Korea will become a super-aged society within 20 years, but there is not enough space for the elderly to socialize. In addition, the suicide rates of elderly Koreans who feel isolated is increasing. Therefore, the elderly who want to meet people but don't have a place to meet them need community-based facilities and services for this purpose.

One in five senior citizens within the next 25 years

The elderly population in Korea is increasing rapidly. According to UN standards, if the population aged 65 or older exceeds 7% of the total, it is called an “aging society.” If it is over 14%, it is called an “aged society.”, If it is over 20%, it is called a “super-aged society.” The UN predicts that Korea, which became an aging society in 2000, will have a super-aged society by 2026.

In particular, 2020 was the year when those born in 1955, the first Baby Boomer generation in Korea, turned 65 years old. The primary Baby Boomer population amounts to about 7.27 million people, similar to the current population of those aged 65 or older. In other words, the elderly population will grow at much faster pace in the future.

Life expectancy has been extended due to the development of medical technology, while the birth rate has slowed. Korea's life expectancy increased from 62.3 years old in 1970 to 83.3 years as of 2019. A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) stated, "Korea has been the youngest country ever, but it will change to the oldest country in the next 50 years." Korea, once the youngest country in the world, is now turning into the oldest country.

Many elderly people have no one to talk to

Another phenomenon is increasing as fast as the aging rate in Korea: depression and suicide rates in the elderly population. COVID-19 is making this situation worse because existing community facilities are closed and family meetings have decreased.

Statistics show a high suicide rate among those in their 70s and older. The total suicide rate in 2019 (the number of people who die by suicide out of 100,000 people) was 26.9%; 5.9% were teenagers, 19.2% were in their 20s, 26.9% were in their 30s, 31% were in their 40s, 33.3% were in their 50s, 33.7% were in their 60s, 46.2% were in their 70s, and 67.4% were in their 80s. As shown by these statistics, there were many suicides among people in their 70s and 80s.

The main cause of suicide is economic and social isolation. According to a survey of senior citizens released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 10.9% of senior citizens reported that they had considered suicide after they reached the age of 60, citing economic difficulties (40.4%), health (24.4%), loneliness (13.3%), and conflict and disconnection with couples, children, and friends (11.5%).

As of 2019, there were 4.388 million elderly households, accounting for 21.8% of all households in Korea. Among these elderly households, one-person households accounted for 1.5 million (34.2%) households. The number of elderly living alone has increased by more than 50% in the last 10 years.

According to the Central Suicide Prevention Center, elderly people may consider themselves worthless due to depression and may think pessimistically. Jeon Hong-Jin, a professor of psychiatry at Samsung Medical Center, stated, “There are absolutely many senior citizens who visit the clinic due to depression.”

How can we build a community for the elderly population?

As many indicators show, elderly-related infrastructure is lacking compared to the aging rate in Korea. In particular, public services related to socializing among older people are still limited.

Previously, socializing for the elderly was centered around senior citizen centers in apartments, large discount stores, and cultural centers in department stores. However, according to a survey by The Scoop, senior citizen centers are known to have a clear hierarchy, and the cost of cultural centers is a burden. Furthermore, with the recent COVID-19 closures, there have not been enough places for the elderly to talk to others. Thus, more community spaces for senior citizens are needed so that the elderly can socialize.

The Korean government recognizes this problem and is creating a community care system. Community Care is an integrated care service provided by the community to help residents who need care (e.g., elderly, disabled) and allow them to enjoy services that suit their individual needs at their homes and in the community. The Basic Plan for Integrated Community Care, announced by the government in November 2018, includes expanding the residential support infrastructure, creating intensive visiting medical services, establishing long-term care insurance for the next generation, meal delivery, and establishing a care information counter in local.

However, there is no specific information on spaces and programs for the elderly to talk to other people. What kind of community should the elderly have for healthy socializing? Should the community building be public? How should we organize the community services? Discussions about communities where the elderly can socialize have just begun.

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Korea's MZ generation has developed a strong interest in the investment market. The MZ generation refers to young people in their 20s and 30s, which encompasses millennials born in the early 1980s and early 2000s, as well as members of the Z generation born in the early 2000s.

Young Koreans are spending more than twice as much money on stocks as they did in 2020. These young, ambitious Koreans are even pioneering a new investment market called Resell. They do not hesitate to invest in debt.

Why have Korea’s young people collectively entered the investment market in recent years? It is not because young people are simply interested in investing. This recent phenomenon is complicated by significant socioeconomic factors in Korean society, including income gaps between jobs, rising housing prices, and inequality.

Korea’s MZ Generation Investing in Stocks, Sneakers, and Cryptocurrency

Until quite recently in Korea, stock investors evoked an image reminiscent of a desperate loser. Today, if you don't invest in stocks, you're considered a fool in some circles. The entry rate of young Koreans into the investment market has increased significantly in recent years. Investment stocks are diversified into domestic stocks, U.S. stocks, and cryptocurrencies.

According to the "Status of Private Investors' holdings in December 2020," announced in April 2021 by the Korea Securities Department (KSD), Korea's only deposit agency, 3 million Koreans began investing in stocks in 2020, accounting for 53.5% of investors under 30. Additionally, 64% of investors in their 20s and younger who are currently investing in stocks started investing in 2020. Among investors in their 30s and younger who are currently investing in stocks, 41% started investing in 2020.

Investors in their 30s had 33.6 trillion won ($308.57 million) in stock holdings, 98% higher than in 2019, representing a significant increase compared to other age groups. Data from six securities firms, including Mirae Asset Daewoo, KB Securities, NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Kiwoom Securities and Yuanta Securities, also showed that many Koreans in their 20s and 30s opened securities accounts in 2020. The account opening rate for those in their 30s topped the list at 27.6%, followed by those in their 20s, at a rate of 26.6%.

The MZ generation's entry into the cryptocurrency investment market is also noteworthy. According to a "virtual currency app market analysis report" released in March 2021 by big data platform company Igaworks, people in their 20s and 30s accounted for more than 59% of the app users of Crypto Exchange as of February 2021.

Members of Generation MZ have not only recently entered existing investment markets, but have also pioneered a new investment market called 'Resell.' Resell is a new financial technology firm that buys limited edition sneakers, limited edition luxury goods, Legos, and stars' goods at high prices. Ninety Percent of users of South Korea's limited edition sneaker exchange, "Out of Stock," are in their 20s and 30s. Why have young Koreans collectively turned to the investment market?

Behind Their Investment Is the Income Gap between Jobs

The investment craze among young Koreans began with the despair of "working [but] not being able to buy a house." Typically in Korea, young wage earners bought a house with money saved from earned income as a natural way of life. However, the income gap between jobs in Korea has widened day by day, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for most young people who have not secured good jobs to raise money through labor in order to purchase a home.

According to a report published by the Korea Small Business Institute (KOSBI) in March 2021, the average monthly wage of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) with 5-499 full-time workers was 3.377 million won in 2019, which represents 59.4% of the average wage of 5.69 million won for large companies with 500 or more workers. Twenty years ago, in 1999, SMEs workers received 71.7% of the wages of large companies.

The opportunity for quality jobs is limited in Korea, and this piece of the pie is growing smaller with each passing year. According to Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) data, in 2018, 17.1 million workers in small and medium-sized enterprises experienced low wages and poor treatment in Korea. On the other hand, only 3.48 million workers, or 20% of small and medium-sized companies, are employed by large companies.

As of March 2021, Korea's youth unemployment rate stood at 10%. This is due to the widening wage gap between jobs and fierce competition to secure well-paying jobs. More young people have prepared for recruitment tests to obtain high-quality jobs, such as large companies and state-run companies, or have given up their job search due to firms’ narrowly focused recruitment efforts.

Even if a young Korean manages to save a small amount of money from his or her salary, it is difficult to amass a lump sum sufficient to purchase a home because of the low interest rates. Consistent with the global low interest rate trend, the benchmark interest rate recently announced by the Bank of Korea, the central bank of Korea, stood at 0.5% annually, contrary to the 15-25% rates in the 1980s and 1990s, when parents of the current generation of MZs were saving.

Housing Prices Are Rising Much Faster than Incomes

The huge increase in housing prices has caused young Korean men to make a decisive decision to revise their typical life path: "Buy a house with money earned from work." Housing prices in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, have sharply risen by more than 20 to 40% in recent years. As a result, the gap between young people's low earned incomes and housing prices has widened substantially.

According to the "Monthly Housing Price Trends" data released by KB Kookmin Bank in April 2021, the average price of small apartments under 60㎡ was ₩767.89 million (approximately $687,149) as of March 2021. This is up 22% from ₩625.97 million ($560,152) a year ago. It is important to note that the average price in 2021 has doubled from ₩382.02 million ($341,852) in May 2017, about four years ago.

As apartment prices rose steeply, the period of time young people had to prepare to buy a house increased rapidly. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, the price-to-income ratio (PIR) amounts to 12.8 years. PIR is data calculated using borrower data received from KB Kookmin Bank. It represents the time it takes for middle-income earners to save money in order to buy a median house without spending a penny. Considering the fact that the PIR in the second quarter of 2017 was only 8.8 years, and stood at 7.4 years in the first quarter of 2008, when the statistics were first calculated, it is obvious that this figure has increased significantly in recent years.

Since the 12.8 years mentioned above were calculated on the premise that middle-income earners would not spend any salary, it would take much more time to buy a house than 12.8 years, assuming that they would actually spend it on living expenses. In summary, the scenario of working hard to save money and buy a house for young Koreans has deteriorated into an old story that is becoming increasingly out of reach.

Young People Desperate for Reality, Seeking Hope through Investments

Young people in despair have turned their eyes toward the investment market. Recently, the stock market has been booming due to the global liquidity supply, and Korea's MZ generation is looking with hope to the investment market.

Due to the investment craze of young people, two new terms have been coined: "Youngkkeul," which means buying a house by lending souls, and "bit too," which means I also invest in debt. According to data received by Jang Hye-young, a member of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, the balance of credit loans of Koreans in their 20s was 379.8 billion won as of August 2020, more than double (133.8%) the figure of 162.4 billion won in August 2019.

In response, lawmaker Jang Hye-young said, "A lot of money flowed into the stock market as stock prices soared in 2020, but many people in their 20s flowed into the stock market to the point where it was difficult to express that there were many." Jang Hye-young added, "The cause is not hantangism, but anxiety about consolidated inequality and [the] widening asset gap."

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South Korean entertainment companies are working to export their K-Pop idol cultivational systems to foreign countries. As K-Pop idols have achieved significant results in the U.S. market recently, Korean entertainment firms intend to develop new profit models by nurturing idols directly from abroad in addition to the expansion of Korean idols overseas.

Is this system really effective for sufficiently nurturing artists to export abroad? We need to note that this system is a "standardized" project designed by idol producers that ignores each trainee's individuality and human rights and unifies them into a "slim and bright" image.

Hive·JYP·RBW…Export of idol cultivation systems

Korean entertainment agencies are working to foster K-pop idols in the U.S. and Japan directly, in addition to promoting K-pop idols in Korea. Their intention is to create a new profit model in overseas markets by exporting a system that fosters idols.

BTS agency Hive is in a situation where it must diversify its profit portfolio as BTS member Jin is about to join the military. In response, Hive has chosen to enter the U.S. market. In order to strengthen its connection with the U.S. market, Hive announced in January 2021 that it would establish a joint venture with the U.S. Universal Group and produce an idol audition program. In April, for $1.05 billion the company acquired a 100 percent stake in Ithaca Holdings, the agency of Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, through Big Hit America.

In addition to Hive, large Korean agencies are also exporting their own idol cultivational systems to find profit models in overseas markets. JYP Entertainment, one of Korea's top three agencies, is working with Sony Music, Japan's largest record label, to conduct a global audition "Nizi Project" to select and create girl groups. More than 10,000 applicants flocked to global auditions in Japan and the United States in July and August last year. The selected girl group is scheduled to debut in Japan in November. RBW, which is affiliated with the girl group Mamamoo, debuted boy group D1Verse in Vietnam in February 2020.

"Power of the System" K-pop Idol

The Korean idol cultivational system, which is expanding the profit model of Korean entertainment agencies in the U.S. and Japan, is a system that creates 'standardized' idols. Korean agencies do not work with outstanding artists ready to debut immediately, but rather select young people with potential and train them from one year and up to 10 years to meet their standards and to make them standardized idols.

SM, YG, and JYP, now the top three agencies, became big agencies through the idols created by the system. The system dates back to the 1990s, when idol H.O.T and SES was released by SM Entertainment, Fin.K.L and Sechs Kies released by DSP Entertainment, the agencies began to recruit trainees in earnest to foster idols.

Representative idols produced by SM Entertainment include BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, EXO, Red Velvet, NCT and Espa. BoA, who marked the beginning of a production-type idol, is famous for her anecdote that she was selected when she was in elementary school, planned to target the Japanese market, and stayed with a Japanese announcer for three years during practice.

YG emphasized hip-hop labels by producing Jinusean and 1TYM, but gradually expanded its production scope to the idol market by producing Seven, Lexy, Big Bang, 2NE1, WINNER, iKON and Black Pink. JYP produced idols such as g.o.d, Rain, wonder girls, miss A, 2PM, 2AM and TWICE. Big Hit Entertainment, the predecessor to Hive, which has recently emerged as an aggressive M&A, was a small and medium-sized agency, but BTS's success in the U.S. market has given it a big hand in the Korean production industry.

The artist's personality and human rights hidden in the "Idol Painting."

Then, is the K-Pop idol cultivation system one that can contribute to discovering and nurturing idols and even good artists? Given the success of idols and production companies, it seems to prove that this standardized system can make the idols we expect efficiently. However, there seems to be room for improvement in that each trainee's individuality and human rights are ignored within the system.

Most idol trainees are children or teenagers. However, the idol system focuses only on one goal: to create 'slim and bright' idols. In addition to training, the system requires trainees abide by a number of rules including bans on dating, cell phones, and high-calorie foods, and a requirement of low weight. It is standard practice to create unlimited competition by frequently dropping trainees after monthly evaluations.

Jin, a member of BTS (BTS), confessed on a talk show, "I survived for a year eating only two pieces of chicken breasts a day." TWICE member Momo also said, "I heard from my agency that I can't debut unless I lose 7kg a week. For the next week, I stayed up with a few pieces of ice, and every time I slept, I was afraid I couldn't get up.”

Trainees who spent their adolescent years working to match the image of idols, or idols who made their debut through competition, complain of anxiety. In April 2021, NU'EST agency Pledis Entertainment said, "Member Aaron received a specialist's opinion that he needs stability and rest due to psychological anxiety. We plan to operate Aaron's second regular album in a flexible manner." TWICE's Jeongyeon was absent from the group’s second full-length album in October 2020 due to anxiety and, before that, TWICE’s Mina also took a break from team activities due to the same symptoms. In addition, numerous idol singers, including Oh My Girl Ji-ho, Monsta X Joo-heon, Seventeen S.Coups and WJSN Da-won, have suspended their activities due to mental anxiety.

However, with the success of the K-pop idol market, the way in which the agencies foster idols is becoming the "right thing." This empowers producers to fit trainees into the standard uniform of still slim and bright idols and violate their human rights in the process. "We want to consume a good image through idols," lawyer Song Hye-mi said in an Aju Economic Contribution. "However, are idols in a situation where they can grow up right and nice?" he asked. "I think Korea, which produces idols that are popular around the world, should seriously reflect on this issue now."

It is time to think about what K-Pop idols the market wants and how to establish a nurturing system in which the needs of producers, trainees, and consumers coexist.

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A technology platform has emerged between consumers and providers. Today, platform startups are connecting providers and consumers in a variety of fields, including restaurants, finance, mobility, law, and healthcare. In particular, platforms in the lemon market sector, which has been a site of severe information imbalances between producers and consumers, seem to have succeeded in attracting consumers through innovation.

However, the more technology platforms benefit platforms and consumers, and the more these platforms maximize their profits, the more intense their conflicts with existing providers become. In turn, intensified competition with suppliers leads to increased government regulation. Platforms must thus carefully balance their interests in increasing profits, the interests of existing providers, and the interests of consumers. The examples of Baedal Minjok, TADA, Lawtalk, gangnamunni all showcase this situation.

Baedal Minjok's success

Baedal Minjok, a food delivery platform, is a representative successful O2O (Online to Offline) startup in Korea. It is well-known that founder Kim Bong-jin collected flyers from restaurants one by one in the early days of the start-up.

The strategy Baedal Minjok has used to attract consumers is “connection and review.” Baedal Minjok collected restaurant information that was previously shared sporadically in booklet form and provided it consistently and clearly to consumers. This information also includes consumer reviews that were not previously provided in the booklet.

Thanks to this strategy, Baedal Minjok was acquired by Germany's Delivery Hero in December 2019 for €5.7 billion. According to Delivery Hero, transactions made through the Baedal Minjok platform (GMV) totaled €11.6 billion, representing an increase of 73% year-on-year. Elegant Brothers’ 2020 sales grew 102% to €918 million. The number of orders made through Baedal Minjok in 2020 increased 75% year-on-year, reaching €729 million.

However, Baedal Minjok’s goal to balance the benefits between the company, the providers and the consumers remains elusive. Baedal Minjok is currently receiving criticism from its providers (i.e., restaurant owners) for high advertising and delivery costs. These costs charged to restaurant owners are also reflected in the food prices, leading to complaints from consumers. As a result, the government is moving to regulate the platform, and competitors such as Yogiyo and Coupang are growing. Baedal Minjok is struggling to increase its added value through its one-hour mart delivery service Bmart.

For a platform business to succeed, consumers, suppliers, and governments must be persuaded. However, there are many cases that fail at the stage of persuading existing operators and disappear due to government regulations. The ‘TADA Basic’ service of the mobility platform TADA, which appeared in April 2018, is representative of this scenario.

TADA's disappearance

TADA banked on the fact that passengers are often uncomfortable using taxi services due to factors such as taxi drivers deliberately taking longer routes to get high fares, refusing to accept customers who want to go to areas where taxi fares are not high, or engaging customers in excessive conversation. TADA hired drivers without a taxi license. The service was initially well received by consumers due to three key features: drivers were prohibited from refusing passengers, driving recklessly, and speaking to passengers.

However, the taxi industry strongly protested this service, due to TADA taking away taxi customers and using unlicensed drivers. Eventually, the government passed an amendment in favor of taxi operators to the Transportation Business Act, called the TADA Prohibition Act. After a year and a half, TADA announced the end of its service. Currently, Kakao T, which connects existing taxis with customers, has a near-monopoly on the market.

Legal and medical innovation in progress

Currently, there are sharp conflicts between platforms and providers in the medical and legal fields. Lawtalk, Korea's representative legal tech platform, is currently in conflict with the Bar Association. Lawtalk matches lawyers and clients for free and generates profits from lawyers’ advertising fees. As a result, since the launch of the service in 2014, Lawtalk has attracted 1920 million users and has reached 510,000 counseling cases, and about 4,000 (17%) of the 30,000 Korean lawyers have joined Lawtalk. Among them, 78.7% have less than 10 years of experience.

As Lawtalk grew, the Korean Bar Association recently revised its rules for advertising for lawyers and decided to implement them in August 2021. The amendment calls for disciplinary action against lawyers who commission advertisements on platforms that promote lawyers for financial consideration such as fees and advertising fees.

Gangnamunni, a medical information platform, connects people seeking plastic surgery counseling and treatment with hospitals. The platform usually earns profits by receiving advertising fees from hospitals. In addition to free counseling, consumers can see the price of procedures such as plastic surgery, dermatology, and dentistry at non-paid medical hospitals. They can also see before and after photos of the treatment and can receive a discount if they make an appointment through the app. At the end of 2020, five years after the platform’s launch, the cumulative number of subscribers exceeded 2.5 million, and the cumulative number of hospital counseling applications exceeded 1 million. One of three plastic surgery clinics in the country is listed on Gangnamunni.

At the end of 2020, the Korean Medical Association defined such apps as “illegal patient placement apps” and instructed its members not to sign contracts with the company. In addition, Gangnamunni recently asked the government for a bill to expand the scope of medical advertisement deliberation and strengthen the authority of the deliberation committee, due to the possibility of violating the Medical Advertising Act. Gangnamunni and other startups stated that self-regulation and strengthened post-regulation and supervision of illegal medical advertisements are preferable to expanding the scope of deliberation, particularly at a time when the expertise and objectivity of the review body are suspect.

As platforms change consumers’ consumption behavior, the interests of platforms, suppliers, and consumers can clash. While the platform is trying to maximize its profits, suppliers do not want to lose their existing profits, and consumers are trying to innovate at a minimum cost. In addition, differences in needs of suppliers further complicate conflicts. At this point, questions should be asked regarding what role the government and the public should play.

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There is a special group of immigrants in Korea known as “marriage immigrants.” This group is primarily comprised of women who immigrate to Korea in order to marry rural or low-income Korean men. Most often, these women hail from less-developed countries in Asia.

In the absence of a sufficient care system in Korea, often these women are responsible for bearing and raising children, and also caring for the elderly and the disabled. However, institutional and social discrimination against these marriage immigrants continues to this day.

Number of Asian Women Married to Koreans Doubles in 10 Years

The number of marriage immigrants in Korea who have become members of Korean society through marriage doubled in 10 years. Additionally, the number of marriage immigrants who entered the country on a marriage visa (F-6) increased by more than 28 percent annually from 2002 to 2014.

Since April 2014, however, the number has increased by only about 1.6 percent every year. This decline is primarily attributable to strengthened regulations pertaining to the screening of marriage immigration certificates and mandatory completion of international marriage guidance programs. Until the 1990s, many Japanese women entered the country via religious organizations, but since the early 2000s, the number of marriage immigrants from other Asian countries has increased.

According to the "Status of Marriage Immigration by Nationality, Region, and Gender," released by the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, the number of marriage immigrants stood at 166,025 at the end of 2019, up 4.3 percent year-on-year. By nationality, China comprised the largest number of marriage immigrants at 36.3 percent, followed by Vietnam at 26.6 percent, Japan at 8.5 percent, and the Philippines at 7.2 percent. In terms of gender, women account for the vast majority of marriage immigrants in Korea, comprising 82.5 percent of the total (137,094).

The number of marriage immigrants, including those remaining on a marriage visa (F-6) and become naturalized as Korean citizens, increased from about 121,110 in 2007 to 264,681 in 2017. Among total migration, marriage immigrants account for 10 to 12 percent, of which women account for 70 to 80 percent.

Lack of Care System the Reason for Most Marriage Immigrants

Why did a special class of marriage immigrants form in Korea? The root cause lies in the absence of an adequate care system. In other words, the South Korean government has left the job of caring for children, the elderly, and the disabled to the 'family' rather than providing a system for such care.

In the past, women in the family were primarily in charge of family care labor under the concepts of filial piety and patriarchy. However, recently women's social advancement has become more active due to decreases in the income of men engaged in economic activities, in the birthrate, and increases in double-income households, as well as the dissolution of long-held family concepts. As a result, there has been a shortage of people to take care of family members who require assistance, especially among low-income families and aging rural households who cannot afford to hire caregivers.

One aspect of this arrangement that has been examined is the supply and demand of labor through marriage in Asian countries. According to the 2017 paper, "A Study on Life Experience with Handicapped People and Global Care Work Contexts," written by Professors Kim Eun-jae and Kim Sung-cheon of Chung-Ang University, migrant women from Asia who have relatively lower economic power in Korea work as housekeepers and caregivers and take care of their in-laws.

Professor Eun Ki-soo, Director of the Center for International Migration and Inclusive Society at Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies, said the following in an interview with Kyunghyang, "Korea has relatively low social spending on welfare policies among OECD countries. Caring labor in the family is also forced on migrant women under the name of 'family duty' and 'filial piety.'"

Marriage immigrants make up for Korea's insufficient care and welfare system, but social awareness and social safety nets are lacking in the extreme. These immigrants are exposed to crime and social discrimination, including violence and sexual assault, under the concept of patriarchy.

Violence in particular is a significant problem for marriage immigrants. It is well known that Korean husbands often use violence against their wives to emphasize absolute obedience to their families, as well as the expectation of caring labor from a patriarchal point of view. According to 2020 counseling statistics released in February 2021 by the Seoul Migrant Women's Counseling Center, which serves as a refuge for migrant women in need, 23.97 percent of cases were for legal counseling on sexual violence and sexual harassment. This was followed by various life-related counseling (18.6 percent), divorce counseling (15.84 percent), visa counseling (9.32 percent), domestic violence counseling (7.21 percent), refuge counseling (7.05 percent), and marital conflict counseling (4.82 percent).

There is also social discrimination. According to a report released by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in 2019, 68 percent of 310 migrant respondents said racism exists in Korea. Sources of discrimination included spouses, families or other relatives, bosses, and immigration offices. The most common reasons for not responding when experiencing discrimination included responses such as, "I don't think it will change" and "I don't know how to respond."

Another problem is the process of supplying migrant women. International marriage brokers are still well aware that what Korean society wants from migrant women is "family care," advertising that they accept patriarchal values such as taking good care of their parents-in-law and giving birth to young children, which suggests that they can be treated recklessly. Additionally, the wife's family is most often far away.

An ad from one brokerage firm reveals serious discriminatory remarks and actions based on race, gender, appearance, nationality, religion, etc., while emphasizing all traditional female attributes. As for Vietnamese women, they described them as follows: "Vietnam still has a large family system, so they take good care of their parents-in-law and obey their husbands." As for Filipino women, "They have a lot of mixed blood with white people, so their appearance is beautiful. Because they are often Catholic, they value one marriage very much.” As for Cambodian women, another wrote, "We maintain our traditional values, so we keep our chastity well, and we know it as a virtue to devote ourselves to and obey a man."

The Reality of Marriage Immigrants: Institutional Blind Spots and Discrimination

Despite such cases of damage, marriage immigrants' eligibility to remain in Korea is still up to their Korean husbands. If their husbands don’t agree, marriage immigrants can't stay in Korea, and their families can't enter Korea. In addition, marriage immigrants take care of their husbands and their parents-in-law in Korea, but often they are not able to take care of their own parents properly. This is because there is no time to visit their home country, and even if parents can be brought to Korea, the screening process is complicated, and the duration of their stay is often very short. For marriage immigrants to bring their parents to Korea, only short-term tourist visas (C-3) for up to three months are available at this time.

Korea has long been a closed society. However, marriage immigrants and their children are transforming Korea into a multicultural society, with the immigration population now at 3 million, or 6 percent of the total population. It seems abundantly clear that a full review of the welfare care system, including institutional maintenance and the inclusion of racial diversity regulations, is needed to assist those immigrants who make up for Korea’s insufficient welfare system.

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In Korea, there are two terms that refer to foreign residents: “foreigners” and “foreign workers.” Foreigners are, quite literally, people from abroad who are visiting or living in Korea. This term covers a wide range of nationalities and social classes, from foreign students to expatriates to tourists. However, unlike the term ‘foreigners,’ ‘foreign workers’ carries a special meaning. It refers to workers from less developed countries in Asia who are living in Korea with the express purpose of earning money.

So, do these foreign workers earn the money they expect to make by locating in Korea, even as defined by discriminatory terms? The answer to this question is complicated and, above all else, points to the need for reform.

Foreign Workers in Korea

Foreign workers in Korea began entering the country under the employment permit system(EPS), which took effect in 2004. The employment permit system was designed to solve the workforce shortage in 3D industries such as manufacturing, agriculture and livestock, fisheries, and construction, which many Koreans avoid. Foreign workers entering the system obtain E-9 or H-2 visas.

The nationality of foreign workers who obtain E-9 visas is primarily comprised of less developed countries in Asia. According to data from Statistics Korea (KOSTAT), in 2020, 6,688 people from 16 countries – including 2,172 from Cambodia, 955 from Nepal, 700 from Myanmar, and 641 from Indonesia – entered Korea with E-9 visas. By way of comparison, in 2019, before the novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), 51,365 people from 16 countries – including Cambodia, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, East Timor, Pakistan, China, Laos, and Kyrgyzstan – entered Korea with E-9 visas.

The H2 visa is a special visa for Korean descendants who live abroad. Representatively, Koreans in the former Soviet Union, including Russia and Uzbekistan (they are referred to as ‘Koryŏ-in’), and ethnic Koreans in China (They are referred to as ‘Chosun-jok’) can work in Korea with an H2 visa in hand. Koryŏ-in refers to Koreans who moved from Korea to Primorye Province when Japan occupied Korea in the late 20th century. There are many theories about this period of movement among Chosun-jok, but it is commonly characterized as a group of Koreans who emigrated from the Korean Peninsula during the late 20th century during the Chosun Dynasty and the Japanese colonial era. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, they became members of China's ethnic minorities under the term ‘Chaoxian-zu(Chinese pronunciation of Chosun-jok).’

Money Earned by Foreign Workers in Korea

The purpose of foreign workers who come to Korea from less developed countries in Asia is to make money through their labor. According to relevant data, on the surface, foreign workers seem to have come to Korea and successfully made money.

According to data from the Ministry of Justice and KOSTAT, 72% of foreign workers with E-9 visas earned at least 2 million Korean Won (approximately $1785) a month in May 2020. Some 26% earned an average monthly income of 1 million to 2 million won, 63% earned 2 million to 3 million won, and 9% earned more than 3 million won. The relative standard error for earnings of less than 1 million won was more than 25%, and as a result, this income level was not counted.

The results do not differ markedly from Korean employees. According to a survey released by the job portal Incruit in 2020, the average starting salary of new Korean employees of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with less than 30 employees was 2.31 million won per month. In light of the fact that foreign workers are usually engaged in simple jobs at SMEs, there is no significant difference in firms’ treatment of foreign workers when compared with new small and medium-sized companies targeting Koreans.

Compared to per capita gross national income (GNI) in Cambodia and Nepal, foreign workers in Korea earned more than they would have had they worked in these countries. Additionally, 73.1% of foreign workers in 2020 cited "high wages" as the reason for choosing Korea as an overseas employment destination.

Money Lost by Foreign Workers in Korea

However, foreign workers in Korea are losing money in blind spots, including labor and human rights. They are not receiving the true price of their labor due to unpaid wages, low wages, and prolonged labor problems at labor sites.

According to a report released by the Busan Development Institute in March 2021, 31.5% of the problems raised by migrant workers to the Busan Foreign Resident’s Center were related to overdue wages. Other problems raised in order of prevalence include medical and industrial accidents (14.8%), multicultural families (11.0%), employment permits related to workplace changes (7.8%), granted status of stay changes (7.7%), and labor conditions (6.5%).

According to the "Foreign Workers Wage Deficit Report Status" submitted by Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee, in October 2020, the number of foreign workers awaiting payment of overdue wages in Korea has surged every year, surpassing 100 billion won for the first time in 2020. According to a report published in January 2021 by the Korea Labor and Society Institute, migrant workers endure long hours of labor and low wages, with ‘restrictions on workplace movement’ and ‘short-term labor cycle policies (up to 9 years and 8 months).’

The reason why foreign workers lose money is that their visas are dependent upon their employers. Foreign workers must work at the workplaces of employers who have signed labor contracts before workers have entered the country. Additionally, foreign workers can move to other workplaces only when they have "approval from the employer whom they will leave." If more than 30% of a year's wages are overdue, or if violence, sexual violence, or discrimination occurs, a foreign worker can move, but in this case, the worker must prove the damage by himself. Therefore, in fact, he or she cannot actually move without the employer's cooperation. If foreign workers in Korea want to move to another business without the cooperation of business owners, they will be reduced to illegal immigrant status.

To date, South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor has focused on cracking down on illegal immigration without revising these toxic statutes. First and foremost, it appears necessary to establish the right working environment and refine policy objectives.

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