KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

Family migration is the one of major types of migration with labor migration and humanitarian migration. And family migrant had a large share of total migrants for a long time in western society. As the family migrants increases rapidly, it is a key agenda to develop the policy to regulate the number and composition of family migrants and integrate migrant’s family economically and socially.

In Korea, from the last decade on, an increasing number of migrants has leaded to remarkable increase of migrant’s family. However, Korean society has focused attention to a part of family migration, marriage migrant and their so-called ‘multicultural family’ with being totally indifferent to other part of family migration, other groups of migrant’s families. There are little known about the number of migrant’s family other than ‘multicultural family’ and their life. Thus, this study approaches how various groups of migrants form their family in Korea and how their family life is by analyzing ‘2014 Foreigners Labor Force Survey’ database and interviewing some migrants who have experiences in family life in Korea. Especially, for foreign migrants, legality of presence has a major variable on their family formation and family life and this study approaches two different groups of migrants, one with stable visa status and the other group of undocumented migrants. In addition, this study analyzes the present policy of Korea, German and Japan related to foreign migrant’s family to make references for policy recommendation.

The analysis of ‘2014 Foreigners Labor Force Survey’ Database shows the result that half of foreign migrants live together with their family members, which implies that a large number of migrant’s family other than so-called ‘multicultural family’ is already present in Korea. However, the Korean government gives little consideration to the presence of migrant’s family and their real life related to marriage, child-birth, education, employment and ageing.

Among the foreign migrants, International student is the group Korean government tries to settle down. However, their family life including marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, child-rearing and education are not considered in government policy. As they can't devote themselves to work and should focus on study, it is a big burden to afford family life like housing, pregnancy, childbirth, and especially child-rearing. Because of that burden, it is reported that some international students give up Korean life after their graduation, which means that recent Korean policy for settlement of international student is hard to succeed. In addition, the fact that they are officially qualified to approach some public services related to family life cannot guarantee the real approach because public services assume requisites foreigner are not allowed.

Furthermore, it is to be critically considered that main public services for social welfare and employment are based on absolute dichotomy. This system has serious limitations in that policy approach for immigrant’s social and economic settlement is vacant during long period before acquiring nationality. In current system, foreign migrants are irrelevant to social services, even though suffer in various problem and policy approach starts after the relevant timing has past.

It is worth pay attention to foreign migrants groups who have stayed in Korea for a long time and are likely to settle including permanent residents(F-5), overseas Koreans(F-4), Working Visitor(H-2). They are getting older during their long stay in Korea for last one or two decades. But, their economic condition is still weak and working ability has lessened due to their ageing. Their child-generation is also hard to get a proper job, so that they might be exposed to economic difficulties. As they don’t acquire nationality, they cannot approach the social service to support employment. As a result, it is likely that an increasing number of permanent resident and nationalized Korean suffer from poverty.

On the other hands, there are group of undocumented migrants who form new family in Korea or live together with family members following from origin country. In fact, from the early of 2000s, there are NGO’s activities and IO’s approaches to this group, especially their child’s difficulties in school entrance, which lead to some improvement in legal basis for school entrance. In addition, NGO’s support such as medical treatment and child-rearing gives the minimum social security for them. However, without legal status, they have to live a family life solving various problems such as pregnancy, childbirth, child-rearing and education and so on out of official area.

It is also worth noting that there is an child-generation grown up in Korea as undocumented migrant for a long time. As grown up in Korea, they can't understand their parents who insist on ‘returning a homeland’ some day. On the other hand, as undocumented, they often face obstacles that their Korean peer don’t meet and experience separation from them. With crisis of belonging and of identity, they might keep a distance from Korea society even they are living in.

Besides, it is needed to pay attention to undocumented and unmarried mother, which are not earnestly pursued before. They suffer dual vulnerability in family life as undocumented migrant and unmarried single mother. They might be forced in danger of basic living, even be faced more serious danger to find a way to solve their problem by themselves.

As such, family migration is quickly deployed and a number of migrant family is already present in Korea. Their impact on Korean society is growing, but the government policy remains quite limited. It is necessary that Korea government concerns family migration/ migrant family as the main issue of related policies and develop a wide range of policy measures concerning various groups of migrant family and their family life such as marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, child-rearing and education, health, housing, basic living, employment, aging and so on.