Several decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, Moscow has managed to maintain its hold on Central Asia, linked by military and commercial agreements to the Kremlin. Millions of migrants from Central Asia have given Russia’s declining fertility rate access to a young, inexpensive workforce eager to send remittances back to loved ones back home.
But against a backdrop of war in Ukraine and rampant xenophobia, Moscow’s influence and prestige are gradually collapsing in its former backyard, with hundreds of thousands of workers now choosing to turn to more exotic destinations, presenting however their own risks.
Russia, an increasingly risky country for foreign workers
Recent years have been marked by a brutal tightening of the screws on Central Asian communities living in Russia: attacks like the attack on Crocus Hall in March 2024 are turning public opinion against migrants, while the Russian army recruits en masse among foreigners established in the country to send them to fight in Ukraine.
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As a result, the number of Central Asian workers settled in Russia has collapsed since the start of the conflict against kyiv. There were 350,000 Kyrgyz workers on Russian territory in 2024, compared to 600,000 in 2023, according to a press conference held on December 30, 2024 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.
South Korea, between economic opportunities and distrust of law enforcement
Faced with increasing dangers, many migrants have therefore made the decision to sell their hands elsewhere, such as in South Korea. Faced with a cataclysmic demographic crisis, with a fertility rate rising to 0.72 children per woman in 2023, Seoul is forced to turn to foreign workers to make up for the labor shortage.
According to the Uzbek Migration Service cited by Radio Free Europe, 100,000 Uzbeks are currently working in South Korea, while Seoul has opened the floodgates to labor immigration. According to The Diplomat, the South Korean government has increased the number of E-9 visas (allowing migrants from 16 countries to work in several low-skill fields) to 110,000 in 2024, compared to 50 to 60,000 in previous years. This choice has paid off for these migrants: according to the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, remittances from Uzbek workers settled in South Korea reached $450 million during the first 10 months of 2024, an increase of 70%.
South Korea is, however, far from being an Eldorado for Uzbeks and other Central Asian nationals: according to Radio Free Europe, police raids remain numerous, while recent Korean political unrest may have impacted the income of several workers. .
Scams are also legion for these migrants. Many “smugglers” offer access to the West as well as a work visa in exchange for large sums: the prospect of an income immensely higher than that of their country of origin is often too good, pushing workers to accept these offers and pay several thousand dollars to intermediaries who then disappear into thin air.
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