Rights of Migrant Worker in South Korea

In the 1950s, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in Asia. Since the late 1980s South Korea came to be known as a country importing foreign workers, which was once used to be a country exporting its workforces. This thesis paper highlights conditions of Bangladeshi migrant workers employed in informal nature jobs in South Korean labor market. A total of 20 respondents are selected purposively for data collection. Glimpse of pains and pleasures of migrant workers are simply sketched here rather than statistical interpretation. Sound bite dialogue of their biographic case studies is also documented in this study. Majority of respondents mention that they are facing discrimination in wages, regular payment, overtime, working hours, holidays, leaves and rest. They are at risk of mental, physical and sexual abuse in workplace. Migrant workers have little scope to observe religious festivals. They are also victims of discrimination in access to educational institutions and training program. The key recommendation of this study is to ratify International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW).