A Korean nail salon worker is a nail technician, manicurist, esthetician, or masseuse working in a Korean-owned nail salon in America. These workers are typically women who have immigrated from South Korea, though there are also Latina and Chinese immigrants employed by these shops. The majority of women who work in these nail salons are paid low wages, exposed to dangerous chemicals because of weak regulations, and develop complicated relationships with their clients, largely due to language differences and contradicting views on what constitutes quality customer service. Most Korean-owned nail salons are located in New York, and in reaction to a 2015 New York Times exposé documenting corruption within the state's nail salon industry, Gov. Andrew Cuomo created the New York State Nail Industry Enforcement Task Force, and signed into law stricter salon regulations and required the posting of wage bonds. Entry into the workforce There are several factors influencing why so many immigrant women work in Korean nail salons. It often has to do with the fact that they do not have to be proficient in English in order to do their jobs, they get paid in cash, the hours are somewhat flexible, and if they are undocumented they will struggle to get a job elsewhere. They are often introduced to this work through family, friends, church members, or neighbors, though some do find work through ad sections in Korean newspapers. Another reason nail salon workers join the industry is that they do not always have to become licensed. Depending on the state it can take hundreds of hours to get a license. Sometimes a worker has to have graduated high school, or have a certain level of English proficiency. Often the beauty schools only teach in English, making it difficult for immigrants to obtain their license. Despite this being illegal, many employers hire unlicensed workers anyway. In some cases employers make new employees pay to get the job and to be taught how to do manicures. Ethnic hierarchies Koreans own around seventy to eighty percent of the nail salons in New York, and four percent of foreign born salon workers come from South Korea. There is a socio-ethnic hierarchy in the state's nail salon industry. Korean workers are often paid more and can find jobs in more expensive areas. Some Korean salon owners have even been vocal about their low opinions of non-Korean workers, and some Latina and