The Housing and Living Conditions of Immigrant Workers and Their Policy Implications

Abstract

This paper discusses the right of housing and living conditions of Immigrant Workers. Non-professional (low-skilled) immigrant workers (E9) live in dormitories provided by their employers. Our survey results found 40.5% of these dwellings were low-quality housing, including non-residential spaces, temporary buildings, unauthorized houses, and containers. Also, much of the housing occupied by workers on a work-visit visa (H2) and overseas Koreans from China (F4), who usually are short on budget, were of low quality. Non-professional immigrant workers (E9) showed a much lower level of Korean proficiency than workers on a work-visit visa (H2) and overseas Koreans from China (F4). So, They often have to remain passive even if they are treated unfairly due to their low language proficiency. Furthermore, they had to face the unfriendly attitude of Koreans. Koreans’ perceptions of immigrant workers are built mostly on piecemeal information coming from negative media coverage of immigrant workers in Korea. Such perceptions should change, and efforts should be made to improve the housing environment (or conditions) of immigrant workers. Regulations need to be put in place to ensure that the quality of housing provided by employers of migrant workers does not fall below minimum standards.