This post comes at an interesting time-- a time in which the US is deciding to do with the legal and illegal immigrants within our borders. South Korea, while still having only a fraction of its population of foreign origin, is taking a unique route with guest workers and illegal immigrants. A route that actually can be more enjoyable than being a guest worker.
South Korea opened a prison in 2010 for foreigners who have overstayed their visas, entered the country illegally, etc and the conditions are quite nice. South Korea hopes that those who find themselves there will leave with a positive vibe for South Korea and can be ambassadors for the nation as they return home.
The conditions are so favorable, that many consider a stay in prison to be more enjoyable than being a guest worker. With the opening of their borders, South Korea has begun to develop an underclass of guest workers, who are mostly Chinese. Hopefully the government can lead by example with this prison and raise the standard of living for guest workers.
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21720646-poor-foreigners-are-pampered-behind-bars-scorned-elsewhere-migrant-workers-south-korea-are
4 comments:
This is a very interesting tactic, and likely will lead towards a positive outlook on South Korea by those who eventually make it home from guest work. However, I feel that very few other countries will try this approach. I could never see the United States doing this as I'm sure these high quality prisons are very expensive to maintain and build, and Americans don't have nearly as positive of an outlook on foreign workers as other countries do.
This seems like it would be a very effective strategy in maintaining the peace regarding the citizenship and guest worker scenario. However, I agree with Brooks. The U.S. will have issues finding reason to provide guest workers with prisons that have favorable conditions as it is very common for guest workers to be perceived as criminals by the new administration. Therefore, the country will not find incentive to give these workers privileges. I am eager to see if other countries decide to follow suit with South Korea.
I think it is concerning that the only way the South Korean government has found effective in handling immigrants is to put them in prison. I wonder why that kind of treatment inside the prisons does not apply to the inhabitants outside of prison? I am all for
I agree with Brooks and Doug. This tactic sounds very humanism but I don't think it is suitable for U.S. I do not think South Korea has as many immigrants as America and the expense for the high-quality prisons in America will be very high. Furthermore, if people staying there illegally can also live there in a good condition, they will not want to go back their countries and that might also give illegal immigrants incentives to come and overstay.
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