Jummah on Jeju Island: Assessing the Legal Status and Integration of Yemeni Migrants in South Korea

Abstract

In the summer of 2018, the serenity and natural splendor of South Korea’s Jeju Island suddenly became the backdrop of an unexpected migrant crisis as over six hundred asylum seekers from Yemen arrived on the island. The unanticipated arrival of Yemeni asylum seekers has consequently embroiled both Jeju Island and the entire nation of South Korea in contested debates over immigration, asylum, and the belongingness of foreigners and refugees in South Korean society.

Since arriving on Jeju Island, the Yemeni migrants have faced a host of challenges related to their asylum and migration process, thereby raising important questions about the migrants’ legal status determination and integration. First, why has South Korea issued a disproportionate number of G-1 visas to Yemeni asylum seekers in lieu of seemingly fitting refugee status, and what are the implications of this? Second, Yemeni migrants have received limited integration support from the South Korean government, posing significant challenges to the migrants’ wellbeing and inclusion in key realms of South Korean society. With this, why has integration support been so threadbare, or even absent?

Drawing upon qualitative interviews, public policy analysis, and existing scholarly literature, this thesis puts forth the following findings. First, Yemeni migrants’ legal status determination was problematized by preexisting structural barriers and civilian backlash, resulting in the disproportionate and inappropriate issuance of G-1 visas in lieu of formal refugee status. Second, Yemeni migrants received insufficient integration support due to their limited legal rights under their G-1 visas as well as support service implementation barriers. To address these findings, this thesis recommends that the South Korean government bolster resources in existing immigration offices, promote civilian education programs, improve access to immigration support facilities, and prioritize collaboration with civil society.