Informal and Reliable: Bolivian Immigrants in Korean Sewing Workshops in the Argentine Garment Industry*

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.