John Hunsoo Byun
Yongsan International School
Abstract
In the 1980s, South Korea exported its own citizens as foreign labor; within a generation, it became a destination for migrant workers, reproducing many of the same exploitative dynamics its own people once endured abroad. This essay argues that contemporary South Korea fails to equitably treat migrant workers due to three interlocking forces: a colonial-era ethnic nationalism rooted in the concept of danil minjok, or monoethnic peoplehood; urban governance practices that spatially label and segregate migrant neighborhoods under the guise of multicultural celebration; and a racial and linguistic hierarchy that privileges white, English-speaking migrants over Southeast and South Asian workers regardless of qualification. Drawing on historical analysis, social construction theory, and recent labor data, the essay shows how these forces combine to position migrants as economically necessary but socially marginal, before concluding with five policy recommendations, including a comprehensive anti- discrimination law, replacement of symbolic multicultural designations with material investment, and reform of the racially stratified visa system.
