2010 Byoungha Lee ALL RIGHTS RESERVED COMPARING IMMIGRATION POLICIES IN JAPAN AND KOREA: A HISTORICAL-INSTITUTIONALIST APPROACH by BYOUNGHA LEE A dissertation submitted to the Graduate-School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Political Science written under the direction of Professor Daniel Tichenor and approved by _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey May, 2010 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Comparing Immigration Policies in Japan and Korea: a historical-institutionalist approach By BYOUNGHA LEE Dissertation Director: Daniel Tichenor This dissertation, Comparing Immigration Policies in Japan and Korea: a historical-institutionalist approach examines convergence and divergence in immigration policies between Japan and Korea. I challenge a well-established hypothesis that supports policy convergence based on the experiences of European countries. I argue that significant policy divergence has occurred between Korea and Japan especially when it comes to unskilled foreign workers, while policy convergence has been observed in return migration policies toward ethnic Koreans and Japanese. To explain these puzzles, I propose a historical-institutionalist approach to immigration policy by placing special emphasis on intra-governmental competition and political coalitions between state and social movement organizations (e.g. pro-migrant NGOs) in the policy-making processes. Using data from governmental sources and interviews, I find that political coalitions between state and pro-migrant civic organizations lead to liberal policies toward unskilled foreign workers in Korea, whereas the absence of influence of civil society in the policy- making process makes immigrant policies less liberal and less flexible in Japan. This comparative study outside of traditional western states not only broadens the empirical scope of international migration studies, but also tests whether current migration theories that heavily rely on Euroamerican cases may apply more generally to non-Western cases. ii For studying other policy areas, my research also can provide new analytical dimension including roles of new social movements in policy domains beyond the traditional view of bureaucracy-led policymaking in Japan and Korea. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…...………………………………………………………….……………………ii Table of Contents…………………...…………………………………...………………..iv List of Tables…………………………………………………………………..………….vi List of Figures…………………………………………………………………..………..vii Chapter 1. Introduction………………………………………………………….……......1 1.1 Immigration Studies in East Asia……………………………………….…………10 1.2 The Puzzles: Comparative Immigration Politics in Japan and Korea…….……....15 1.3 Literature Review……………………………………………………………...…..19 1.4. Analytical Framework……………………………………………………..……..29 1.5. The Main Argument……………………………………………………….……..30 1.6. Research Design and Organization of Dissertation…………………………..….32 1.6.1. Data…………………………………………………………………………32 1.6.2. Methodology………………………………………………………..……...33 1.6.3. Outline of Chapters………………………………………………..…….…37 Chapter 2. Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………....…40 2.1. Theories of Migration……………………………...…………….……………….41 2.2. Theories of Immigration Policy ………………………………………….………47 2.2.1. Political Economy Approach………………………………..……………...50 2.2.2. International Norms Approach………………………………………….….58 2.2.3. Institutionalist Approach……………………….……………………….….64 2.3. Immigration Policy Theories in the Context of Japan and Korea………….…….69 2.4. New Perspective: Thinking About Civil Society, the State, and Immigration Policy in East Asia………………………...……………...……73 Chapter 3. The Current Situation of Immigration in Korea and Japan ………………....79 3.1. Recent Trends of Immigration in Korea and Japan………………..…………….79 3.1.1. Recent Trend of Immigration in Korea…………………………………….79 3.1.2. Recent Trend of Immigration in Japan………………………….………....87 3.2. Historical Background and Demographic Change in Korea……………………..94 3.2.1. Historical Background …………………..…………………………………94 3.2.2. Demographic Change…………………………………………….……..…100 3.3. Historical Background and Demographic Change in Japan…………….……....103 3.3.1. Historical Background ………….……….………………………………..103 3.3.2. Demographic Change …...………..…………………………………..…..115 3.4. Immigration Policy in Korea……………………………….……..….………....118 3.5. Immigration Policy in Japan……………………………………..…….……..…135 iv Chapter 4. Explaining Policy Divergence between South Korea and Japan: From Training Program to Employment Permit Program……………..…...144 4.1. Introduction………………………………………………………………..…….144 4.2. Puzzle……...………………………………………………………………..…...146 4.3. Political Economy Approach…………………………………………………....149 4.4. International Norms Approach…………………………………………………..155 4.5. Historical-Institutionalist Approach …………………………….………………164 4.5.1. Formal Institutional Structure: Governmental Change and Intra- governmental Competition…………….……………………….………...166 4.5.2. Development of Movements for Migrant Workers, and Their Activities…………………………………………….…………..….172 4.5.3. Interactions between State and Social Movements………………..………....193 4.5.4. Division of the Movement and New Political Opportunity Structure……….201 4.6. Conclusion…....………………………………………………………………….206 Chapter 5. Explaining Policy Convergence between South Korea and Japan: Ethnic Preference Policies Toward Ethnic Koreans and Japanese………………..209 5.1. Introduction…….…………………………………………………………….…209 5.2. Issues of Nikkeijin in Japan…………………………………………………...…212 5.2.1. Historical Background……………………………………………….…212 5.2.2. Policy Development…………………………………………………....216 5.3. Issues of Joseonjok in South Korea…………….………………………………….221 5.3.1. Historical Background………………………………………………….222 5.3.2. Policy Development…………………………………………………….225 5.4. Other Approaches………………………………………………………………..232 5.5. Historical-Institutionalist Approach …………………………………………….235 5.5.1. Formal Institutional Structure: Intra-governmental Competition………......235 5.5.2. Interactions between State and Social Movements……………………...….238 5.6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………......244 Chapter 6. Conclusion: Implication for Multicultural Policy in Korea and Japan……..246 Bibilography…………………………………………………………….……………...271 Curriculum Vitae……………………………………………………………………….285 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1. International Marriages in South Korea from 1990 to 2006…………………….4 Table 3.1. Change in Proportion of Foreign Residents in South Korea……….…………..81 Table 3.2. Number of Foreign Workers in Korea by Qualification……..…………………82 Table 3.3. Detailed version of Table2 ……….……………………………………………84 Table 3.4. Number of foreign workers by nationality………………………………….....85 Table 3.5. Number of Foreign Workers in South Korea, 1987-2006..…………………….86 Table 3.6. Change in Proportion of Foreign Residents in Japan………………………..…89 Table 3.7. Estimated Number of Foreign Workers in Japan, 1993-2007………………….91 Table 3.8. Japan‘s Population, Longevity and Total Fertility Rate (TFR)………..………116 Table 3.9. Statistics of Violation of the Immigration Control Law from 2001–2008 in Korea…………………………………………………………………….…134 Table 3.10. Visa Categories for and Professional Workers in Japan………………….....137 Table 4.1. Comparison between the Training Program and the Employment Permit Program…………………………………………...…………………..148 Table 4.2. Number of Activists Appointed in the Governmental Position (1993-2008)…………………………………………………………………...200 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. Integration Type of Immigrants/Migrant Workers in Selected Host Countries………..……………………………………….……13 Figure 3.1 Changes in the number of foreign population residing in South Korea……...80 Figure 3.2 Changes in the number of foreign population residing in Japan…………..…88 Figure 3.3. Changes in the number of registered foreign nationals by major nationality…………………………………………………...…….89 Figure 3.4. Trend of Fertility Rate in South Korea………………………………….….101 vii 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION During the fall of 2004, one of Korea‘s most popular television shows, ―Asia, Asia,‖ aired a compelling story about the experiences of a foreign migrant worker in South Korea. South Korean viewers learned how a migrant worker from Bangladesh endured delayed wages, illegal status, and wrenching homesickness. Although able to return to his home country at any time, the Bangladeshi felt that he could not do so until he had earned enough to pay off debts owed brokers in his country before starting work in South Korea. In addition, ―Asia, Asia‖ interviewed activists from humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who worked with and on behalf of migrant workers in South Korea, and they informed the television audience about various problems faced by foreign workers, the causes of these problems, and what kinds of institutional and policy changes were needed to address them. The show arranged a meeting between migrant workers and their families regardless of their legal status in South Korea. With assistance from the Korean government and its embassy staffs in particular, the show‘s hosts flew to migrant workers‘ countries, searched for their families, and transported many family members to South Korea for tearful reunions. ―Asia, Asia‖ was the first regular TV show which focused on the needs and problems of migrant workers in South Korea. In general, this show covered how poorly migrant workers have been treated despite their contributions to the Korean economy. However, the show was not a serious