A migrant worker refers to a person who works leaving his / her original living base. Nationalities are different, but the principle of labor is not changed. Workers’ rights should be guaranteed equally.
The words people call us; which is a proper expression?
▶ Foreign worker (by Korean government)
- Foreigner: ‘foreign’ means something existing outside and foreign worker implies the meaning of a stranger, and it is an exclusive expression**.**
▶ Migrant worker (by ILO, UN is a proper word)
- ‘Migrant’ means living away from his/her original place of living; this is a neutral word.
▶ Illegal stayer is an inappropriate word.
- By adding ‘illegal’ to this word, it makes a negative image of a person leading to prejudice and humility as this sounds that the person is illegal. Korea’s National Commission on Human Rights also recommends changing the term ‘illegal stayer’.
▶ Undocumented migrant is a proper word.
- It is proper to use ‘undocumented’ because they are persons who are not registered at the immigration office or lack documents. UN and International Organization on Migration (IOM) also recommend using the word ‘undocumented’.