Korea in the World: Arabia
In 2014, every second day saw the death of another Nepalese laborer in the Middle Eastern monarchy of Qatar, where long working hours, high temperatures and unsafe working conditions combined to create the sort of working environment that is primarily identified with slavery.
This oppression may strike a cord with Korean men of a certain age; once upon a time, their countrymen were in the same position. Prior to 1959, no record existed of Koreans visiting the Arab peninsula, but they entered en masse in 1974 to win its building contracts. As “economic soldiers” tasked with conquering the world of international construction for the Republic of Korea, employees of Hyundai, Daewoo and other conglomerates worked day and night there for an average of three years each — hard enough that, on at least one occasion, Hyundai called in the Saudi military to put down a riot.
Like the Nepalese, Koreans still flocked to these health-ruining jobs because of the lucrative pay. Since they could earn twice what they might expect at home, no less than 1.5 million Koreans flooded the Middle East’s labor market between 1975 and 1985. For context, 40.5 million people lived in the Republic of Korea in 1985, according to that year’s census.
Culturally, South Korea has little to show for this massive, if brief, migration. Little interaction was allowed between the laborers and their Arab hosts. Thousands of Koreans did become Muslims, offering some much-needed company to the small number already converted by Turks during the Korean War. In 1976, Saudi Arabia donated the money to build the first mosque in Seoul, and now 12 more masjids dot the Korean peninsula. Gwangju’s mosque opened in 1981.
As for the Middle East, only its cities’ impressive skylines testify to the former presence of Korea’s labor pool. Korean companies still bid for contracts in the area — Saudi Arabia awarded no less than 25 percent of its construction jobs to South Korean companies in 2011, according to MEED — but they are fighting a rearguard action in a marketplace that is much more competitive than it used to be. The Financial Times reported on January 5, 2015 that both GS E&C and Samsung Engineering have posted losses and are refocusing on Asia.
North Korean laborers, on the other hand, are said to be increasing in number and to be even more oppressed than the Nepalese. The Guardian reported on November 7, 2014, that perhaps 3,000 North Koreans are working in Qatar as plasterers and bricklayers. Unlike their South Korean predecessors, however, their pay is almost entirely withheld by the North Korean government. There is little chance that their time in the desert will pay off at all.