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Over half of migrant youth pushed into low-wage jobs, study finds
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By Park Ung
Nationality rules in aid system shut noncitizen migrant students out of scholarships, limit career paths
More than half of young adults from migrant families in Korea entered low-barrier occupations immediately after high school, a government-affiliated research institute found, with nationality-based eligibility rules in key support programs identified as a major structural driver limiting access.
A study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs analyzed 2022 data from 422 respondents aged 19 to 24 and found that 37.2 percent went into service jobs upon graduating, while 19.7 percent entered sales.
These findings reflect broader challenges facing young people from migrant backgrounds who already grapple with language barriers, identity struggles and information gaps, with nationality-based support policies often placing them at a structural disadvantage.
The report attributed these outcomes to systemic flaws in the support system, noting that eligibility for the Korea Student Aid Foundation's National Scholarship is tied to Korean citizenship, shutting out those without Korean nationality, including the children of migrants.
Vocational training and continuing education, by contrast, operate under residency-based rules, making them far more accessible — a gap the report said effectively nudges youth from migrant backgrounds away from continued schooling and toward early entry into the labor market.
To address these gaps, the report called for reforming student financial aid eligibility criteria to better reflect the actual circumstances of these youth, including simplifying requirements such as residency status and identity verification.
It also urged expanding multilingual access and introducing tailored support tracks to improve education-to-employment transitions, while calling on the government to set quotas for relevant committees to institutionalize the role of youth from migrant backgrounds in policymaking.
Study respondents averaged 1.16 million won ($769) in monthly income, though the median stood at 900,000 won — about 22.6 percent lower, pointing to a small number of high earners skewing the average upward.
The gap was sharpest among those balancing study and work, with the median of 600,000 won running about 31.7 percent below the average of 879,000 won. Among full-time workers, both the average and median stood at around 1.75 million won, suggesting higher and more stable earnings.
A separate section of the report found that 17.8 percent of 1,007 subjects aged 21 were their household's primary breadwinner.
Ko Gi-bok, head of migrant rights group 1218 For All, said exclusion from the state-funded scholarship program compounds the difficulties facing young people from migrant backgrounds.
“Unlike Korean students, foreign nationals are not subject to tuition caps, making fee increases hard to predict,” Ko said, adding that the absence of financial support further narrows their path to higher education.
“Many of them are often primary breadwinners for their families while pursuing their studies. Korean society should establish an institutional framework that allows them to settle and build their lives here.”
The findings carry growing urgency as Korea's migrant population continues to expand. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, children of foreign residents in Korea totaled approximately 290,000 in 2023, up 72 percent from a decade ago. The Ministry of Data and Statistics projects the figure to grow further, with the school-age migrant population between 6 and 21 expected to reach 470,000 by 2040 and young adults between 19 and 34 forecast to exceed 1.01 million.