Seasonal Migration, Transnational Lives: Filipino Women Agricultural Workers in Jeolla Province, South Korea = 계절이주와 초국가적 삶: 한국 전라지역 필리핀 여성 농업노동자를 중심으로

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines the transnational livelihoods and gendered labor experiences of Filipino women engaged in seasonal agriculture in South Korea. This qualitative study, conducted through in-depth interviews with 16 Filipino female seasonal workers in the Jeolla Province, explores how structural constraints and individual agency intersect to shape women’s migration experiences through narrative inquiry. The analysis primarily focuses on the narratives of married women with children (14 of 16 participants), reflecting the program’s deliberate recruitment priorities and the centrality of maternal obligations to the seasonal migration system. This study examines four interconnected dimensions: (1) gendered mechanisms of labor control and workplace discipline in seasonal agricultural employment; (2) structural forces, including migration policies, labor market conditions, gender ideologies, and family expectations, that shape women’s seasonal migration pathways; (3) the strategies women use to manage transnational motherhood and household responsibilities; and (4) the livelihood strategies women develop within the constraints of short-term contracts, debt structures, and economic precarity.
Grounded in feminist migration scholarship and structuration theory, this study reveals how South Korea’s seasonal worker program operates as a fundamentally gendered migration system that constructs agricultural work as “women’s work” through essentialist discourses on feminine traits such as patience, delicate hands, and docility in specific types of farms. This study demonstrates how policy frameworks, employer preferences, and recruitment practices strategically guide married women with children into circular migration patterns, leveraging maternal obligations as a mechanism to secure their return to the Philippines. Despite facing challenges from language barriers, debt cycles, and employment uncertainty, Filipino women navigate structures through creative transnational mothering practices that foster strategic compliance, workplace adaptation, financial management, and maintaining transnational family bonds.
The findings of this study contribute to migration research by documenting an understudied population, advancing theoretical understanding of how gender and marital status operate at multiple scales in temporary labor migration, and providing evidence for policy advocacy calling for better protections, longer contract durations, reduced migration costs, and pathways beyond forced circularity. This research illuminates the complex interplay between structure and agency in seasonal migration, demonstrating how women develop strategies to navigate systems of constraint while simultaneously reproducing, resisting, and potentially transforming the gender structures that govern their transnational lives. While the study’s focus on married women’s experiences reflects the program’s structural composition, future research is needed to fully capture the distinct experiences of single women seasonal workers.

Keywords: seasonal migration, agricultural work, transnational mothering, Filipino female migrants, South Korea

국문 초록 (Abstract)

이 연구는 한국 내 농업에 종사하는 필리핀 여성 계절이주노동자들의 초국적 생계 활동과 성별화된 노동경험을 분석한다. 이 연구는 전라지역 내 농업에 종사하는 필리핀 여성 계절노동자 16명을 대상으로 심층 인터뷰를 수행하여 수집한 자료를 분석하고, 구조적 제약과 개인의 주체성이 어떻게 교차하여 여성들의 이주경험을 형성하는지 탐구한다. 본 연구는 상호 연결된 네 가지 차원을 검토한다: (1) 계절농업 내 노동통제 및 작업장 규율의 젠더화된 메커니즘; (2) 젠더화된 계절이주의 구조와 경로(이주정책, 노동시장 조건, 성별 이데올로기, 가족 기대 등); (3) 초국적 모성과 가사 관리를 위한 여성이주자의 선택과 전략; (4) 단기계약, 부채 구조, 경제적 불안정성을 대하는 여성이주자의 생계 전략.
이 연구는 페미니스트 이주연구와 구조화 이론에 기반하여 현재 한국에서 시행 중인 외국인 계절근로제도를 살펴본다. 현 제도 하에서 특정 유형의 농업노동이 인내심, 섬세한 손길, 유순함과 같이 ‘여성의 일’로 특징지어지는 본질주의적 담론과 이러한 농업노동이 성별화된 이주체계로 작동하는 방식을 밝힌다. 이 연구는 계절이주노동 정책체계, 고용주 선호도, 모집관행이 어떻게 전략적으로 자녀를 둔 기혼 여성들을 순환이주 패턴으로 유도하며, 모성적 의무를 필리핀으로의 귀환을 보장하는 통제 메커니즘으로 활용되는지 보여준다. 연구 결과, 필리핀 여성이주자들은 언어장벽, 부채순환, 고용 불안정과 같은 구조적 제약에도 불구하고, 전략적 순응, 직장 적응, 재정관리, 초국적 가족유대 유지 등을 포함하는 창의적인 수행과 초국적 모성실천 전략을 구현한다.
이 연구는 기존 연구가 미흡한 여성 계절이주자들의 경험을 살펴봄으로써 이주연구의 확장에 기여하며, 단기계약 노동이주 제도의 운영에서 성별과 결혼 상태가 순환이주 관리의 통제장치로 작동하는 방식을 드러내는 데에 의의를 가진다. 이 연구의 결과는 초국가적 이주노동에 있어 구조와 행위자성의 복잡한 상호작용을 조명하며, 구조적 제약에 대한 이주여성들의 대응전략과 그들의 초국적 삶을 지배하는 젠더구조를 재생산하거나 저항하며 잠재적으로 변형시키는 방식을 보여준다.

주제어: 계절적 이주, 농업 노동, 초국적 모성, 필리핀 여성 이주노동자, 대한민국

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction 1
• 1. Research Background 1
• 2. Purpose of the Research. 4
• 3. Research Questions 6
• II. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework 8
• 1. Literature Review 8
• 1) The Feminization of Agriculture and Seasonal Labor 9
• 2) Circular Migration, Short-term Contracts 12
• 2. Theoretical Framework 14
• 1) The Perspective of Structuration Theory in International Labor Migration 14
• 2) Feminist Perspectives on Agency and Gendered Migration Systems 17
• 3) Transnational Motherhood and Transnational Families 20
• 3. Background of the Seasonal Worker Program 23
• 1) Foreign Seasonal Worker Program in South Korea 23
• 2) Governments as Intermediaries 28
• 3) The Agricultural Sector in Jeolla Province, South Korea 34
• III. Methodology 36
• 1. Research Design 36
• 2. Sampling Methods and Research Participants 36
• 3. Data Collection Methods 39
• 1) Interview Structure and Approach 39
• 2) Interview Process 41
• 4. Data Analysis 43
• IV. Seasonal Agricultural Employment and Gendered Labor 48
• 1. Gendered Selection of Workers and the Myth of Delicate Hands 48
• 2. Gendered Labor Divisions in the Korean Labor Migration System 53
• 3. Gendered Labor Hierarchies in Korean Agricultural Workplaces 55
• 4. Challenges in Workplaces and Contract Employment 58
• 1) The Embodied Knowledge and Language Barriers 58
• 2) Short-Term/Seasonal Employment and Debt Cycle 63
• 3) Uncertainty of Reemployment 68
• V. Transnational Mothering and Livelihood of Seasonal Migrant Women 72
• 1. Gendered Labor Division in the Philippines 72
• 1) Women’s Economic Marginalization, Gendered Wage Gaps, and
• Occupational Segregation in the Philippine Labor Market 72
• 2) Reproductive Labor as Women’s Primary Responsibility 75
• 3) Renegotiating Gender Roles 78
• 4) Husbands as Financial Managers 80
• 2. Transnational Mothering and Managing Transnational Livelihood 81
• 1) The Doubled Burden: Productive and Reproductive 81
• 2) Sending Remittances and Managing Finances 87
• 3) Patterns of Circular Migration 91
• 4) Pursuing Family Goals: Investments and Projects 95
• VI. Contesting and Negotiating Roles as ‘Migrant Workers’ and ‘Mothers’ 99
• 1. Decision-Making and Migration 99
• 1) Choosing Seasonal Migration Among Opportunities 99
• 2) Spousal Permission and Resistance 104
• 3) Mobilizing Resources and Financing Strategies 107
• 2. Workplace: Compliance and Adaptation 110
• 1) Strategic Compliance: Working Hard 110
• 2) Adaptation and Learning: Becoming Competent Workers 113
• 3. Family Negotiation 115
• 1) Maintaining Motherhood Across Distance 115
• 2) Financial Control: Between Autonomy and Obligation 118
• 4. Prospects of Women Agricultural Workers Amid Uncertainty 121
• VII. Conclusion 124
• 1. Summary of the Findings 124
• 2. Implication of the Study 130
• 3. Recommendation 132
• 4. Limitations of the Research 135
• References 138
• Abstract in Korean 156
• Appendices 158