Migration and Diversity in Asian Contexts

4. Selective State Response and Ethnic Minority Incorporation: The South Korean Case

4 SELECTIVE STATE RESPONSE AND ETHNIC MINORITY INCORPORATION The South Korean Case Nora Hui-Jung KIM How do states manage ethnocultural diversity? States have always been eager to control their borders. However, only recently has the importance of states in facilitating or constraining immigrant incorporation drawn academic attention (see Bloemraad 2006; Castles 1995; Freeman 2004; Hagan 2006; James 2005; Jayasuriya 1996; Joppke 1998, 2001; Papademetriou, 2003; Penninx 2003). A state’s immigrant incorporation policies — such as naturalization rules, the provision of administrative services in an immigrant’s native language, and the official endorsement of multiculturalism — can significantly facilitate immigrant settlement processes (Bloemraad 2006; Freeman 2004). Indeed, as Favell aptly noticed, the task of incorporating immigrants is increasingly conceived as “all things a state can ‘do’” (Favell 2005, p. 43). Favell’s observation raises important research questions: Why do states decide to become involved in the business of incorporating ethnic minorities and immigrants? What are some consequences of such state intervention? Comparing the concepts of incorporation, integration, and assimilation highlights the significance of state intervention in immigrant incorporation. 108 Nora Hui-Jung Kim Incorporation and integration are similar concepts, which include the measures and policies that assist immigrants in settling in the host countries. The notion of assimilation, in contrast, indicates a particular mode of incorporation. Assimilation is characterized by the fact that immigrants are expected to adopt the cultural traits and values of the host countries. The well-being of immigrants is influenced by the state’s decision about whether to intervene in the incorporation of immigrants, and also by whether the state requests that immigrants assimilate. In the following section, I discuss and compare different modes of incorporation and their impact on immigrant incorporation in more detail. The questions raised above are important in various Asian contexts. There is an increasing volume of immigration to several Asian countries. The well-being of these immigrants depends largely on specific immigrant incorporation policies. South Korea is one of the states facing the challenge of incorporating ethnic minorities. Korea has often been considered one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world. In recent years, however, the ethnic composition of Korea’s population has become more diverse than ever before — or more accurately, its ethnic diversity has finally been officially recognized. According to immigration statistics, the number of foreigners living in Korea doubled in the past five years, to about 2 per cent of the total population. This proportion is expected to triple in the next five years (Ministry of Justice 2006). The major sources of ethnic diversity include guestworkers and women migrants arriving via marriage arrangements (hereafter referred to as marriage migrants). Since the late 1980s, guestworkers from South and Southeast Asia have immigrated to Korea; by 2008, foreign workers comprised more than 10 per cent of the total labour force and 50 per cent of the entire foreign population in Korea. Although admitted as temporary contract workers, scholars suspect that more than half of such temporary guestworkers in Korea stay beyond their contract period and settle permanently. In addition to guestworkers, the number of marriage migrants is rapidly increasing (Lee 2008; Seol 2006). The number of marriages between a foreign woman and a Korean man as a percentage of total marriages increased from 0.2 per cent in the 1990s to 9.9 per cent in 2005. About 10 per cent of the total foreign population in Korea is composed of marriage migrants (Ministry of Justice 2006). Despite the Korean government’s efforts or intentions, given the growing numbers of long-term guestworkers and marriage migrants, the increasing ethnocultural diversity of Korea seems inevitable. Selective State Response and Ethnic Minority Incorporation 109 Reflecting this trend, the Korean Government has been implementing various immigrant incorporation policies. Former South Korean President Noh, for example, declared that “the trend toward [a] multi-racial/ multicultural society is irresistible” and therefore “it’s high time to take measures to incorporate migrants and adopt multicultural policies” (Park and Park 2006). In terms of tangible policy changes, the South Korean Government passed two pieces of legislation regarding migrant incorporation on 26 April 2006: The Act on the Social Integration of Mixed-Race Koreans and Immigrants, and The Act on Marriage Migrant Integration; these two pieces of legislation provide the blueprint for immigrant incorporation policies. In addition, The Multicultural Family Support Act was introduced in 2007 (Lee 2008). The South Korean state’s recent involvement...