Shift attention to education for immigrants
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Rep. Jasmine Lee of the ruling Saenuri Party, fifth from right in front row, poses with immigrant wives at the Korea Multicultural Museum in northern Seoul, June 15, following a round of discussion regarding various issues about Korean society. Lee launched the “dream school” program to discover immigrant women with intellectual talent and leadership, and bring them into the mainstream of Korean society. / Courtesy of Jasmine Lee’s office.
A majority
of immigrants
still trapped in
low-income bracket
By Park Si-soo
Korea is at a critical juncture when it comes to dealing with immigrants. How can they be successfully integrated into Korean society?
A majority of immigrants are still trapped in the low-income bracket.
Landing a high-paying job is tough, although whether this is due to racial discrimination or class bias is open to debate. However, there are some examples of naturalized Koreans who have proven to be highly successful.
German-born Lee Charm has headed the state-run Korea Tourism Organization since 2009. Ha Il, a lawyer born in the U.S., enjoys celebrity-like status on TV programs and at high-profile events, while the same could be said for French-born Ida Daussy, who has been living here for more than 20 years.
However it’s still hard to say that Korea has become immigrant friendly. All of the three figures cited above came from advanced countries, are well-educated and are white, which implies that they have received preferential treatment.
But nearly 90 percent of the 266,500 naturalized Koreans come from China or Southeast Asian countries, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, while only 20 percent have received a university education.
Does this mean that it’s unrealistic to expect that the majority of immigrants will join the mainstream of society? Is preferential treatment limited to a handful of “selected” immigrants? Experts say that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.
The examples of the foreign-born politicians Jasmine Lee and Lee Ra show that those displaying determination can overcome perceived discrimination.
“The time has come for the country to revamp its immigration policy so that a growing number of immigrants ㅡ regardless of country of origin or other socio-economic factors ㅡ will be allowed to join the mainstream of society,” said Kim Yi-seon, a senior multiculturalism researcher at the Korean Women’s Development Institute.
“But what’s more important than any policy shift is how much immigrants are committed to success and act accordingly.”
The backgrounds of Jasmine Lee and Lee Ra are not different from those of tens of thousands of other immigrant wives. But their political success reflects their determination and ambition to do well in Korea.
Kim says the two female politicians have displayed a strong zeal for learning and self-development, which have been cited in various studies as the biggest contributor to the success of immigrants.
Several studies suggest that immigrants who receive education in their adopted country have a higher chance of landing a decent job.
“These studies are much more meaningful in Korea than other countries in that Korean people are overly sensitive to education backgrounds,” Kim said.
It’s questionable whether good working skills are related to graduating from a top-tier university, but it is perceived as such in Korea.
“That’s the reason why I put an emphasis on education,” the researcher said. “The government’s attention is still largely on the settlement of immigrants. But I think the time has come to shift the attention to education.”