Comparison Is the Death of Joy: Korean Immigrants' Experiences in a Multiethnic Labor Market

• In Event: 115 - Section on Asia and Asian America Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Bumpy-line Assimilation among Asian Americans

Abstract

In this article, I examine labor experiences of the immigrants in the mixed economy, especially how their experiences are influenced by both ethnic and non-ethnic characteristics of the labor market. Using 42 in-depth interviews conducted in Alabama from June 2012 to December 2013, I find that hybrid components of the firms shape immigrants’ labor experiences in a way that maintains ethnic solidarity but creates ethnic segregation at the same time. The findings suggest that immigrant workers are susceptible to labor exploitation under the pretext of ethnic solidarity in the mixed economy. However, they tend to perceive their experiences more negatively when they compare themselves to American workers and realize they are underappreciated and racially discriminated against by coethnic employers. That is, a combination of ethnic and non-ethnic aspects of the mixed economy may make the immigrant workers get more easily exploited without benefiting much from it in the long-term.

Author

• Eunbi Kim, Univ. of Pennsylvania