The COVID-19 Pandemic and Changes in the Migrant Community: Focusing on Gwangju Goryeoin Village

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the changes and response activities of Gwangju Goryeoin Village before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to achieve this goal, interviews were conducted with representatives of foreign workers’ human resources companies, Goryeoin living in Gwangju Goryeoin Village, and officials from the migrant support center. The main research results are as follows. First, the number of Goryeoins and foreign workers living in Gwangju Goryeoin Village is decreasing, and the effort and cost required for visa renewal has increased. In addition, there is a problem of replenishment of labor for Korean managers of industrial complexes near Goryeoin Village, who used foreign labor to run companies or factories. Second, due to the transition from face-to-face education to non-face-to-face education, many problems are appearing because parents as well as children are not accustomed to online classes. Third, opportunities for social support and support for Goryeoins and foreign migrants were closed, and exchange and communication between indigenous peoples and migrants became difficult. Above all, this phenomenon has resulted in further aggravation of discrimination and exclusion against migrants. Lastly, in order for Goryeoins and migrants to settle stably in the local community, it is necessary to find ways to further solidarity with indigenous peoples in order to overcome the COVID-19 infectious disease, and create a policy alternative that embraces them.