Urban Spaces and Social Integration of Low-Skilled Migrant Workers in Gimhae = 김해 저숙련 이주노동자의 도시 공간과 사회통합

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This thesis examines how local integration policies and urban spaces in Gimhae, South Korea, shape the social integration of low-skilled migrant workers, focusing on everyday contact between migrants and Korean residents. It addresses a gap in Korean research that has largely overlooked low-skilled workers and rarely linked municipal policy to lived integration outcomes. The study combines Ager and Strang's （2008） Indicators of Integration framework with Piekut and Valentine's （2017） Spaces of Encounter framework, applying them to a tiered document analysis of 50 sources and semi-structured interviews with five migrant workers and five Korean residents. The findings show that Gimhae has built a comparatively strong service infrastructure, particularly in language support, physical safety, and institutional provision; however, the policy framework operates primarily as a service-delivery system directed at migrants, with a lack of a formal mandate for programs that bring Korean residents into integration processes as co- participants. Urban spaces produce co-presence rather than sustained encounter, with meaningful inter-group interaction concentrated in a small number of self-selecting settings. A generational imbalance in programming, with bridge-building efforts directed overwhelmingly toward Korean youth while adult residents remain largely outside the encounter architecture, represents a critical gap. The city's governing Support Council formally provides for foreign resident participation, yet no evidence of this occurring appears across three documented council meetings. The thesis concludes that rights and services are necessary but insufficient for sustainable integration. Three recommendations are made: activating the existing ordinance provision for foreign resident participation in the Support Council; developing structured encounter programming specifically for Korean adults above 40; and treating urban design as an integration policy instrument, beginning with the spatial isolation produced by factory dormitories and the symbolic reframing of Dongsang-dong. Keywords: low-skilled migrant workers, social integration, urban spaces, spaces of encounter, public attitudes, Gimhae, municipal integration policy, immigration

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 논문은 경상남도 김해시의 지역 통합 정책과 도시 공간이 저숙련 이주노동자의 사회통합, 특히 이주노동자와 한국인 주민 간의 일상적 접촉에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지를 분석한다. Ager 와 Strang （2008）의 통합 지표 프레임워크와 Piekut 와 Valentine （2017）의 만남의 공간 프레임워크를 결합하여, 50 개 문서에 대한 단계별 분석과 이주노동자 5 명 및 한국인 주민 5 명을 대상으로 한 반구조화 인터뷰를 실시하였다. 분석 결과, 김해시는 언어 지원, 신체적 안전, 제도적 지원 측면에서 비교적 탄탄한 서비스 인프라를 구축하였다. 그러나 정책 프레임워크는 이주민 대상 서비스 제공 방식에 치우쳐 있으며, 한국인 주민을 공동 참여자로 통합 과정에 참여시키는 공식적 규정은 존재하지 않는다. 공장 기숙사, 동상동 외국인 거리, 일상 공유 공간은 지속적인 만남보다 '같은 공간 속 공존' 양상을 만들어 내며, 신뢰 형성으로 이어지는 상호작용은 소수의 제도적 공간에 집중되어 있다. 또한 교량 형성 프로그램이 한국인 청소년 중심으로 설계되어 성인 주민층이 만남 구조에서 소외되는 세대적 불균형이 확인되었다. 2022 년 조례는 외국인 주민의 지원협의회

목차 (Table of Contents)

• INTRODUCTION 1
• 1.1 Background of the Study 1
• 1.2 Problem Statement and Research Gaps 5
• 1.3 Research Questions 7
• 1.4 Hypotheses 8
• 1.5 Significance and Benefits of the Research 9
• 1.6 Overview of Thesis 10
• LITERATURE REVIEW 12
• 2.1 Introduction 12
• 2.2 Characteristics of Immigration for Migrant Workers in Korea 14
• 2.3 Public Attitudes Towards Societal Adaptation of Low-skilled Migrant Workers 19
• 2.4 Migrant Worker Integration in Gimhae, a Turn Towards the Locality 23
• 2.5 Conclusion 28
• CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 30
• 3.1 Introduction 30
• 3.2 Ager and Strang’s Indicators of Integration 31
• 3.2.1 Markers and Means 34
• 3.2.2 Social Connections 36
• 3.2.3 Facilitators 39
• 3.2.4 Foundation 40
• 3.3 Piekut and Valentine’s Spaces of Encounter 42
• 3.4 Conclusion 46
• METHODOLOGY 47
• 4.1 Overview 47
• 4.2 Document Analysis 48
• 4.2.1 Data Processing and Coding 50
• 4.3 Semi-Structured Interviews 52
• 4.4 Interview Data Analysis 56
• 4.5 Reliability and Validity 57
• 4.6 Limitations of the Methods 58
• 4.7 Ethical Considerations 61
• RESULTS 65
• 5.1 Results of Multi-Modal Analysis 65
• 5.2 Formal Promises from the Municipality of Gimhae 67
• 5.2.1 A City Responding Proactively to Its Demographic Reality 67
• 5.2.2 Formal Promises for Facilitators and Social Connections 69
• 5.2.3 Gimhae’s Specialized Integration Model 71
• 5.3 What Gimhae Actually Provides and its Implementation 73
• 5.3.1 Innovations in Language and Cultural Support 73
• 5.3.2 Achievements and Limits of Safety and Stability 78
• 5.3.3 Rights for Migrant Workers and the Foundation Domain 81
• 5.4 Urban Spaces as Contact Zones 83
• 5.4.1 Dongsang-dong as the Multicultural Heart of the City 83
• 5.4.2 Organic Everyday Spaces 87
• 5.4.3 Social Links and Institutional Spaces 89
• 5.4.4 Co-presence as the Current Default 91
• 5.5 Conditions for Sustainable Integration 93
• 5.5.1 Foreign Residents’ Perceptions 94
• 5.5.2 Korean Residents’ Perceptions 97
• 5.5.3 The Contact-Perception Relationship from Both Sides 102
• 5.5.4 Prospects for Sustainable Integration 104
• DISCUSSION 111
• 6.1 Introduction 111
• 6.2 Answering the Research Questions and Hypotheses 112
• 6.2.1 Research Question 1 112
• 6.2.2 Research Question 2 115
• 6.2.3 Research Question 3 117
• 6.2.4 Support for Both Hypotheses 119
• 6.3 Engaging with the Theoretical Frameworks 122
• 6.3.1 Ager and Strang’s Domains of Integration 123
• 6.3.2 Piekut and Valentine’s Spaces of Encounter 126
• 6.3.3 Productive Tension Between the Two Frameworks 128
• 6.4 Situating the Findings in the Broader Literature 129
• 6.4.1 Literature on Korean Integration 130
• 6.4.2 Contact Theory and the Conditions for Change in Public Attitudes. 131
• 6.4.3 Comparative Urban Models and Encounter as a Planning Objective 133
• 6.5 Conclusion 135
• CONCLUSION 137
• 7.1 Introduction 137
• 7.2 Contributions 137
• 7.3 Recommendations for the Municipality of Gimhae 140
• 7.3.1 Encourage Foreign Resident Participation in the Support Council 140
• 7.3.2 Design Dedicated Programming for Adult Korean Residents 143
• 7.3.3 Treat Urban Design as an Integration Policy Instrument 144
• 7.4 Limitations and Directions for Future Research 146
• 7.5 Conclusion 149
• APPENDIX A 153
• APPENDIX B 156
• APPENDIX C 163
• APPENDIX D 167
• APPENDIX E 171
• APPENDIX F 185
• APPENDIX G 201
• REFERENCES 203