International students temporarily moved to another country to study, and some of them are allowed to work in the areas and hours strictly restricted by the government in South Korea. The dual identity of international students working as irregular wo...
International students temporarily moved to another country to study, and some of them are allowed to work in the areas and hours strictly restricted by the government in South Korea. The dual identity of international students working as irregular workers allows them to work legally under strict government regulations, but their work lies on a loose line between regular and irregular, and they are more likely to fall into the trap of irregularity. Focusing on the migration infrastructure system that helps or hinders the movement and settlement of migrants, this study analyzes how the migration infrastructure produces their precarious experiences, which in turn leads to the precariatization. Based on in-depth interviews with 18 international students, who are studying at four-year universities in Korea. The findings are as follows. Each dimension of the migration infrastructure, which consists of the government, universities, labor market, and ethnic network, works in concert with each other to produce irregular labor of international students working as irregular workers. As a result, international students and workers walk a fine line between regular and irregular work, and by doing so, they are precariatized.