Tuesday, February 10, 2004
I've been reading this article, about the Korean government's refusal to give foreign laborers in Korea a political voice. I don't know what it's like to be a migrant worker, but as a visiting student in the US I do know what it's like to be irrelevant in the eyes of the state; to live under institutionalized racism and oppression that is engraved into national policy. And when I read the ZNet article, that is what I see going on in Korea.
Now I haven't studied any political theory, but it seems to me that it is not the place of the Korean government to decide who can have a voice in national politics, and who cannot. There simply is a Korean society, and the government should represent all elements of that society. Migrant workers in Korea contribute to society with their labor, and through their work they have already become a part of Korean society. As such, these guests should have their fair place in the national polity. It does that matter whether they are Korean citizens or not, as that is only a distinction on government paper and does not reflect the reality that these people are working in Korea, and have chosen the country (even temporarily) as a place to live their lives.
The government has clearly stepped out of line. But perhaps this isn't surprising for a government with such a dictatorial past.
Now I haven't studied any political theory, but it seems to me that it is not the place of the Korean government to decide who can have a voice in national politics, and who cannot. There simply is a Korean society, and the government should represent all elements of that society. Migrant workers in Korea contribute to society with their labor, and through their work they have already become a part of Korean society. As such, these guests should have their fair place in the national polity. It does that matter whether they are Korean citizens or not, as that is only a distinction on government paper and does not reflect the reality that these people are working in Korea, and have chosen the country (even temporarily) as a place to live their lives.
The government has clearly stepped out of line. But perhaps this isn't surprising for a government with such a dictatorial past.
