A Case Study on Work Experience of Korean Professional Migrants in Singapore
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This paper takes as case study the lived experiences among Korean professional migrants in Singapore. Professional or highly skilled migrants in the contemporary world tend to be seen as flexible and mobile. Studies on professional migrants including expatriate professionals are one of continuously studied topics. However, studies on ‘expatriate communities’ mainly served to survey cultural adjustment issues or the collective division and separation experienced by Western expatriates from the locals in host societies, often tend to neglect work experiences. In this context, this study seeks to address the following questions: What are the work experiences of Korean professional migrants? Are there identifiable patterns and/or types among professional migrants? To this aim, this paper will provide lived work experiences of Korean married male professional migrants from an in-depth interview-based case study of 26 professional Korean couples in Singapore. Results suggest the following. There were three identifiable types of Korean professionals, who have distinctive features in their work experiences. First, many Korean MNC professionals seemed to have as busy as, if not busier, work schedules under the transplanted organizational culture of Korean companies and comprehensive tasks. However, they work with pride as their overseas posts is seen as a sign of recognition by their companies and with job security. Second, Korean professionals at international MNCs are working with more family-friendly work arrangement and their tasks were more functionally scripted. However, because of job insecurity and instability of their employment, they often consider global mobility for their career path. Third, there were two subtypes of Korean entrepreneurs in Singapore. The first type are the self-employed entrepreneurs that ran businesses directly related to their prior work—whom I call ‘global middlemen.’ They were able to carve out more time and flexibility in their work-family balance. The other type consists of those who ran a business which was not related to their prior work experience, and seemed to live a similar life of self-employed Korean first generational immigrants elsewhere in the West.
Abstract
This paper takes as case study the lived experiences among Korean professional migrants in Singapore. Professional or highly skilled migrants in the contemporary world tend to be seen as flexible and mobile. Studies on professional migrants including expatriate professionals are one of continuously studied topics. However, studies on ‘expatriate communities’ mainly served to survey cultural adjustment issues or the collective division and separation experienced by Western expatriates from the locals in host societies, often tend to neglect work experiences. In this context, this study seeks to address the following questions: What are the work experiences of Korean professional migrants? Are there identifiable patterns and/or types among professional migrants? To this aim, this paper will provide lived work experiences of Korean married male professional migrants from an in-depth interview-based case study of 26 professional Korean couples in Singapore. Results suggest the following. There were three identifiable types of Korean professionals, who have distinctive features in their work experiences. First, many Korean MNC professionals seemed to have as busy as, if not busier, work schedules under the transplanted organizational culture of Korean companies and comprehensive tasks. However, they work with pride as their overseas posts is seen as a sign of recognition by their companies and with job security. Second, Korean professionals at international MNCs are working with more family-friendly work arrangement and their tasks were more functionally scripted. However, because of job insecurity and instability of their employment, they often consider global mobility for their career path. Third, there were two subtypes of Korean entrepreneurs in Singapore. The first type are the self-employed entrepreneurs that ran businesses directly related to their prior work—whom I call ‘global middlemen.’ They were able to carve out more time and flexibility in their work-family balance. The other type consists of those who ran a business which was not related to their prior work experience, and seemed to live a similar life of self-employed Korean first generational immigrants elsewhere in the West.
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