00000cab a22000004cb4500 IPP-00000109831 IPP 20150827150951.0 150827s2014 xx d | ||r |||||eng|| eng Yybiernas, Vicente Angel States as managers of International Labor Migration the cases of South Korea and Taiwan. States as managers of International Labor Migration 2014 article South Korea and Taiwan became labor-receiving countries during the long economic boom of the 1980s when they transformed into Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs). Having built their economic development around labor-intensive export-oriented industries, these countries experienced a substantial need for lesser-paid foreign migrant workers, especially after local workers either refused to work in such industries or employers found labor costs too expensive. However, the recruitment of foreign workers, while solving the initial problem of labor shortage, actually generated new and more complex dilemmas along the way, including: (1) the phenomenon of irregular migrant workers and (2) the process of integrating foreign migrant workers into the fabric of domestic society, formally (in terms of immigration status) and socio culturally. The paper explores the actions taken by the South Korean and Taiwanese states since the 1980s to address these issues and avert social conflicts. Lastly, it reveals that the policies of South Korea and Taiwan towards migrant labor diverged after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Migrant labor South Korea Migrant labor Taiwan Asian Studies Vol. 50, no. 2 (2014), 1-24 pages UPD DAC Article FI