OMNES : The Journal of multicultural society
[ Article ]
OMNES: The Journal of Multicultural Society - Vol. 14, No. 1, pp.1-47
ISSN: 2093-5498 (Print) 2671-969X (Online)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2023
Received 03 Jan 2024 Revised 17 Jan 2024 Accepted 21 Jan 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14431/omnes.2024.01.14.1.01

Gender, Race, and Migrant Worker Wage Inequality in South Korea

Minjae Lee** ; Robert Rudolf***
**Graduate School of International Studies, Korea University; dlalswo635@korea.ac.kr
***Corresponding Author, College of International Studies, Korea University; rrudolf@korea.ac.kr

Abstract

The decreasing Korean population and shrinking workforce have resulted in a surge of foreigners entering the country to address shortages in the labor and marriage markets. This has led to an increasing demand for laws and regulations governing migrant workers in Korea as well as a growing need for research on various aspects of immigration. Using data from the 2018 National Multicultural Family Survey, this study examined the determinants of immigrant workers’ wages in Korea, focusing on married and naturalized immigrants who are long-term settlers. This study employs multivariate regression, gender-stratified analysis, and an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of the wage gap between female and male migrants. The findings indicate that individual characteristics, such as gender and country of origin, strongly influence immigrants’ wages. Regarding gender effects, factors such as education, marital status, and child-rearing status play significant roles, showing that migrants face issues similar to those of Korean workers, with women being notably disadvantaged in the labor market. These findings suggest the need to address immigration-related issues by considering the structural challenges in the Korean labor market such as high gender wage gaps and gendered labor market segregation.

Keywords:

migrant workers, human capital, gender roles, gender wage gap, labor, Korea

Acknowledgments

This paper has been revised based on Minjae Lee’s Master’s dissertation at Korea university in 2023.

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Appendix

Appendix

Variable Descriptions

Variable description (Country of origin)

Biographical Note

Minjae Lee is an MA student at the Graduate School of International Studies at Korea University. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Keimyung University in Daegu, South Korea. His current research interests include Migration, Gender, Race, and Multiculturalism. Email: dlalswo635@korea.ac.kr

Robert Rudolf is a Professor in the College of International Studies at Korea University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Goettingen in Germany. His main research interests are in the fields of Economic and Human Development, Gender, Quality of Life, and Education. Email: rrudolf@korea.ac.kr

Table A1.

Variable Descriptions

Variable Description
Individual income Average gross income for the past three months (May 1–July 31, 2018)
“0” = No income, “1” ≤ 500,000, “2” = 500,000–1,000,000, “3” = 1,000,000–1,500,000, “4” = 1,500,000–2,000,000 ,”5” = 2,000,000–2,500,000, “6” = 2,500,000–3,000,000, “7” = 3,000,000–3,500,000, “8” = 3,500,000–4,000,000, “9” = 4,000,000–4,500,000, “10” = 4,500,000–5,000,000, “11” > 5,000,000
Working hours Working hours
Education Highest level of education in Korea; we can assume that there are people who chose education that overlapped abroad and in Korea.
“0” = no degree, “1” = elementary school, “2” = middle school, “3” = high school, “4” = technical college, “5” = university, “6” = graduate school
Years of education abroad Years of education abroad
Years in Korea Year of first entry: The time when someone whose current nationality was foreign or who had a foreign nationality at birth first entered the Republic of Korea for purposes such as residence or employment. Visits for travel and the like are excluded.
Korean ability Korean language ability (Self-estimation)
Speaking (“1” = Excellent, “2” = Good, “3” = Average, “4” = Not good, “5” = Very bad),
Listening (“1” = Excellent, “2” = Good, “3” = Average, “4” = Not good, “5” = Very bad),
Reading (“1” = Excellent, “2” = Good, “3” = Average, “4” = Not good, “5” = Very bad),
Writing (“1” = Excellent, “2” = Good, “3” = Average, “4” = Not good, “5” = Very bad)
Age International age
Gender Sex of an individual (“1” = Female, “2” = Male)
Country of origin Appendix Table A2
Marital status Marital status
“1” = Unmarried, “2” = Married (including common-law marriage), “3” = Death of Spouse, “4” = Divorced, Live Separately
Child-rearing After extracting values from the questions below, they are converted into Child-rearing variables.
Child Education: Please answer only if you have children 5 years or under (born after August 1, 2012), If not, go to number 16 (14. What is the biggest challenge you face as a parent of a child 5 years or under)
Child Education: Answer if you have children aged between 6 and below 24 years (August 1, 1993–July 31, 2012). If not, go to number 17 (16. What are the biggest difficulties you feel as a parent in child-rearing? Please choose two or fewer in order of difficulty)
Employment status Employment status
“1” = Regular employee, “2” = Temporary employee, “3” = Daily employed worker, “4” = Self-employed with (an) employee(s), “5” = Self-employed without (an) employee(s), “6” = Unpaid family worker for the family business
Occupation Wrote main job (work) last week (July 26–August 1, 2018) and entered by KOSTAT (categorized according to jobs)
“1” = Management, “2” = Experts and related personnel, “3” = Office worker, “4” = Service worker, “5” = Salesperson, “6” = Only capitalize all the word after the first if this is an official category with a specific legal definition.Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Skilled Worker, “7” = Skilled personnel and related functional personnel, “8” = Equipment, mechanical operation, and assembly personnel, “9” = Unskilled labor, “10” = Soldier
Type of visa Qualification for the stay
“1” = Preferment residency (F-5), “2” = Marriage immigrant (F-6), spouse of Korean national (F-2-1), “3” = Residential (F-2, but except F-2-1), “4” = Family visitation (F-1), “5” = Overseas Korean (F-4), “6” = Professional employment (E-1 to E-7), “7” = Working visit (H-2), “8” = Other
Region Region
“1” = Urban, “2” = Rural

Table A2.

Variable description (Country of origin)

Variable Description
Source: UNSD
Country of origin (Born outside of Korea) Asia
101 = Afghanistan, 105 = Bangladesh, 108 = Myanmar 110 = Cambodia, 111 = Sri Lanka, 112 = China, 113 = Taiwan, 120 = Hong Kong, 122 = Korean Chinese, 124 = India, 125 = Indonesia, 126 = Iran, 127 = Iraq, 128 = Israel, 130 = Japan, 131 = Jordan, 133 = Kazakhstan, 134 = Kyrgyzstan, 135 = Kuwait, 138 = Laos, 142 = Macao, 143 = Malaysia, 145 = Mongolia, 148 = Nepal, 153 = Pakistan, 154 = Palestine, 155 = Philippines, 156 = Timor-Leste, 162 = Saudi Arabia, 164 = Singapore, 165 = Syria, 169 = Tajikistan, 170 = Thailand, 171 = Turkey, 172 = Turkmenistan, 180 = United Arab Emirates, 181 = Uzbekistan, 185 = Vietnam, 191 = Yemen, 304 = Armenia, 305 = Azerbaijan, 323 = Georgia
Americas
201 = Antigua and Barbuda, 202 = Argentina, 208 = Bolivia, 209 = Brazil, 214 = Chile, 215 = Colombia, 216 = Costa Rica, 217 = Cuba, 221 = Dominican Republic, 224 = Ecuador, 225 = El Salvador, 231 = Guatemala, 236 = Honduras, 240 = Jamaica, 248 = Mexico, 252 = Nicaragua, 255 = Panama, 256 = Paraguay, 257 = Peru, 262 = Saint Kitts and Nevis, 268 = Trinidad and Tobago, 274 = Uruguay, 280 = Venezuela
Europe
301 = Albania, 303 = Austria, 306 = Belgium, 307 = Bulgaria, 308 = Belarus, 310 = Czech Republic, 313 = Denmark, 320 = Finland, 321 = France, 322 = Russian Korean, 324 = Germany, 326 = Greece, 329 = Hungary, 335 = Italy, 339 = Latvia, 343 = Macedonia, 346 = Moldova, 350 = Netherlands, 352 = Norway, 360 = Poland, 361 = Portugal, 365 = Romania, 366 = Russia, 367 = Serbia, 368 = Slovakia, 370 = Slovenia, 372 = Spain, 373 = Sweden, 374 = Switzerland, 378 = Ukraine, 391 = Croatia
Oceania
418 = Fiji
Africa
502 = Algeria, 503 = Angola, 510 = Cameroon, 517 = Democratic Republic of the Congo, 525 = Egypt, 527 = Ethiopia, 532 = Ghana, 537 = Ivory Coast, 540 = Kenya, 555 = Morocco, 562 = Nigeria, 572 = Senegal, 583 = Tanzania, 585 = Tunisia, 588 = Uganda
English Countries
213 = Canada, 275 = United States, 316 = United Kingdom, 334 = Ireland, 404 = Australia, 446 = New Zealand, 576 = South Africa