International Journal of Education and Social Science (IJESS)

This article is intended to provide a perspective of workplace discrimination among migrant workers in South Korea in terms of an overall situation and impact on the workers’ health, with a focus on Thai migrant workers. The study was conducted by content analysis based on previous studies and interviews to find out how Thai migrant workers experienced discrimination and how it impacted on their health, aiming to provide policy recommendations and future research implications. The results showed that most of Thai migrant workers in the Employment Permit System (EPS) who faced workplace discrimination in South Korea were either unskilled or semi-unskilled labour who worked the 3Ds jobs in the manufacturing sector, especially in agriculture industries and factories. These workers lacked both English and Korean language skill, which was the key factor that made them vulnerable to discrimination in the workplace. They had experienced some forms of workplace discrimination by employers or Korean colleagues, i.e. in the aspects of work and employment conditions, unsafe working environment, unclear employment contracts, and unfair wage payment, which were related to a healthcare access issue. Such experience affected both physical and mental health of the workers and subsequently led to health-risk behavior, e.g. alcohol drinking, smoking, and others that could bring about problems like fights, dipsomania, and alcoholism. For future research and policy recommendations, health promotion to improve health outcomes among migrant workers according to a community-based concept is a very interesting topic to consider.