(Posted on: Jan 27, 2012 | Posted by: MyanmarTalk | Length: 1:8 | Views: 123 | Comments: 0)

For thousands of Myanmar workers who chose to leave their homes to find jobs abroad, South Korea was one of the most popular destinations ― a symbol of hope for their futures. Korea's peaceful transition from a military dictatorship to a democracy, along with its unprecedented economic boom, reassured them that Korea would be more welcoming, as Myanmar might share a similar history. When these workers entered Korea, they encountered discrimination from the Korean people as well as human rights abuses from employers. Unlike their colleagues from other Southeast Asian countries, Myanmar workers had to make a choice between staying in Korea under unfavorable working conditions and returning to military rule and high unemployment in Myanmar. Eventually, many chose to remain in Korea and apply for political asylum via active participation in pro-democracy groups such as the Democratic Voice of Burma and Burma Action Korea, as the historically labor-unfriendly Korean government granted political asylum more easily than requests for permanent resident status for workers. Myanmar, in particular, has a 42-percent approval rate compared to 10 percent for other nationals. http://www.myanmartalk.com