Thai migrants’ Mobility and Illegality in South Korea

Abstract

The mobility of Thai migrant workers to South Korea has recently become a pressing concern due to its increasing number of illegal labors and the impacts toward the host society. On one hand, despite the fact that both Thai and Korean governments have implemented several measures to mitigate the problem, the number of illegal migrant labors has not decreased. On the other, the pattern of illegal mobility has significantly changed over the past several years as a response to imposing legal measures and the emerging economic opportunities. This study illustrates the change of illegal Thai migrant workers through the lens of international labour migration and mobility. It aims to identify dynamism and factors influencing labour’s decision-making in regard to their illegality. The data is collected from in-depth interviews of the experienced labors, travel agents, government officers together with participant observation and documentary research.

The findings from the study show that the approach of Thai migrants mobility has mainly changed from formerly relying solely on illegal agents to traveling alone while having ‘the helpers’ at the destination. Compared with the past mobility, most of the recent illegal labors have higher education and younger age, especially those who just marked their first step as illegal migrants. Originally, people with economic-stricken background was the main group in seeking opportunities through illegal labour market. However, as the study shows from the recent mobility, the middle-class family with no debts also participated in this illegal labour market. Income still remains as a major decision-making factor, but other factors—the wider economic opportunities, the recognition of legal gap and mild punishment, the availability of information through online access as well as the experiences from traveling the world—also play a great roles in the changing pattern of illegal migratory practices.