The Land of Promise: Migrant Workers in Contemporary Korea.
Since their introduction in the 1990s to address labor shortages, migrant workers in South Korea (hereafter Korea) have become indispensable yet remain marginalized, facing discrimination and lacking legal protections. Despite efforts such as the Employment Permit System, disparities persist, often...
| Publicado en: | Art Journal Vol. 85; no. 1; pp. 59 - 78 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Spring2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=192771824&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 192771824 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00043249 ARJ jtl: Art Journal issn: 00043249 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Spring2026 vid: 85 iid: 1 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 192771824 10.1080/00043249.2026.2624351 ppf: 59 ppct: 19 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 3.4MB tig: atl: The Land of Promise: Migrant Workers in Contemporary Korea. aug: au: Chun, Minji su: Migrant labor Korean art Koreans Identity (Psychology) Social marginality Racial inequality Race discrimination Labor mobility South Korea Korea sug: subj: South Korea Korea Migrant labor Korean art Koreans Identity (Psychology) Social marginality Racial inequality Race discrimination Labor mobility ab: Since their introduction in the 1990s to address labor shortages, migrant workers in South Korea (hereafter Korea) have become indispensable yet remain marginalized, facing discrimination and lacking legal protections. Despite efforts such as the Employment Permit System, disparities persist, often exacerbated by sociocultural norms that prioritize ethnic homogeneity and the "pure blood" ideology, leading to systemic discrimination and social exclusion. I consider the artwork of contemporary Korean artists who engage with these realities, notably Mixrice, Yuri An, and the AfroAsia Collective. Each foregrounds a different migrant community as a constitutive element of Korean society, illuminating the complexities of migrant life and the struggle for a cohesive identity in Korea. Mixrice's projects focus on community interaction and integration, often in collaboration with Southeast Asian workers. Yuri An probes the fraught identities of the Joseonjok, Chinese nationals of Korean descent. With a community-based multidisciplinary practice, the AfroAsia Collective captures the lives of African migrant workers, bringing attention to their everyday existence and aspirations. Together, the practices of these artists dismantle inherited stereotypes and expose the contested terrain of belonging in a society negotiating demographic transformation. By examining these artistic approaches, I contend that "Koreanness" must be reimagined through the lens of migration, shifting the nation once heralded as a "land of promise" toward a future where plurality and diversity are recognized as the very grounds of its identity. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Art Journal is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Art Journal holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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