Constructing a Skilled Yet Flexible Migrant Workforce: State-driven Skilled Migration of IT Workers from South Korea to Japan
研究韩国政府如何通过中介机构引导IT工人移民日本，形成技能熟练但灵活的劳动力，揭示输出国在构建技术移民流动中的关键作用。
Examining the skilled migration of IT workers from South Korea to Japan, this study illuminates the critical role of the sending country government in steering migration intermediaries and migrants towards less-than-ideal employment outcomes in the destination country. By analysing the three phases of pre- and post-migration mediation – attraction, allocation and integration – and examining the interactions among multiple actors in each phase, the study uncovers how the continuous flow of IT skilled migration from South Korea to Japan since around 2000 has produced skilled yet flexible migrant labour in Japan’s expanding IT industry. This study advances theoretical discussions on the nexus between migrant labour and the flexible labour market structures of the host country by shedding light on the role of sending states in constructing ‘supply-driven’ skilled yet flexible labour mobility.