The Korean immigration policy displays a dual framework. Viewing from outside it looks accommodating and integrating the foreign immigrants residing in the Korean society without discrimination, under the name of 'multicultural policy', but the realit...
The Korean immigration policy displays a dual framework. Viewing from outside it looks accommodating and integrating the foreign immigrants residing in the Korean society without discrimination, under the name of 'multicultural policy', but the reality of the policy is not quite like that. The target for the detailed practice of the immigration policy is to integrate all the residence within Korea and to promote common prosperity. It is also macroscopically for the all the residence of Korea and resident aliens, and microscopically for the mid-and long stay foreigners who have migrated and lived in Korea over one year. The numbers of the mid-and long term stay foreigners in Korea are approximately over 1.45 millions as of 2013. The composition of their population is classified into: about 560 thousand immigrant workers; about 180 thousand marriage immigrant women, about 300 thousand Chinese-registered Korean Chinese, about 80 thousand foreign students, and then undocumented foreigners.
The issue is that the Korean immigration policy has conflicting political approaches towards those immigrant workers and the marriage immigrant women specifically, among the immigrants. The main targets of the current immigration policy for foreign residents are the immigrant workers and marriage immigrant women, excluding the Koreans with foreign nationality and the foreign students whose population is relatively small. Considering the not-so-long experience of the Korean immigration policy and the short history of emigration to Korea, it might seem to be not strange or unproblematic that the different or conflicting approaches to the different classes of the immigrants. However, the analysis results and insides of the Korean immigration policy has revealed that the political aspects of the policy is not desirable, furthermore, it may be a quite negative policy against social integration of the members of the national community in the future.
Korea has consistently conducted an exclusion policy framework that compelled social elimination and economic control over the immigrant workers that have been increasing greatly since the 1990s. On the contrary, for the marriage immigrant women that have been increasing greatly since the 2000s, the government has conducted an assimilation policy framework that compelled social acceptance and assimilation into the nation.
A large part of such dual framework of the government's immigration policy already has set in. However, the very dualism that applies differently to the different target has gradually become the keyword questioning the flexibility, openness and the acceptability of the Korean society. Both the exclusion policy for the immigrant workers that justifies seeking economic benefit, and the assimilation policy for the marriage immigrant women that premises unconditional assimilation into the nation are excessively national oriented and one sided policies. The dual framework of Korean immigration policy is influenced by the policy that differentiates relevant ministry according to the target, however, more fundamental background of the dual framework arises from the deep-rooted homogeneous-, monoculture-myth mindset of Korean society, and the patriarchal way of thinking, as well as downrating attitude towards the workers.
Thus, in order to convert Korean immigration policy with the above background to a new policy structure, it is necessary to establish a meta framework that can reopen and accept, as well as achieve true social integration of the Korean natives and the immigrants is very urgent. It is because the analysis result of this research has revealed that the dual framework of the current Korean immigration policy tends to bring about more undesirable results with time, therefore, it seems an inappropriate policy for the coexistence of the future natives and the immigrants in Korean society.
Now, Korean immigration policy needs to diverge from the exclusion- or assimilation-oriented dual framework in accordance with the target, and to convert to a new meta framework with the support from civil society, thus implements a true social integration policy to accomodate all the immigrants.