The Formation of Social Constructions of Female Marriage Migrants and Female Work Migrants in South Korea

The need for gender perspectives on migration policy

Immigrant women are subject to multiple forms of discrimination such as domestic violence, sexual harassments, and xenophobia, due to their identities as women, immigrants, and ethnic minorities.² As such, a new gender-based migration approach is urgently needed to address the inequalities and discrimination that immigrant women suffer from. Generally speaking, immigration policies fail to reflect a gender perspective. This means that the specific situation and discrimination that immigrant women face has not been addressed. A gender conscious approach to immigration policy introduces a shift from the predominant view of female immigrants as simply the wives and children of male immigrants, to incorporating an understanding of women’s human rights and of the unique experiences of immigrant women themselves (European Women’s Lobby, 2004).

Gender as a social construction that organizes relationships between men and women can greatly differentiate the causes, processes and impacts of migration on the two sexes. Knowing how these differences play out at the interface of migration and poverty can be important to promoting gender equality and empowering women. A gender analysis of migration looks beyond simple differences in migration behavior between men and women and examines the inequalities underlying those differences. It looks at how these are shaped by the social and cultural contexts of the individual, and the influence that membership in social groups, and economic and political conditions can have on decisions about migration (World Bank, 2005).

Determinants of female migration

All major studies on migration agree that economic disparities between developing and developed countries continue to be a key determinant of cross-border movements for poor countries (UNDP, 2005). The increase in female migration can also be explained by the demand in low paying service sectors of developed economies (Sassen, 2003). In addition, education can affect women’s migration potential, as it does with men. However, unlike men, while their education may impel them to move, foreign companies have frequently preferred to hire them because they are cheap and docile rather than educated (Oishi, 2002).

As gender attributes are usually assigned by cultures, the migration options and constraints for women can vary vastly, depending on their socio-cultural origins. Generally, the more restrictive the role assigned to women in their countries of origin, by culture or religion, the less female migration takes place (Zachariah, Mathew, & Rajan, 2001). Government policy can also have a gender-specific influence on migration decisions. Indeed, many poor female migrants have been more vulnerable to irregular forms of employment and deportation by having their residency status and entitlements tied to the immigrant status of their male spouse (World Bank, 2005). Therefore, it is important to have gender perspectives on immigration policy.

Social constructions and influences of public policy

Since Schneider and Ingram (1993) introduced the social construction theory to policy studies, it has been widely utilized to explore how and why policy changes, by investigating the interactions between various socio- cultural influences (Ingram, Schneider & deLeon, 2007, pp. 114-117). According to the social construction theory, social issues are said to be a product of human social interaction, and policy, in essence, it is also perceived to be something which is socially constructed. Schneider and Ingram (1993, p. 335) define social constructions as “stereotypes about particular groups of people that have been created by politics, culture, socialization, history, the media, literature, religion, and the like”. These influences lead to particular social constructions of the groups concerned (Burr, 1995; Schutz, 1967). Ingram, Schneider, and deLeon (2007) categorized the social construction of target populations based on two dimensions (political power and social construction). Depending on both the level of political power³, as well as whether the social construction is positive or negative, they identified four categories of target populations: advantaged, contenders, dependents, and deviants, as displayed in Figure 1 (Ingram, Schneider, & deLeon, 2007, p. 102; Schneider & Sidney, 2009, p. 107).

Figure 1.

Types of target populations by social construction and political power

Once created, social constructions tend to continue to remain unchanged, whether they are favorable to immigrants and ethnic minorities or not. In other words, path dependency impacts upon social constructions in the way that public attitudes towards a particular group, whether socially vulnerable or not, are guided by earlier attitudes and decisions (Pierson, 2004). This can be mainly explained by the fact that initial social constructions tend to become more permanent with time, and reversal would incur significant costs. The deserving and entitled have a tendency to make other groups believe that uneven distribution of resources is only natural. In addition, they would go so far as to reinforce their beliefs by taking advantage of public policy and law.

Public policy plays a major role in shaping the social construction of certain groups or concepts in modern society (Schneider & Ingram, 2005). Still, other elements affecting the creation of social constructions may include external events, social movements, entrepreneurship, advances in science and technology, social science, and changes in demographic characteristics (Schneider & Ingram, 2005). Public policy could lead to either policy persistence, facilitating a path-dependent social construction or, on the other hand, policy change, and efforts to change the course of existing social constructions.

Data collection

This study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to analyze the social constructions of the two target populations (Geertz, 1973). In analyzing these cases, this study focuses on socio-cultural influences including historical legacy, descriptions in the press, and government policies, in order to obtain knowledge of the social constructions of the two groups. Data were collected from multiple sources including newspapers and research reports from academic, public and non-profit agencies. First, qualitative data from a range of studies is used to review historical legacies. Second, in order to investigate the influence of the press on the two target populations, newspaper articles, which describe the two target populations, were collected. These data were assembled from five daily national newspapers; three conservative-oriented newspapers (Chosun-Ilbo, DongA-Ilbo, and JoongAng-Ilbo) and two liberal-oriented (Kyunghyang-Shinmun and Hankyoreh). This study selected the five newspapers as data sources on the basis of the following facts: (1) these newspapers are representative of their respective political orientations; and (2) the readership of these papers is higher than others in Korea.

In detail, in order to collect narratives of the two groups, this study gathered newspaper articles from 2002 to 2012 through an internet news search⁷ using the following two search terms: ‘female work migrants’ and ‘female marriage immigrants’. The initial search results were 2,228 articles which were narrowed down to those articles with appropriate contents⁸. Subsequently, this stage left 586 articles which are used for analysis. In total, 524 of the articles contained reports of female marriage immigrants, while the remaining 62 articles were about female work migrants. Finally, public research papers were utilized in order to analyze public policies with respect to the two target populations⁹.

Measurement

From the various available sources, this study collected data from Korean daily newspapers to explore how the press illustrates the two target populations. The data was coded using two variables: political orientation of the press and types of narrative about the two target populations. First, the five media outlets were classified as conservative or liberal. Newspapers have a large influence on the creation of social constructions of target populations through the re-framing of public opinion on the basis of the press frame which is an interpretation of facts according to the value or belief system of the press (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989). In other words, negative news coverage of minorities such as crime cases or poverty has a negative influence on public opinion “by cultivating certain assumptions, setting agendas, priming the audience, and framing stories” (Larson, 2006, p. 93). In the Korean context, the political orientation of the press can be clearly divided into conservative and liberal newspapers (Choi, 2010, pp. 404-406), which is consistent with the political orientation of the two major political parties in Korea¹⁰. On the basis of these differing perspectives, each paper re-frames (i.e., interprets) the two target populations according to their respective value and belief systems. In turn, these interpretations are expected to influence the building of social constructions of the target populations more generally.

Second, in order to measure the narratives of female immigrants, this study proposed two dimensions: (1) positive and negative portrayals; and (2) reflections on domestic perceptions of the behavior of female immigrants (i.e., description of what immigrants did, and how this was perceived by Korean nationals). Combining the two dimensions, there are four types of portrayals, as displayed in Table 2: (1) female immigrants’ contributions to the country and stories about exemplary immigrants; (2) illegal (and/or unethical) behaviors; (3) Koreans’ efforts to include female immigrants; and (4) Koreans’ attitudes which exclude female immigrants.

Table 2.

Classification of portrayals of female immigrants

Narratives included in category I and III can be seen as descriptions of the target populations as suitable for membership in Korean society. In contrast, categories II and IV refer to narratives which describe the target populations as detrimental to wider Korean society. More specifically, positive narratives about female immigrants (I) include newspaper articles that portrayed a) the target populations as contributors to national wealth and security, and b) stories about exemplary immigrants (i.e., those who have successfully settled down in Korean society). Negative narratives about female immigrants (II) include those which depict the target population as the perpetrators of illegal behavior, such as undocumented workers, prostitutes, criminals, and job stealers. Efforts to support female immigrants (III) can be seen as an endeavor to assimilate them into Korean society. These efforts are categorized into various support programs provided by the government as well as the local community including nonprofit organizations, and promoting anti- discrimination actions. Finally, narratives portraying Koreans’ attitudes to excluding female immigrants (IV) are divided into two sub-categories: (1) stressing the salience of differences between Koreans and immigrants; and (2) violation of human rights, or female immigrants as an object of pity. The first sub-category reinforces negative feeling to the target populations by highlighting racial, cultural, and national differences from Koreans. The second sub-category includes narratives which depict the target populations as victims or social minorities who are deprived of human rights. Both of these sub-categories view female immigrants as not entitled to membership in Korean society.

Furthermore, Table 3 summarizes the four types of narratives utilized in this study. According to the coding scheme created by the researchers, articles were examined to see if they contain any keywords and phrases shown in the table. In this way, the authors attempted to objectively code the articles according to their contents, and to avoid the possibility of subjectively interpreting the articles according to tone or nuance. In addition, the authors conducted inter-coder tests to ensure the consistency of the coded results¹¹. In cases where the codes differed, the research team discussed the article until they could agree on a specific code.

Table 3.

Coding scheme for portrayals

Anti-immigration sentiments: historical legacy (1950s to late 1990s)

It is worth noting historical and socio-cultural legacies which influenced the formation of the multicultural frame for immigrants in Korea (Schon & Rein, 1994). Korea has a long history of racial nationalism and homogeneity going back to the late 19th or early 20th century when the country was invaded by Western powers and neighboring countries. In the face of external attack, Koreans resorted to nationalism and united in the vision of a collective community to resist foreign influence and protect their national identity from external enemies. While a homogeneous society was what helped the Korean people to unite and strive for independence, Korean nationalism only really came to the fore after 1945 when Korea was liberated from Japan. In the course of the division of North and South Korea, and the Korean War followed by the Cold War, Korean nationalism became more pronounced. From the 1960s several different types of nationalism developed, portraying varying political views. For instance, the entitled in society upheld bureaucratic nationalism in order to defend the legitimacy of their positions. By contrast, the progressive groups maintained resilient nationalism as it helped people to resist against foreign powers and at the same time to obtain political autonomy. Still, both bureaucratic and resilient nationalism cultivated the concept of a homogeneous or single-race society (Choi, 2006, pp. 287-288; Han, 2008, pp. 120-121). According to this concept, there is no place for diverse ethnicities or minorities, as this would entail divergence from the single pure bloodline. Those excluded from this vision include people of Chinese origin residing in independent Korea since 1945 and people of mixed race born to parents in inter-racial relationships.

Since Korea became independent in 1945, the Korean government has practiced exclusion when it comes to immigration policy. It was difficult for overseas citizens to become naturalized Koreans as they have to meet ambiguous criteria such as “a man of irreproachable conduct” and “confident and capable to make ends meet”, and authorization from the Minister of Justice was also required. The descendents of Chinese living in Korea were unable to acquire Korean nationality since they were considered to be foreign nationals. In addition, the Korean government took steps to ensure that the Chinese residents in Korea could not come to dominate the financial sector. This was done through the Land Law, passed in 1961, which disallowed the ethnic Chinese from owning property and they were forced to give up their savings during currency reform in 1963 (Lee, 2008, pp. 265-266).

People of mixed race also endured hardships due to the unfavorable policies towards non-Koreans. Until the 1970s, there were very few foreign residents in Korea and in most cases they were servicemen from the United States or children born between Korean women and those soldiers. As mixed babies were born in gijichon (military camp towns), they earned a dubious distinction and were seen as disgraceful. As they were so poorly treated in Korean society, facing racial discrimination and prejudice, the government chose to arrange international adoption for them. In this way, adults of mixed race were affected by the Korean emigration policy, which was rooted in an international adoption policy for mixed children (National Human Rights Commission, 2003, p. 35). To facilitate emigration and overseas employment, the government dropped the requirement of mandatory military service (1972) and reserve forces training (1974) for adults of mixed race. As can be seen, Korean immigration policy has had a narrow but persistent focus on “expulsion” strategies in the form of international adoption and emigration in relatively recent years. In addition, public attitudes towards racial discrimination were compounded by a gender bias stemming from Korea’s patriarchal culture. It is usually the case that compared to mixed-race children born to Korean fathers, those born between Korean mothers and American soldiers were exposed to a much higher degree of discrimination. This unbalanced perspective consequently had a major impact on attitudes towards multicultural families and their offspring from the 1990s onwards.

The gender issue in jobs

Since Korea is in a somewhat patriarchal culture, sex roles in the jobs are segregated. In addition, gender policies are mostly focused on supports for female workers rather than gender equality orientation because women are still regarded as a social minority in Korea. In this situation, the term ‘labor’ in Korea is coined as workers in the industrial field, whereas women usually work in the service field (about 70% of female employees in Korea, Statistics Korea, 2012a). Following this pattern, the gendering of migrant labor is similarly constructed. While most male work migrants are employed in the field of manufacture (55.9%) and construction (15.6%), most female work migrants are employed in the field of service industry (about 64% of female work migrants, Statistics Korea 2012b).

(1) The Influence of Newspaper Reports

Table 4 displays the distribution of the articles by newspaper for each of the target populations. Of the total 586 articles, 369 were published in the liberal media, accounting for the majority of the press frame at 63%, whereas their conservative counterparts published 217 articles, making up 37% of the total. This indicates that the conservative press did not seem to pay as much attention to the activities of minorities¹². Among the three conservative newspapers, the share of the two conservative daily newspapers (Chosun Ilbo and Joongang Ilbo), was a mere 2% of the overall media coverage analyzed in this study (13 articles)¹³. Furthermore, it was not until 2012 that the 13 news reports appeared in these two newspapers and no articles were published prior to that year.

Table 4.

Frequency distribution of articles, by political orientation of the press (n = 524)

The two target populations also received different levels of coverage. While there were some articles about female work migrants in the conservative newspapers, the majority of the coverage for this group came from the liberal press (87%). However, when it comes to female marriage migrants, there is a more even spread between the conservative (39.9%) and liberal newspapers (60.1%). The much greater emphasis which is given to female marriage migrants rather than their work-immigrant sisters, by not only the conservative newspapers, but also their liberal counterparts, can be explained as female marriage migrants are a group which the government has targeted for integration into Korean society whereas female work migrants are not. More specifically, since female marriage migrants are closely related to the family system in Korea; as a spouse to a Korean husband, a mother to children, and daughter-in-law to Korean mother/father-in-law, the conservatives conceive them as a member to include in Korean society. The strict concerns about family security in Korea have been explained by an immigrant professor in Korea, Noja Park; “To some extent, the immigrant policy may benefit particular groups of people who are related to Koreans, such as marriage immigrants who have recently joined a Korean family, Korean descendents living outside Korea, and North Korean defectors. Still, the absolute majority of foreign residents who have nothing to do with the Korean bloodline will remain outsiders” (Park, 2011).

Meanwhile, attitudes toward female economic migrants from the two sides of the press contrast significantly. As there are very few articles about them in the conservative press, this can be interpreted as a reluctance to describe them as members of Korean society. In the case of the liberal press, female work migrants were portrayed both positively and negatively, with negative narratives generally depicting them as victims of human rights violations. This indicates a greater emphasis on attempting to understand female work immigrants in the liberal press.

Figure 2 illustrates the overall trends for the four types of portrayals from 2002 to 2012. Discriminative portrayals peaked in 2008, while positive portrayals sharply increased between 2008 and 2009. On the other hand, the frequency of inclusive portrayals was generally low during the given period, although slightly higher than that of negative portrayals, which was lowest of all. These trends indicate that until recently, the press reported female immigrants as objects to be excluded. However, since 2008, their attitudes toward this group have slowly shifted from negative (i.e. exclusion) to more positive (i.e. inclusion or assimilation).

Figure 2.

Portrayals of female immigrants, by the number of articles (2002-2012) (Unit: number of articles)

Figure 3 illustrates the percentage change in the media coverage of the two types of female immigrants during the period of 2002-2012 by compiling the number of articles published each year. The reporting patterns for the two target populations are clearly different. As far as female work migrants are concerned, a relatively large number of news stories were available until 2005, when there was a brief dip before recovery. In contrast, concerns for immigrant wives show a general upward trend. This is consistent with wider developments, in the sense that immigrant wives appear to be a topic which has captured the public’s attention. In contrast, the fluctuating number of news reports on female work migrants can be explained by the frequency of scandalous events at the workplace such as sexual harassments and low-wage issues.

Figure 3.

Changes in reporting for the two types of female immigrants (2002-2012) (Unit: %)

As shown in Table 5, negative portrayals for female marriage immigrants are lower (5%) than positive ones (33%). On the other hand, only 2% of portrayals of the female work migrants are positive, while 42% are negative. When it comes to inclusion, marriage immigrants are again subject to more positive portrayals, 17% compared to a mere 3% for female work immigrants. Finally, discriminative portrayals for both groups of female immigrants are similar. This result clearly shows the differences in the social constructions of the two target populations; positive for female marriage immigrants and negative for female work migrants.

Table 5.

Frequency distribution of narrative portrayals, by number of articles (n = 524)

Table 6 presents the frequency distribution of the sub-categories of positive portrayals. First, while there are almost no positive portrayals of female work migrants, there are quite a number of positive portrayals for female marriage immigrants. Second, although meeting labor shortages was one of the most important reasons under consideration in the development of Korean immigration policy, narratives describing female work immigrants as contributing to Korean society and economy are scarce. Yet, it is not difficult to find such newspaper articles referring to their male counterparts. This indicates that the policy concerns mainly the male foreign workforce, which refers to the government’s tendency of gender-blindly designing the policy.

Table 6.

Frequency distribution of positive portrayals, by the number of articles

Third, the number of narratives which portrayed female immigrants as contributors¹⁴ is less than exemplary stories¹⁵. Still, when contribution and adaptation narratives are taken together, it can be interpreted that most positive images of female immigrants come from their own efforts to assimilate into Korean society, rather than a general positive recognition from the Korean population (i.e. 96% of positive portrayals are based on their active participation in their community and achievement of the so-called Korean dream). Nevertheless, this may have a significant impact on shifts in the social construction of female marriage immigrants in that their active participation can help to raise their political power.

The dominant negative portrayals of female work migrants, as displayed in Table 7, are as prostitutes (50%) followed by illegal residence (19%) and criminals¹⁶ (15%). In the case of female marriage migrants, major negative portrayals are as illegal residence and criminals (73%), followed by prostitution. In other words, while negative social constructions for female marriage immigrants are mostly as illegal residents, female work migrants are dominantly portrayed as prostitutes. This result indicates that gender-bias is more serious towards female work migrants.

Table 7.

Frequency distribution of negative portrayals, by number of articles

There are striking differences in Korean society’s efforts to include the two target populations. As can be seen in Table 8, there are only two articles illustrating the provision of community support for female work migrants. This result indicates Koreans’ widespread apathy about female work migrants. However, there are many examples of inclusive efforts towards female marriage immigrants. These include the provision of various forms of support from the community (59%), followed by the provision of institutional support from government (18%), anti-discrimination actions (13%), and demanding new programs and services (10%).

Table 8.

Frequency distribution of Korean society’s inclusive efforts by the number of articles

As shown in Table 9, there are many reports of human rights violations against both groups. Dominant portrayals for female marriage immigrants are as the victims of domestic violence, divorced as a consequence of domestic violence, and single mothers (84%). Though these portrayals cause a negative feeling among Korean nationals, it is relatively less negative than the feelings summoned up in response to illegal residence, prostitution or criminals. This means that the location of female marriage immigrants moves from deviants (i.e. from the historical legacies) toward dependents in terms of Figure 1.

Table 9.

Frequency distribution of Korean society’s discriminative attitude toward female immigrants, by the number of articles

As for female work migrants, most cases (66%) portray them as suffering from low-wages, physical abuse including sexual harassment, and the withholding of wages. In order to overcome this problem, immigrant workers may need to participate in and request the protection of radical labor unions, which does not help them shift their social construction from negative to positive. There is relatively less discrimination from Koreans toward female marriage immigrants than female work migrants. Examples of discriminative descriptions of immigrant wives are racial discrimination (including discrimination due to mixed race between Korean and non-Korean bloodlines), unilaterally forcing female immigrants to obey Korean culture (not allowing cultural differences), and racial/cultural prejudice from Korean colleagues in the workplaces.

In sum, female work migrants are generally overlooked by Korean society, and to the extent to which they are recognized, they continue to be subject to negative social constructions. These negative social constructions (i.e. an object of sexual harassment) appear to stem from gender bias. On the other hand, female marriage immigrants are more positively construed, which has both facilitated and fed back into their political power, and enabled them to shift from being perceived as deviants to dependents.

(2) The Impact of Public Policies

Traditionally, Korean policy designs have featured powerful state-led policy (Evans, 1995), which entrenched the role of government as a powerful concentration of the bureaucracy and presidency over society. Immigration policy is no exception to this trend. Thus, it is important to evaluate the impacts of public policy design on social constructions of the two target populations. This section explicates features of government policy designs for the two target populations, specifically, various policies from central government departments. In particular, this study analyzes: (1) whether a policy includes a gender perspective; and (2) the purpose of policy in terms of ‘simple inclusion or assimilation’ vs. ‘encouragement of tolerance or efforts to embrace differences’. These policies are summarized in Table 10.

Table 10.

Immigrant policies of central government departments17

Eight central government departments have issued immigration policies with 17 specific foci. Five of the policies (29%) directly target female immigrants, and among these, four of the policies are exclusively concerned with female marriage immigrants. Considering that four of the general immigration policies also contain provisions relating to female marriage immigrants, it can be seen that more than half (nine policies, 53%) are oriented toward the support of female marriage immigrants. Four of the polices which focus on female marriage immigrants include a gender perspective, such as strengthening human rights protection programs, supporting legal consultation, granting eligibility to stay, and establishing a support center for female marriage immigrants (Ministry of Justice, 2013).

In contrast, there is neither a specific policy for female work migrants, nor a gender sensitive policy designed for them. Indeed, the policies which do include immigrant workers (policies issued by the Ministry of Labor in Table 10) are gender blind in their design. This analysis clearly shows female marriage migrants and their families (especially their mixed raced children) to be at the center of Korean immigration policy (Kim, 2012; Han, 2004; Won, 2008).

It is also worth noting that there are only three policies which accept the differences of immigrants (such as socio-cultural differences and gender differences). The remaining 14 policies (82.4%) are designed to assimilate particular groups of immigrants into Korean society¹⁸. For example, policies such as ‘support for Korean cultural/language adaptation’, ‘development of Korean-language materials’, ‘social integration of immigrants’, and ‘social adaptation of female marriage immigrants’ mostly represent programs aimed at promoting Korean language and culture. Yet, while the Korean government has pursued immigration policies that focus on cultural assimilation of immigrant minorities, it has failed to introduce cultural diversity and tolerance of minority cultures to mainstream society (Kim, 2012).

As discussed in the previous section, this policy orientation (i.e., assimilation) dates back to the myth of a racially homogeneous state and may actually hinder the integration of immigrants into wider society. According to Emily Donjuan, a female marriage immigrant from the Philippines, who was interviewed by the Hankyoreh (December 7, 2012), the current policy design is the main impediment to immigrants settling down in Korea: “Korean immigration policy should shift from assimilation to constructive engagement. It is an antinomy that Koreans have high expectations from immigrants while Koreans themselves are negligent in learning about different cultures.”¹⁹