Scholarship dealing with the promotion of migrants' rights has developed largely against the backdrop of experiences in Western liberal democratic countries. As a consequence, the roles of the state and global human rights regime have been emphasized to explain the expansion of migrants' rights. Looking at the enactment process of the Employment Permit System in South Korea, this paper argues that local pro-immigrant NGOs played a more crucial role in the promotion of migrants' rights than the state or international human rights norms. Findings of the study also point to the possible implications of the Korean experience for new immigration countries in Asia, most of which have a history of a strong state with little recognition of human rights and an immigration policy that is generally restrictive.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BenfordRobert D.SnowDavid A.2000“Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment,”Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1):611–639.
2.
BoswellChristina2007“Theorizing Migration Policy: Is There a Third Way?”International Migration Review, 41(1):75–100.
3.
CastellsManuel2000The Rise of the Network Society. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
4.
CastlesStephenDavidsonAlastair2000Citizenship and Migration: Globalization and the Politics of Belonging. New York: Routledge.
Chosun Ilbo (Chosun Newspaper)2003“Oegugin 220,000 ghangje chulgug momyen (220,000 Foreigners do not have to be forced to depart),” 1 August.
8.
ChuKyo-Yoon2005“The Role of the Catholic Church in the Democratization of Korea” (in Korean), PhD dissertation, Department of Sociology, Korea University, Seoul.
9.
CorneliusWayneMartinPhilipHollifieldJames, eds. 1994“Introduction: The Ambivalent Quest of Immigration Control.” In Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
10.
Foreign Workers Labor Counseling Office1998“A Report on Foreign Workers 1997.” In God, Human Beings and Labor, Vol. 11 (in Korean). Edited by the Labor Pastoral Commission. Seoul: Seoul Archdiocese.
11.
FreemanGary1995“Models of Immigration Politics in Liberal Democratic States,”International Migration Review, 24(4):881–902.
12.
GurowitzAmy1999“Mobilizing International Norms: Domestic Actors, Immigrants, and the Japanese State,”World Politics, 51(3):413–445.
13.
HollifieldJames F.2000“The Politics of International Migration: How Can We “Bring the State Back In?” In Migration Theory: Talking Across Disciplines. Edited by BrettellCaroline B.HollifieldJames F., New York: Routledge.
14.
HurSeung-Won2004“Oegukin-Nodongja Jeongchaek-Byeonhwa-gwajeong-bunseok: Jeongchaek-haengwijaui Seonho Hyeongseong Mit Nonjaeng-gwajeongeul Jungsimeuro (A Study on Foreign Workers Policy Process: Focusing on Policy Actor's Preference and Argumentation).” MA thesis, Department of Public Administration, Seoul National University.
15.
JohnsonChalmers1995Japan: Who Governs? The Rise of the Developmental State. New York: W. W. Norton.
16.
JoppkeChristian1998“Asylum and State Sovereignty: A Comparison of the United States, Germany, and Britain.” In Challenge to the Nation-State: Immigration in Western Europe and the United States. Edited by JoppkeChristian. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
17.
KimDenis2011 (forthcoming) “A Catalyzer in Promoting Migrants' Rights: Church-based NGOs in South Korea,”Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
18.
KimDenis2006“Globalization and the Church's Social Mission in Asia: The Church's Human Rights Advocacy for Transnational Migrant Workers in Korea,”East Asian Pastoral Review, 43(2).
19.
KimJoon K.2005“State, Civil Society and International Norms: Expanding the Political and Labor Rights of Foreigners in South Korea,”Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 14(4): 383–418.
20.
KimJoon K.2003“Insurgency and Advocacy: Unauthorized Foreign Workers and Civil Society in South Korea,”Asian and Pacific Migration Journal12(3): 237–269.
21.
KimSeong-Jung2004“Hanguk Goyong Jeongchaekui Jeongae (The Evolution of the Employment Policy in Korea).” PhD dissertation, Department of Economics, Wongkwang University, Korea.
22.
KimWon2005“Sekyewhaihu Hankook Iju Nodongeul Duleossan Damromedaehan Bunseok (An Analysis of Discourse about Migrant Workers after Globalization in Korea).” A paper presented at the conference on State, Civil Society, and the Korean Nation in the Era of Globalization and Information Technology, Sogang University, Seoul.
23.
KoHye-WonLeeCheol-Sun2004“Oegukin Goyongheogaje Doipgwajeong (Enactment Process of the Employment Permit System),”Hanguk-Jeongchaek-Hakhuibo (Korean Journal of Public Policy), 13(5):18–43.
24.
KooHagen2001Korean Workers: The Culture and Politics of Class Formation. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
25.
LeeHye-Kyung2008“A Shift in Immigration Policy towards Expansion and Inclusion in South Korea” (in Korean), Korean Journal of Sociology, 42(2):104–137.
26.
LeeSeon-Ok2005“Hankookui Iju Nodongja Woondongui Hyungseongkwa Seongkyuk By unhwa (The Formation and Transformation of the Social Movement for Migrant Workers in Korea).” M.A. thesis, Department of Sociology, Seonggonghoe University, Seoul.
27.
LeeYongwookParkHeymee2005“The Politics of Foreign Labor Policy in Korea and Japan,”Journal of Contemporary Asia, 35(2):143–165.
28.
LimTimothy C.2003“Racing from the Bottom in South Korea? The Nexus between Civil Society and Transnational Migrants,”Asian Survey, 43(3):423–442.
29.
MeyerJohn W.1997“World Society and the Nation-State,”American Journal of Sociology, 103(1): 144–181.
MoonKatharine H. S.2000“Strangers in the Midst of Globalization: Migrant Workers and Korean Nationalism.” In Korea's Globalization. Edited by KimSamuel S., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
32.
National Commission for Policy on Foreigners (Uegoogin Jeungchek Wiwonhwe)2008“The Basic Policy Plan for Foreigners” (in Korean). Unpublished government document.
33.
OhKyung-Seok, ed. 2007Hangukesoeu Damunhwajueu (Multiculturalism in Korea). Seoul: Hanul Academy.
34.
PekkanenRobert2004“Japan: Social Capital without Advocacy.” In Civil Society and Political Change in Asia: Expanding and Contracting Democratic Space. Edited by AlagappaM., Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
35.
SchuckPeter H.1998“The Re-Evaluation of American Citizenship.” In Challenge to the Nation-State: Immigration in Western Europe and the United States. Edited by JoppkeChristian. NY: Oxford University Press.
36.
SeolDong-Hoon2005“Hankookui Iju Nodongja Woondong (Activism for Migrant Workers in Korea).” In Woori Shidaeui Sosuja Woondong (Minority Movement in our Times). Edited by YoonSoo-Jong. Seoul: Ihaksa.
37.
SeolDong-Hoon1999Oegukinnodongjawahanguksahoe, 1987–1998 (Foreign Workers in Korean Society, 1987–1998). Seoul: Seoul National University Press.
38.
SeolDong-HoonSkrentnyJohn D.2004“South Korea: Importing Undocumented Workers.” In Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective. Edited by WayneCorneliusMartinPhilipHollifieldJames. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
39.
SoysalYasemin N.1994Limits of Citizenship: Migration and Postnational Membership in Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago.
40.
UdoidemS. Iniobong1988Authority and the Common Good in Social and Political Philosophy. Lanham: University Press of America.
YoonIn-Jin2008“The Development and Characteristics of Multiculturalism in South Korea: With a Focus on the Relationship of the State and Civil Society” (in Korean), Korean Journal of Sociology, 42(2):72–103.
