Table 1.
Demographic and occupational characteristics and workplace experiences of international migrant workers living in the ROK by current status of residence
| Work visa n = 278 |
Undocumented n = 250 |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length of residence (year), mean (sd) | 3.8 (2.07) | 5.6 (2.45) | < 0.001 |
| Nationality | 0.093 | ||
| Central Asian | 16.9 | 12.8 | |
| South Asian | 16.6 | 16.4 | |
| Southeast Asian | 65.1 | 66.0 | |
| Other | 1.4 | 4.8 | |
| Sex, % | 0.226 | ||
| Male | 52.9 | 47.6 | |
| Female | 47.1 | 52.4 | |
| Age, % | < 0.001 | ||
| 20–30 | 28.4 | 18.4 | |
| 31–40 | 51.1 | 70.8 | |
| 41+ | 20.5 | 10.8 | |
| Educational attainment, % | 0.068 | ||
| ≤ 12 years | 66.9 | 72.4 | |
| > 12 years | 32.4 | 25.2 | |
| Refuse to answer | 0.7 | 2.4 | |
| Marital status, % | 0.090 | ||
| Currently married | 37.8 | 48.4 | |
| Never married | 55.8 | 46.0 | |
| Not currently married | 2.5 | 2.8 | |
| Refuse to answer | 4.0 | 2.8 | |
| If married, spouse/partner is currently living in Korea, % | 11.4 | 14.1 | 0.557 |
| Currently unemployed, % | 26.6 | 32.8 | 0.120 |
| Working part-time, %* | 0.0 | 16.1 | < 0.001 |
| Monthly income (KRW), %* | < 0.001 | ||
| Less than 1,000,000 | 0.0 | 9.5 | |
| 1,000,000–1,500,000 | 15.7 | 50.0 | |
| 1,500,000–2,000,000 | 63.4 | 30.4 | |
| More than 2,000,000 | 21.1 | 10.1 | |
| Korean proficiency | 0.678 | ||
| High | 28.4 | 26.8 | |
| Low | 71.6 | 73.2 | |
| Workplace experience, % | |||
| Laid off/fired | 0.0 | 7.6 | < 0.001 |
| Reduced payroll | 19.4 | 25.6 | 0.089 |
| Flexible hours | 28.8 | 34.4 | 0.165 |
| Unpaid leave | 8.6 | 15.2 | < 0.001 |
| Lost main source of income, % | 25.5 | 38.4 | 0.002 |
| Experienced a decrease in average income, % | 59.0 | 72.4 | < 0.001 |
| Reduced average monthly income, KRW** (sd) | 885,182 (730,053) | 661,436 (473,021) | < 0.001 |
Note: *Among working individuals (n = 372); **if experienced a decrease in average income