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ePDFs of chapters 1, 2 and 7 are available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND license.
Despite recent achievements in the South Korean economy and development within welfare institutions, new forms of precarious work continue to prevail.
This book introduces the concept of ‘melting labour’, which refers to the blurring of boundaries between traditional forms of work and workplace and the dissolution of standard employment relationships. Presenting a theoretical framework at the intersection of ‘melting labour’ and institutional protection of workers, it addresses how and why the Korean welfare state has failed to protect precarious workers.
Based on rich, in-depth interviews with over 80 precarious workers in Korea, from subcontracted manufacturing workers to platform workers, it provides a real depiction of how workers lose control over their lives and experience precariousness in labour markets.
1. Introduction: Melting labour and institutional inconsistency
2. Social protection policies and the South Korean labour market in comparative perspective
3. When insiders are kicked out: layoffs of regular workers in manufacturing
4. Same boat, different destiny: subcontracted workers in the Korean shipbuilding industry
5. Young and old outsourced female workers in call centres and cleaning services
6. Are freelancers really free? The Korean freelance labour market and the precarity of young freelancers
7. The digital precariat: various Korean platform workers and the new work logic
8. Conclusion: Towards universal institutional protection for precarious workers in the era of melting labour