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Abstract
At the beginning of Korean migration to Argentina in the 1960s and 1970s, most Korean immigrants in Argentina were intensively involved in garment sewing and knitting jobs, working as employees at or owners of Korean workshops subcontracted by Jewish manufacturers. However, due to the substantial upward mobility of the Korean business community, eventually Korean workshop owners, out of necessity, started recruiting workers from outside of their co‐ethnic networks. Based on ethnographic research in Argentina, this study aims to explore why and how Korean employers have created labor relationships exclusively with Bolivian immigrants in their workshops in the Argentine garment industry with a particular focus on informality. For Korean workshop owners who are managing their businesses extremely informally, it is strategic to turn to the group they feel is most trustworthy. Bolivian seamstresses prefer to work for Korean workshop owners as Korean employers are deemed more dependable, pay on time and in full, and provide relatively better working conditions in comparison to Bolivian employers. This research further proves that it is particularly crucial for linkages of bounded solidarity and tacit trust to be established among all actors involved when employment and business practices are managed in a highly informal environment.
Highlights
Since the beginning of Korean migration to Argentina in the 1960s, ethnic Koreans in Argentina have been intensively involved in the garment industry
Over 20,000 ethnic Koreans reside in Argentina and about 80 percent of them are engaged in the garment industry, in both production and distribution
Following Light’s argument12 – that it is important for reliable relationships to be established among the involved actors in informal practices – this study examines the working relationship that Korean workshop owners have built with Bolivian immigrants beyond the relationship with Korean co-ethnics, by paying close attention to why the establishment of trustworthy employment relationships is vital in an informal environment
Summary
Since the beginning of Korean migration to Argentina in the 1960s, ethnic Koreans in Argentina have been intensively involved in the garment industry. Currently, over 20,000 ethnic Koreans reside in Argentina and about 80 percent of them are engaged in the garment industry, in both production and distribution. In the beginning, they began as employees at or owners of Korean workshops subcontracted by Jewish manufacturers. as Korean garment businesses steadily expanded, Korean immigrants became a dominant group in the industry alongside the long-established Jewish business community. In turn, Bolivian immigrants took over the lower-level sewing jobs, either as workshop employees or subcontractors, thereby replacing Koreans as the labor force.5Because of the high concentrations of certain ethnic groups in the Argentine garment industry, a number of studies have been conducted focusing on their involvement and the inter-ethnic relationships in the sector. Since the beginning of Korean migration to Argentina in the 1960s, ethnic Koreans in Argentina have been intensively involved in the garment industry.. Over 20,000 ethnic Koreans reside in Argentina and about 80 percent of them are engaged in the garment industry, in both production and distribution.. Over 20,000 ethnic Koreans reside in Argentina and about 80 percent of them are engaged in the garment industry, in both production and distribution.2 In the beginning, they began as employees at or owners of Korean workshops subcontracted by Jewish manufacturers.. As Korean garment businesses steadily expanded, Korean immigrants became a dominant group in the industry alongside the long-established Jewish business community.. Because of the high concentrations of certain ethnic groups in the Argentine garment industry, a number of studies have been conducted focusing on their involvement and the inter-ethnic relationships in the sector. Because of the highly rudimentary, informal, and ad hoc characteristics of the clothing manufacturing sector in Argentina, several scholars have examined Bolivian immigrants’ involvement in the sector and their coping strategies in the face of unregulated practices and exploitation. In the case of Korean garment businesses, these previous studies addressed topics related to the intensive
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