The Review of Korean Studies
- P-ISSN1229-0076
- E-ISSN2773-9351
- SCOPUS, ESCI
ISSN : 1229-0076
Memories of Migrant Labor: Stories of Two Korean Nurses Dispatched to West Germany
Abstract
Making use of the oral life-history testimonies of two Korean nurses dispatched to West Germany (padok), this article analyzes what these women remember and how they give meaning to their migration experience. The memories and narratives of padok nurses were quite different from the dominant narrative on padok produced by the South Korean government, which emphasized the dispatched workers’ contributions to rapid economic growth and development of the nation. The memories of two Korean nurses that this article is based on, of course, do not represent all the memories of padok nurses. Nevertheless, their memories show us that their labor migration to West Germany was not forced upon them by government, but was, in large part, an individual choice made by the nurses themselves. The padok was important for the rapid economic growth of South Korea during the Park Chung Hee period. At the same time, West Germany, due to a shortage of labor in social service sectors, such as nursing, needed nurses from Korea. That is to say, padok nurses were indispensable to the social market economy of West Germany. The migration to Germany provided important opportunities for nurses seeking to escape from poverty and the fetters of patriarchy. The memories of these two Korean nurses reveal to us that the official narrative on the reasons and effects of padok in macro-historical terms do not fully capture the actual experiences of Korean workers. Therein lies the significance of padok women’s testimony about what they themselves remember and how today they evaluate their migration experiences and contributions. They deepen our understanding of the padok history of South Korea.
- keywords
- migrant women, memory, nurses dispatched to West Germany (padok ganhosa), oral history
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