This is the first in a two-part series about the status of the Australia Working Holiday program following the recent killings of two Koreans in the program. ― ED.

By Kim Jae-won 

Kang Tae-ho

Kang Tae-ho, 34, vividly remembered the racial discrimination he had to endure when he worked at a Woolworths discount chain store in Coffs Harbour, Australia, for two months in the summer of 2011.

Working as a janitor in the Working Holiday Program, Kang would often find rolls of toilet paper stuck in china and scores of stickers attached to the floor that he had to clean up.

“I found out that my Australian coworkers put them there to harass me,” said Kang, who stayed in the country from July 2011 to June 2012.

Kang is one of tens of thousands of Koreans who have gone Down Under hoping to improve their English skills while experiencing life in another culture.

Kang wrote a book, “Sharp Criticisms on Australia Working Holiday Program,” in March to help those who plan to participate in it.

Kang said that labor abuse is common in fruit farms in Australia because many backpackers want to land a job there due to the unique visa regulation of the Australian government.

“The Australian government issues the second visa only for those who have working experience in the farms of the country. Working holidaymakers who want to extend their visas have no choice but to work there,” he said.

Employers sometimes pay less than minimum wage to employees whom accept the illegal conditions to keep their legal status. Job brokers who connect employees and employers charge backpackers about 5 percent of their wages, exploiting them further.

While male working holidaymakers have physical jobs at farms and factories, some women may feel tempted to work in the sex industry. Prostitution is legal in most regions of Australia. Prostitutes are paid about 50 Australian dollars per hour, about three times higher than the minimum wage of 16.5 dollars per hour.

The Korean government is aware of these problems. A 2010 report released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted, “It is dangerous that Korean female working holidaymakers are tempted to work in the Australian sex industry.”

The report titled, “A survey and suggestions about the Australia Working Holiday program,” also said, “It is possible that female holidaymakers who are financially unstable are tempted to work in prostitution, which pays a few times more than their wage.”

Shin Yeon-kyung, a researcher at Yonsei University, said that working holidaymakers are vulnerable to payment delays and poor working conditions due to their temporary status as travelers in the country.

“Only a few industries are accessible to working holidaymakers, pressuring them to accept labor abuse and face tough working conditions. With such experiences, they realize they are ‘foreign workers’ and have critical perspectives on Australian society,” said Shin in her thesis, “Global labor experiences of Korean youths in the Australia Working Holiday program.”

Representatives of the Australian Embassy in Seoul were not available for comment.