76th WIAPS Seminar

The changing nature of labor migration, especially in the context of skilled migration in East Asia, calls for further scholarly attention in terms of developing a framework which accounts for migratory trajectories that do not presume the tight link between labor migration and permanent settlement in the host country. This study takes up the challenge by examining migratory trajectories of Korean IT professionals who migrated to Japan. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 40 Korean IT professionals, the study suggests a framework that focuses on the process of skill development and various actors who engage in the process to account for continuous migratory trajectories of these professionals.