 such migrants registered. On 15 July 2002, the government announced a two-fold plan: to repatriate the approximately 260,000 registered unauthorized workers by the end of March 2003, without requiring them to pay penalties 3 and to allow Korean-Chinese to work in restaurants and other service industries from late As regards the first plan, it is unrealistic because such large numbers of migrants cannot return to their home countries within a short period. Also, many small firms would have to close their operations without these 3 The fine varies according to the duration of overstaying in Korea, ranging from 500,000 to 10 million Korean won. However, if migrants cannot afford the penalty, they are just expelled and prohibited from revisiting Korea.

8 134 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL TABLE 4 NUMBER OF REGISTERED TRAINEES AND TRAINEES TURNED REGULAR WORKERS Trainees Trainees who became Year Trainees Under Joint Venture (D-3-1) Industrial Trainees (D-3-2 to D-3-5) Regular Workers(E-8) , , , , , , , ,212 [31.2] (29.8) , ,150 [32.0] (28.8) ,770 - (52.3)** 44,444 [34.9] (20.9) ,774 [37.4]* (53.3) 57,171 [32.9] (20.6) ,103 [43.0] (54.0) 78,744 [33.7] (20.5) 2,068 [0.2] (24.2) ,830 [52.0] (52.6) 74,514 [56.3] (19.9) 9,684 [16.7] (20.7) ,502 [53.2] (51.9) 69,355 [65.2] (18.1) 18,609 [34.5] (21.1) SOURCES: For the years, , Lee (1998:41); for , numbers are recalculated from the Ministry of Justice ( ); and for , numbers are recalculated from the Ministry of Justice ( ). NOTES: - not classified * Percentages in brackets refer to those who came to Korea as trainees but ran away from their sponsors. ** Percentages in parentheses refer to percent female.

9 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 135 workers. Since the government often extended the deadlines for amnesty programs in the past decade, only a few migrant workers worried about the deadline in the 2002 amnesty. As expected, the deadline was extended until August The second plan is only symbolic and legitimizes an existing practice. A significant number of Korean-Chinese, especially Korean-Chinese women, have already worked in the service industry since the early 1990s. Furthermore, if the Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans Act will include Korean-Chinese from 2004, restrictions on their entrance to and employment in Korea will no longer apply. 4 Gender Issues in Labor Migration to South Korea Patterns of Female Migration As mentioned earlier, the proportion of female migrants in Korea has been about percent during the past decade. In 2002, there were about 120,000 migrant women in Korea. Like their male counterparts, the ethnic background of migrant women has diversified since the early 1990s. Korean-Chinese and Filipinos were the major groups of migrant women in 1993 (Table 3). However, Chinese women (29.6 percent) became the second largest group after the Korean-Chinese (33.9 percent) in 2002, followed by other ethnic groups such as Thais (7.2 percent), Filipinos (6.2 percent), Vietnamese (5.3 percent) and Mongolians (5.3 percent). Chinese women became the second largest group in Korea because many employers brought in these women as trainees under joint ventures in order to save on labor costs. The current trainee program consists of two systems: one is the "trainee under joint venture (D-3-1 visa holders), which applies to Korean firms with overseas operation, and the other is the industrial trainee program" (D-3-2 to D-3-5 visa holders). 5 Since 1995, the wages of industrial trainees have increased due to migrant and civil society movements (as 4 The Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans Act was passed in It permitted overseas Koreans to enter, work and engage in economic activities more easily than before. However, this law only applied to overseas Koreans who left Korea after 1948, i.e., the founding year of the Republic of Korea. Ethnic-Koreans in China and Russia who left Korea between the late 19 th century and the period of Japanese colonization ( ) were excluded by this law. In November 2001the Constitutional Court decided that the exclusion of Korean-Chinese and Korean-Russians by the Act was a violation of the Constitution. Therefore, the amended Act will extend similar privileges to Korean-Chinese and Korean-Russians from Almost all trainees were assigned to work in the manufacturing industry (D-3-2), although some were imported for the fishery sector (D-3-3) or the Construction Cooperation Association (D-3-5).

10 136 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL explained below). In response, many employers began to bring in female Chinese as trainees under joint ventures" (Table 4). This scheme is beneficial to employers because workers salaries are based on the wages in their home countries. If we compare the proportion of female migrants in each ethnic group (Table 3), Korean-Chinese, Chinese and Mongolians are three groups where about 45 percent are women. Among Filipinos, Vietnamese and Thais, women migrants account for 35 percent of the total. For Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, and Indians, women comprise less than five percent. Like their male counterparts, the majority of female migrant workers have been unauthorized workers. Therefore there is no exact information about them, although the manufacturing and service industries are known to absorb most of them. The 2002 amnesty some 96 percent of unauthorized migrants registered between March and May 2002 (Ministry of Justice, 2002b: Yenhap News, 1 June 2002) provide valuable information on the industries where they work. According to unpublished registration data, 35 percent (89,556) of the 255,978 unauthorized migrants who registered were female. Based on the registration data from the Ministry of Justice and other official statistics (Ministry of Justice, 2002), the services (42 percent) and manufacturing (35 percent) are the two major industries employing migrant women (Table 5). Sixty-six percent of Korean-Chinese women and 44 percent of Chinese women are in the service industry. Ninety-six percent of all female migrants in the service industry are from these two ethnic groups. Table 5 also shows that only about 10 percent (9,100) of unauthorized migrant women work as domestic workers. In Asia, Filipino women predominate as domestic workers in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan (until the late 1990s), where they enjoy comparative advantage because of their facility in English. Employers prefer Filipino domestic workers because they can teach English to their children, in addition to performing household work. However, less than one percent (57) of Filipino women worked in domestic services in Korea in Instead, the sector is dominated by Korean Chinese and Chinese women (Table 5). The greater participation of women from these ethnic groups in Korea's service sector can be explained by shared cultural background, facility in Korean language, and similar looks or appearance vis-à-vis the local population. Explaining gendered migration in Japan, Yamanaka (2003) pointed out that the major reason for importing Nikkeijin (Japanese descendants) women as factory workers instead of domestic workers was to avoid fundamental changes in the areas of gender, labor and family, thus contributing to the preservation of patriarchal gender ideologies and practices. By supplementing Japanese women with Nikkeijin women in factories, employers voided the demands for organizational reforms to eliminate gender in-

11 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 137 TABLE 5 FEMALE MIGRANT WORKERS BY INDUSTRY, 2002 Female Agriculture/ Migrants Fishery Manufacturing Construction Service* Unknown Total (%) Legal Status Documented 1 12, Unauthorized 2 89, (10.2) Total 102, (8.9) Ethnic Group Korean-Chinese 41, (15.0) Chinese 30, (8.6) Filipinos 6, (0.9) Vietnamese 4, (0.1) Indonesian 2, (0.1) Thai 4, (0.2) Mongols 6, (1.4) Uzbekistan 1, (0.7) Others 3, (0.7) Total 102, (8.9) SOURCES: 1 Ministry of Justice (2002) 2 Unpublished data from the Ministry of Justice as of NOTE: * Figures in parentheses refer to migrant women in domestic work.

12 138 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL equality in the workplace. Also the Japanese government avoided an increase in child-care subsidies and facilities asked by employers and working families. At the same time Japanese couples and the society at large avoided confronting unequal gender roles that assign women to reproductive roles and men to productive roles. Some authors have remarked on the gendered labor market in Japan, which offers men the possibility of lifetime employment in large firms while most women, especially married ones, are relegated to part-time employment in the secondary labor market (Lee et al., 2000; Yu, 1999). Acording to Brinton (1993), due to a strong cultural value placed on coherent work units that require lifetime loyalty, women are severely disadvantaged in pursuing careers in Japanese firms. Such concomitant practices of lifetime employment as in-company training, job rotation, promotional transfer and uninterrupted employment not only exclude women's entry into the labor market, but also close their opportunities for organizational advancement. The lifetime employment system that was adopted by the government sector and large corporations throughout the post-world War II era is currently undergoing significant change as globalization, technological progress and other forces demand an expansion of flexible labor in the economy (see Yamanaka, 2003). As a result, the labor force participation of women has remained in the 'M-shape' pattern, unlike the 'inverted U- shape' pattern observed in Taiwan (Han, 2000). The pattern of Korean women's labor force participation is similar to the 'M-pattern' noted of Japanese women. About 70 percent of Korean women have intermittent work or are engaged in temporary work (Lee, 2002). With lower labor force participation, more interrupted careers, and irregular employment Japanese and Korean families do not need domestic workers, unlike their counterparts in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Instead, a greater demand for female entertainers has characterized labor migration to Japan, a pattern that is also emerging in Korea. 6 Female Entertainers In Korea, the influx of foreign female entertainers has increased since 1996, facilitated by the change from a permission to report system. As Figure 1 shows, there were 345 female entertainers who came to Korea in By 6 Like Japan, the rigid separation of women and men in their public and private roles accounts for the proliferation of entertainment businesses catering to men (Douglass, 2000, as cited in Yamanaka, 2003).

13 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 139 FIGURE 1 INFLUX OF FOREIGN FEMALE ENTERTAINERS, Russia Total Philippines Russians SOURCE: Table 7, Ministry of Justice ( ) 2001, the number increased to 7,000 and dropped to 5,000 in The Philippines was the major sending country until 1998, after which Russia became the major source country of female entertainers to Korea. According to a report released by the Ministry of Justice, about 90 percent of these entertainers are working in bars, clubs, hotels and clubs near the US military bases in Korea (Josun Ilbo, 27 September 2002). 7 Because prostitution is against the law, it takes place clandestinely. Entertainment visas (E-6) are processed on behalf of and controlled by foreign-related organizations or agencies approved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The women enter the country with an E-6 visa, which permits them to work in the arts and entertainment industry, but many of them find themselves confined to brothels and forced to work as sex slaves, with their passports usually taken from them by bar- and club-owners (Back, 2000; 7 There are 222 clubs for the 37,000 US troops stationed in Korea in 2002 (Josun Ilbo, 28 September 2002).

14 140 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL Joo, 2001; KCWU, 1999; Kim and Oh, 2002; Kim, 2000; Kim, 2001; Ko, 1999; PAHRM, 2000). According to the Ministry of Justice (2002a: 272, 471), about 6,000 foreign female entertainers were in Korea in 2002, and about 27 percent of them overstayed their usual six-month period of stay. However, the exact number of foreign women in the sex industry is not known, because many Russian and Filipina women entered Korea with tourist visas. According to civic groups, in 2000 there were at least 20,000 foreign women in the sex industry (Kim, 2001; PAHRM, 2000). The increase of foreign female entertainers, especially Filipino and Russian women, can be explained by several factors. First, local Korean women tend to avoid working as entertainers or sex-workers. Second, some US military men prefer Filipinas with whom they can communicate in English; others prefer white women. Club- and bar-owners recruited Filipino and Russian entertainers in response to these demands" (Back, 2000). Third, the increase of Russian peddlers and businessmen in Pusan, who come to Korea to buy Korean products in order to sell them back home, contributes to the influx of Russian entertainers who cater to co-ethnics (PAHRM, 2000). Finally, Korean men stereotypes of Caucasian and other Asian women have also created a demand for foreign entertainers or sex workers among local men. International Marriages The rising number of migrant workers in the country has also been accompanied by the growing number of international marriages. There are two types of marriages among migrant workers: marriages within the same ethnic group and inter-ethnic or international marriages. Since the majority of migrant workers are unauthorized their marriages are not reported in official statistics, unless they marry Koreans. Therefore, it is not easy to determine how many inter-ethnic marriages take place in Korea. International marriage involving Koreans and non-koreans show some patterns. Young Korean male factory workers are not likely to marry female migrant workers. Instead, lower-class, middle-aged Korean men, such as farmers, disabled and/or poor men, whom Korean women are reluctant to marry, tend to import foreign picture-brides. Figure 2 presents the number of Koreans who registered their international marriages for the years 1990 to 2002 (Korea National Statistical Office, ). It shows that fewer Korean men were in international marriages until 1992; 8 8 International marriages in Korea traditionally involved Korean women marrying out, mostly to American or Japanese men.

15 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 141 FIGURE 2 NUMBER OF REGISTERED INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGES, A. KOREAN MEN - FOREIGN WOMEN MARRIAGES Chinese Other Total B. KOREAN WOMEN - FOREIGN MEN MARRIAGES Chinese Other Total SOURCE: Ministry of Justice ( )

16 142 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL TABLE 6 SOURCE COUNTRIES OF FOREIGN SPOUSES OF KOREANS, Foreign Foreign Foreign Foreign Countries Wives Husbands Wives Husbands China 12, , Korean-Chinese 9, , Chinese 2, , Philippine 2, , Vietnam Indonesia Nepal Bangladesh Uzbekistan Thailand Pakistan Kazakhstan Mongolia Other 7, ,391 1,061 Total 24, ,900 1,810 SOURCE: Korea National Statistical Office ( ) NOTES: Data for 2001 refer to F-1-3 visa holders; data for 2002 refer to F F-2-1 visa holders. and that there had been more changes in the incidence of international marriages for Korean men than Korean women (Table 6). Figure 2 shows that while the number of Korean women marrying foreign men was stable (around 4,000) until 1997 with a slight increase to 5,000 after the number of Korean men in international marriages had rapidly increased since There were about 600 Korean men in intermarriages in 1990, rising to 2,057 in 1992, peaking at 12,647 in 1996, falling to 5,775 in 1999, then rising again to 11,017 in The fluctuation reflects the economic crisis in Korea in 1997 and 1998 and the change in the Nationality Law in 1998, which is further explained below. Korean-Chinese and Filipina picture (or matchmaking) brides for Korean farmers have contributed significantly to this phenomenon. 9 In the case of Chinese brides, their numbers grew since Korea 9 The term picture bride is used in relation to a marriage arranged by brokers or organizations - a Korean man chooses a bride from the pictures of several women.

17 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 143 and China began to have official relations in The Korea Red Cross Organization and local governments have organized international marriages, bringing Korean-Chinese and Filipina brides to Korea. Several hundred Korean men, reportedly paid US$2,000 each and were computermatched with 984 Filipino women by a Korean religious sect (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 25 January 1996; KCWU, 1999:53). Historically, there has been a serious prejudice against international marriage in Korea. Korean women who marry foreigners have been stigmatized as their marriage to foreign men has been somehow linked to Korea s invasion by other countries. A significant number of international marriages were between Korean women and US service men stationed in Korea since The term Yanggonju (meaning vulgar and shameful social objects) and GI Brides referred to Korean women who engage in sex work or marry American soldiers (Kim, 1998). Therefore, Kosian families, i.e., Korean wives with foreign husbands and their mixed-blood children have faced not only social prejudice but also legal difficulties. Presently, the term Kosian refers to the children of Korean women and their Asian spouses. The term has actually expanded to include children of Korean men and Asian picture brides. 10 The old Korean Nationality Law, which was in place between 1948 and 1998, provided that the nationality of children in international marriages should follow a paternal line. It meant that children with a Korean mother and a foreign father could not acquire Korean nationality by birth. As explained in the next section, this was revised in June The Korean Immigration Law also discriminated on gender. Up until May 2002, it was easy for foreign wives to get residence (F-2) visas. However, it was impossible for foreign husbands to get F-2 visas. Before the change in May 2002, the foreign husbands of Korean women could only get the Visiting and Joining Families (F-1) visas. F-1 visa holders find it more difficult to adjust to Korean society because their approved periods of stay are shorter than F- 2 visa holders. In addition, F-1 visa holders could not apply for permission to work in Korea. Furthermore, because most migrant worker husbands were unauthorized workers, their precarious legal and working status caused serious problems for these families. According to Table 6, the number of Kosian families was about 2,000 in 2002, but civic groups peg the number to be between 5,000 and 10,000 for the same year (HRSWM, 2001). 11 How these gender-discriminatory laws were changed is reviewed in the following section. 10 I use the term Kosian to refer to families of Korean women and their Asian husbands. 11 For more information, see the homepage of HRSWM (

18 144 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL Engagement of Civil Society with Migration Issues Labor and civil society movements became active during the 1980s, and became vigorous from the start of Kim Young Sam s administration ( ), the first civilian president. Until the early 1990s, the labor unions and labor-related NGOs opposed imported labor because of the perception that migrant labor has negative effects on local labor movements, wages, working conditions and unemployment rates. However, the presence of significant numbers of migrant workers who were working under difficult conditions prompted some local religious and civic groups to pay attention to the plight of migrant workers. Since the early 1990s, Filipino migrant men and women have gathered in a Catholic church in Jayangdong, Seoul for worship. They were able to have their own mass with the help of a Filipino nun and pastors. In August 1992, the Consulting Center for Migrants (CCM) was established in the Myungdong Catholic Church, a well-known place for labor movements even during the oppressive military regimes. The CCM not only offered services and assistance on labor- and immigration-related matters, but it also supported the formation of migrant workers organizations. The Sampaguita Philippines Community and the Nepalese Consulting Committee were established in September 1992 and in January 1993, respectively (Lee, JH, 2003; Seol, 2003:5). The first significant public protest by unauthorized migrant workers occurred in January 1994, when 15 migrant workers from the Philippines, Nepal and other Asian countries had a sit-in protest for almost a month at the Citizens Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), a well-known civic NGO in Korea. This successful protest moved the government to promise migrant workers compensation for work-related injuries. The second was a sit-in protest by 13 Nepalese trainees at the Myungdong Cathedral for about two weeks in January 1995 (see also Lim, 2003). Several civic NGOs also participated in this protest. This protest also prompted the government to grant foreign trainees at least the minimum wage in Korea. The effects of these two protests not only improved the situation of migrant workers but also increased the numbers of migrant-related NGOs and their coalitions from The number of such NGOs was about 30 in 1994, but it grew to about 90 in 2000 (Seol, 2002: 4). 12 Because the majority of migrants are unauthorized, it is difficult for them to organize themselves. Lack of resources, language problems, and 12 The background of such NGOs was religious (87.8 percent), professional (6.7 percent), or civil movement-related (5.6 percent) (Seol, 2002: 4). A significant number of NGO leaders had labor movement experience, even under the oppressive military regimes during the 1970s and 1980s.

19 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 145 their relatively short stay in Korea are important obstacles. However, some serious migrant grassroots movements have emerged and civic and migrant-related NGOs have played important roles in these developments. The NGOs have supported not only the formation of self-help organizations for migrants but also in increasing public awareness of migrant issues. There are about 20 migrant self-help organizations in Korea now. However, their formation varies by ethnicity or nationality. For example, Filipinos and Nepalese have had their own organizations for a longer period. Due to their longer history of migration or working abroad, they seem to have better know-how than other groups. 13 Religious affiliation is also important for some migrants. For example, Filipinos can easily find a Catholic church near their workplace in Korea, but Indonesians cannot as easily find a mosque. Also migrant workers from communist countries seem to refrain from joining social movements. Korean-Chinese, Han-Chinese and Vietnamese do not have their own organizations. As the number of migrant-support NGOs grew, these NGOs became professionalized concerning specific issues such as gender. From 1996, some NGOs began to focus on migrant women s issues: low pay, sexual harassment, pregnancy, abortion, and maternity-related problems. As noted, the wages of trainees have improved since 1995, and therefore the wage gap between trainees and unauthorized workers has narrowed. According to Lee (2003), although all migrant workers in factories earned significantly less than local workers in 1998, the earnings differentials by gender were less serious than those by ethnicity. Therefore, the most important issue for migrant workers in general is how to replace the current trainee program with a work permit program. Under the latter scheme, female migrant workers in factories could benefit from the Equal Employment Act Regardless of Gender, Maternity Protection Law, and other protective laws. 14 Another gender-specific issue in Korea is related to migrant families, especially those in international marriages. As the number of international marriages increases, the human rights problems of these families and their children become more apparent. Most international couples have some difficulties adjusting to the so-called homogeneous Korean society. However, families comprised of a Korean wife and a non-korean husband face the most serious problems due to gender and racial discrimination. As 13 For Nepalese experiences abroad, see Yamanaka (2000). 14 For more detailed information on women-related laws in Korea, see Moon (2002) and the homepage of Korea Women s Associations United (KWAU) at

20 146 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL mentioned earlier, prior to 1998, the Nationality Law did not allow children in international marriages to have Korean nationality by birth, if the father were a foreigner. Instead, the children took up their father s nationality. In addition, it was impossible for unauthorized workers to register their marriage. Later, they could register, but they would have to go through a very complicated and costly process. For example, these workers have to return to their countries after paying fines for overstaying, then return to Korea in order to register their marriage. Once they have registered their marriage, they could only get a Visiting and Joining Families (F-1) Visa, which did not allow them to work in the country for two years until they are eligible for a Residence (F-2) Visa. The less than 2,000 Kosian couples in 2002 are likely to be an underestimate (Table 6). Many couples tend not to register their marriages; they simply live together. As noted earlier, civic groups estimate that about 5,000 to 10,000 international families lived in Korea in Kosian families began to voice out their difficulties and complaints from One other gender-specific issue is related to trafficking in women for sex work in US military bases and other districts in the country. The influx of foreign female entertainers since 1996 has uncovered serious problems such as confinement, violence, forced prostitution and withholding of passports and salaries (Back, 2000; Kim, 2001; PAHRM, 2000). Recently, several civic groups have begun to highlight the human rights issues of trafficked women. Although there are now over 100 migrant-related NGOs in Korea, there are few NGOs which are specifically concerned with migrant women s issues. There are presently about 20 migrant self-help organizations by ethnicity. But only Filipinos have organized a gender-specific organization, called Women on the Move. 15 It began with 20 Filipino members on 1 August 1999, and increased to 64 by the end of the same year. Although it organized seminars in 1999 and 2000, the organization s activities have been limited to personal communication only within their group. According to Lee (2003), most Korean employers hire only one-ethnic group due to communication and management reasons, so it is difficult for migrant workers to meet other ethnic migrants in their working places. Therefore, their activities have not been inclusive nor have they reached out to other migrant women belonging to various ethnic groups. Of some ten NGOs dealing with migrant women s issues, two are most prominent. The first is the Counseling Center for Migrant Women Workers, 15 The group has its own homepage ( KASAMMAKO.html).

21 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 147 established by the Korean Church Women United (KCWU) in The second is the Human Rights Solidarity for Women and Migration (HRSWM), an organization of several NGOs formed in It has publicized gender issues, especially families in international marriages and migrant women in the sex industry. Recently, several other organizations, such as the Migrant Workers Union and Saewoomtuh 18 began to cooperate with the HRSWM. In addition, the Migrant Women s Shelter of the Seoul Migrants Center offers services for survivors of domestic or workplace violence and for migrant women with maternal-related health problems, such as miscarriages and the delivery of children. Although the number of gender-specific NGOs is small, their activities have been impressive. The NGOs advancing for the rights of Kosian families and migrant women in the sex industry are good examples. First, there have been several self-help organizations for interethnic couples initiated by several NGOs, such as the Kosian Families, Ne-Co Families, and Migrant Families Association. They began grassroots movements, such as initiating street protests, submitting written petitions and filing lawsuits. These activities, along with other general feminist movements in Korea, helped to compel the government to revise the Nationality Law in June However, an underlying reason for the government to revise it was to prevent disguised marriages, especially by Korean-Chinese women. While the revision has had positive effects on Kosian families, it has negative effects on the picture-brides. Before the revision, Korean-Chinese and Filipino brides could get Korean nationality by marriage to a Korean man. After 1998, however, they received F-2 visas and they have to wait for at least two years to apply for Korean nationality. Therefore, if they divorced or their Korean husbands died within the two-year period, their stay in Korea becomes unauthorized. Several NGOs, especially gender-specific NGOs and those concerned with Korean-Chinese, have asked the government to create a special category for such cases. The Kosian families struggle to change F-visa regulations led to another positive change. Since May 2002, all spouses of Korean nationals, regardless of gender, can get Resident (F-2) visas. It means that migrant husbands can 16 From 1996, it began to focus on gender issues, such as female trainees, unauthorized workers and female workers in the sex industry. Its report (KCWU, 1999) highlighted Filipino entertainers problems around the US military bases. Its on-line site, also provides important information and news on migrant women. 17 See also 18 Saewoomtuh is an NGO that has long offered counseling and shelter to women in the sex trade around US military bases in Kyunggi Province.

22 148 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL now apply for permit of employment at the Immigration Bureau. The NGOs and Kosian families are now closely watching the processes and outcomes of these changes. These examples show the success of Korean wives with foreign husbands in organizing and voicing their difficulties. Despite their small number, the coalition of Kosian families with some gender-specific migrant NGOs was able to draw public attention to their concerns. On the other hand, the much larger number of picture-brides or foreign wives have yet to organize themselves. These women face difficulties inside and outside their households, such as violence, mistreatment and prejudice. The fact that most picture brides live in the countryside or are scattered around Korea, as well as their domestic isolation, make it difficult for them to gather together and organize. In contrast, the Kosian families are concentrated in the manufacturing areas where they or their foreign husbands are working. The entry of more foreign migrant women in the sex industry has prompted gender-specific NGOs to raise the issue of sex-trafficking. Several local and international symposia have been held to fight sex trafficking. The increasing calls by NGOs for government action on serious infringements of sex workers human rights have been highlighted by bar fires in September 2000 and February 2002, where several local women were killed. These accidents revealed the slavery-like conditions of sex-workers, who were confined in rooms with locked doors and windows. These incidents further raised public awareness about sex trafficking. The civil society and feminist movements have contributed to advancing revisions in the bill on the Prohibition and Sanction of Prostitution. The bill provides for the punishment of traffickers and recognizes women in the sex industry as victims rather than as criminals. 19 The new bill has implications for migrant women. It has been pending in the National Assembly since 2002 and civic and feminist groups are monitoring the process. Discussion and Conclusion This article has examined patterns of gendered migration and work in relation to female migration to Korea. Women comprise about percent of Korea s migrants during the last decade, most of whom are unautho- 19 Although Korea s anti-prostitution laws date back to 1961, the laws tend to protect male clients while they disadvantage the women, labeling them as morally corrupt because of the perception that they earn money without working hard for it. This dual perspective has allowed the sex industry to flourish in Korea while female sex workers have suffered various abuses and exploitation.

23 GENDER, MIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN SOUTH KOREA 149 rized. Korean-Chinese and Chinese are the major migrant groups in Korea now, although other Southeast and South Asian women are part of the migration stream. Migrant women are mainly in the service sector, where they work as assistant cooks, dishwashers, cleaners or domestic workers, and manufacturing, where they are employed as production workers in factories. The influx of female entertainers has increased rapidly, and Russia has become the leading country of origin since 1998, followed by the Philippines. Issues concerning migrant families and children have also become important in Korea. A reason for the lower feminization of migration in Korea lies in the position of women in the labor market, which is characterized by very slow growth of labor force participation rates, the M-shape career patterns, much irregular employment, and labor market segmentation by gender (Kim, 2003). About 50 percent of Korean women are working in the labor market. The majority (70 percent) of Korean women workers are irregularly employed, and their work is frequently interrupted by marriage and childrearing (Kim, 2003; Lee, 2002). The position of women in Korea s labor market is similar to the pattern observed in Japan. The situation is different in Taiwan where the majority of women are regular workers. As such, their work participation is marked by few interruptions; their employment pattern is almost an inverted U, very similar to men's work patterns (Han, 2000). In addition, the concept of the welfare state is a relatively recent phenomenon in Asia compared to Europe. Therefore, there are few institutional and legal support systems for working mothers. These factors help explain the higher demand for foreign domestic workers in Taiwan and Singapore than in Korea and Japan. In other words, the relatively weak position of Korean women in the labor market tends to reduce the need for foreign domestic workers. This might change soon. From December 2002 the Korean government allowed a maximum of 50,000 Korean-Chinese to work for up to two years as domestic workers, cleaners and health assistants. Therefore, it is expected that the feminization of migration will increase in Korea in the near future. As in Japan, female migration to Korea involves entertainers. This phenomenon is related to the presence of the US military bases in Korea. The gender ideology in Korea also contributes to the phenomenon. The division between the public and private spheres, the male-dominated entertainment culture, and men s inclination to be strong, masculine and military-like create a strong foundation for the entertainment industry, especially the sex industry, to flourish. Civil society movements for migrants have promoted the formation of self-help organizations and generated public awareness of migrant issues. Because the majority of migrants in Korea are unauthorized, it is difficult for