• (1). Labeling a group of people for sake of an ANALYSIS helps in defining group characteristics and makes analysis of the facts easier. If we used "bar girl" as our definition in this article, there would be no article. "Bar girls" are NOT trafficked ... "prostitutes" are.
• (2) Labeling a group of people in HUMAN INTERACTIONS is based in prejudices (positive & negative) and prejudging of these people. Negative labels are used by small-minded people to pigeon hole individuals. Unfortunately even positive labels carry negative nuances. Even the liberals use of "bar girl" as a label (instead of "prostitute") comes a negative nuance. In my personal interactions with these women, I call them by NAME. I attempt to treat them as people and individuals -- without labels.

• Kunsan AB being a target by NGO human rights groups (according to their plans in December 2003) -- and if you don't know who they are look out the Kunsan AB front gate each week.
• The hypocrisy of the Korean government in dealing with human trafficking nationwide -- with policies that continue to feed its massive sex industry.
• The hypocrisy of the Kunsan City government that allows conditions to prevail that causes girls to be burned alive because they are locked into whorehouses -- TWICE -- and then their acts to coverup the incidents as city officials and police were involved!!!
• The hypocrisy of the base that will condemn A-town, but remain silent about the conditions in Kunsan City.
• The questionable base morality campaign against human trafficking that was prosecuted OFF-BASE against KOREAN establishments in a country WITHOUT a legal definition of human trafficking using a contrived AMERICAN definition. Even the base had problems with the morality campaign. Top Pentagon officials announced in Sep 2004 their intention to add a specific anti-prostitution charge to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, making a conviction punishable by one year confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Though Gen. La Porte in Sep 2004 stated that 400 soldiers had been punished, but these were non-judicial punishment as there has been only an amorphic prostitution UCMJ article on the books that no one wants to use.
• The human suffering caused by the base's off-limits actions in A-town that inflicted great pain on the Korean populace (bankruptcies, loss of jobs, etc) and -- DESPITE OUR WARNINGS -- the increase in on-base sexual assaults and rapes in 2003 based on our historical observations of a similar off-limits strategy in 2001.
• There is the case of base censorship and intimidation to suppress information in the name of OPSEC and investigations. Along with this the unproven use of potential intimidation in 2003 to "silence" Yahoo newsgroups critical of the A-town situation.
• Then there is the third-nation issue where women of communist nations (Russia) are not allowed on base because they pose a security risk, but then are allowed to fraternize with American soldiers/airmen -- a tantalizing question I'd like to see answered. (To say they have NO control over A-town as an answer then returns to their off-limits strategy where they DID interfere in A-town affairs.) In Jul 2004, the Russian women were removed from A-town by the ROK immigration because of the problems with the women and prostitution throughout Korea. This may answer the question of Russians, but how many ethnic Korean CHINESE nationals are in the woodwork?

A Filipina from the Wolf's Den wrote in 2003, "...Well, just accept the fact that you guys are luckier compare on us coz you got a good choice on living, but atleast we are not doing crimes like killing other people, steeling money & property from other people, corruption & etc. Atleast we still believe that earning money should get through own effort not just you will get it because of other's effort. And atleast we made this choice for a good intention, "To support & help our family financially without making it through crimes. We are doing this, "Just to survive!!!!!!! One juice pls."

We have known many of the people who operate bars or businesses in A-town for over a decade and know they are good people -- though some are a bit rough around the edges. They operate bars as a business to make a living -- send their kids to college and do all the other things people do. We have eaten at their tables. Attended their children's weddings and sent gifts on the birth of their grandkids. These folks are simply operating a business like anywhere else -- and NOT sleazy brothels. These are NOT the people that the Wing Commander paints them out to be. They are NOT heartless monsters involved in trafficking to line their pocketbooks. They are NOT evil incarnate. They are good people trying to eke out a living.

Facts:
1. The Owners of all bar districts around bases are solely for the entertainment of foreigners, they all belong to an association regulated by the Korean Government. It's true the rules state Koreans shouldn't be allowed in the bar unless they are escorted by foreigners, that'll never happen.

Math Time: Let's say you have a club in A-town, you have three Russian and four PI girls working in your club, your bar pays the entertainment company on average $900.00 to $1,200 a month for Russians and $500.00 to $800.00 for PI girls for the use of these girls for entertainment (dancing), ok let's add three adjima's and two bartender, add a DJ, light bill, water bill, oil for heater in the winter and electricity for A/C in the Summer months. Almost done. Now its time to pay the rent! Yes, rent, because there are only three clubs in A-town who own the land they are built on, the rest must pay rent. Alright I did the math for you, the total cost for your expenditures is $10,500 per month. This doesn't include the cost for alcohol or orange/pineapple.
Now this would be an average size club, not a larger club like Paradise or Young 11 -- something smaller like the Stereo.

Here's something to think about, on a busy Friday night or Saturday Night the Stereo club might sell 13 cases of beer, 30 bottles per case, sale price per bottle is 3,000 won. 13 case of beer sold would gross you around 970,000 won for the night, you pay about 700.00 won a bottle to the beer distributor, a profit of 648,000 (wow) a whole 540.00 bucks on a busy night, not much to money made there.

Alright now, subract the exercises and curfew. Also, minus money lost for the non-busy nights Monday thru Thursday nights. Now ask yourself how much alcohol and Juices would they possibly have to sell in order to make a profit? They don't make as much a everyone may think. Some clubs are on the verge of closure.

In the L.A. Times article in human trafficking in July 2002, it quoted the sufferings of a girl from Angeles City in the P.I. She supposedly was "pure" and a "virgin" when she arrived according to the New York Times news account. Though we are not discounting her tragic tale of sexual enslavement, we are only pointing out how she most likely she misled people with her statements for sympathy. For those who have been in the Pacific area for years, they remember that Angeles City in Balibago was the bar city filled with wall-to-wall whore houses and specialty sex bars. Either the reporter chose to intentionally "forget" the fact or he bought the "juicy girl" story of pain and woe that is fed to every GI willing to buy them a juice. This woman would have to be deaf and blind to live in the Angeles City whorehouse town and not know what was going on before she came to Korea. (See Offbase Behavior for the article.)

Kunsan Redlight District (2000) (Kunsan and A-Town)

Women from Philippines and former USSR Traffiked into South Korea for Sex

September 2002

Thousands of women, mainly from the Philippines and the former Soviet Union, have been trafficked into South Korea for the sex industry since the mid-1990s, with the Philippine women servicing mostly the bars near the US military bases.

By Kanaga Raja
Third World Network Features

Geneva: Over 5,000 women, mainly from the Philippines and the former Soviet Union, have been trafficked into South Korea for the sex industry since the mid-1990s, with the largest employers of Filipino women being bars located near US military bases, according to new research published by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The IOM's research report, titled 'A Review of Data on Trafficking in the Republic of Korea', reveals that increasing numbers of trafficked women are entering South Korea since that country's economic recovery in 1999 to service a growing sex industry.

According to the report, authored by Dr June Lee, a former IOM Seoul Chief of Mission, the largest employers of Filipino women are bars located near US military bases. These women are recruited by the traffickers for their proficiency in the English language and are admitted into South Korea on 'E-6 Entertainment' visas. As many as 1,000 Filipino women were estimated to be working in US military bases in 1999.

The report details interviews with trafficked women who describe their recruitment by agents, the false contracts that lured them and the exploitative working conditions that they endure in an industry characterised by entrapment and intimidation.

The report notes that based on official statistics and published reports, up to 5,000 women could have been trafficked into South Korea for the sex industry since the mid-1990s.

However, there is reason to believe that the actual number may in fact be higher. The report highlights that researchers have been hampered in their efforts on what to measure to estimate the true scale of trafficking in South Korea due to the fact that there is not a clear or consistent definition of trafficking in South Korea.

The lack of precise terminology and definitions of trafficking in South Korea remains an ongoing and serious problem. This lack of a unified legal definition of the crime of trafficking makes it unlikely that an adequate analysis of the phenomenon or uniform preventive and punitive policies will be established in the near future, the report notes.

The report finds that women trafficked into the South Korean entertainment industry endure working conditions that clearly exploit them and there is also a present and real threat of violence if any of these women do not perform exactly as instructed. Moreover, other human rights violations are widespread, including illegal confinement, forced labour and even forced prostitution.

Filipino women are especially prone to sexual exploitation as their English language skills make them attractive to American service men interested in purchasing sex. However, women of other nationalities are also sexually exploited since foreign workers are often easier to intimidate than local Korean women.

In July 2001, the US State Department, in a report on trafficking in persons, classified South Korea as one of 23 countries that did not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, under the terms of the US Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act.

The South Korean government meanwhile charged that the US report negatively portrayed Korea and was not based on adequate review of the country's situation. The Korean government, in rebuttal to the report, among others, pointed to several articles in its criminal law that heavily punished those involved in the sale of human beings for prostitution.

SITE NOTE: A review of the country's situation by its own newspaper editorials after 2002, condemn the country for it being a center of human trafficking with a burgeoning sex trade taking in $4.1 billion annually. The Anti-Prostitution law mentioned is worthless because of its lack of enforcement.

The IOM report traces the origins of the modern sex industry in Korea back to the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), when prostitution was recognised, licensed and even developed on a nationwide scale.

SITE NOTE: Licensed prostitution refers to the Japanese use of Geisha Associations in every "city" (bu) including Kunsan, patterned on the system in Japan.

After Korea's liberation from the Japanese at the end of the Second World War, licensed prostitution ended. Then US forces moved in until Korea's independence in 1948 and they again returned during the Korean War in the 1950s.

Although the licensed prostitution industry ceased to exist, it easily transformed into an unlicensed, yet well-organised trade, targeting the military camp towns under joint US-Korean control that are still found in South Korea, the report emphasises.

While efforts have been made to 'officially' abolish prostitution, such endeavours have not been successful. According to the report, some observers have even suggested that 'an unwritten or de facto policy of the US military to "keep the men happy" has resulted in a sort of collusion with local businesses, local government, and military bases to support a camp town entertainment/prostitution industry.'

SITE NOTE: Notice that the target is the USFK. The article fails to mention that local Korean police corruption continues to foster prostitution in Korea. On a local scale, 19 people, including local officials and police, were sentenced for the death of 5 prostitutes that were burned alive in Kunsan red light district in Sept 2000. Local police were paid-off in sex to maintain their "friendship." The scandal was swept under the carpet until another building burned down in the redlight district in 2002 killing 14 prostitutes and 1 manager locked inside the building while they slept. Over the years, from our vantage point at the end of the bar, we watched as many white envelopes of "gifts" were given to the police officers during Korean holidays -- with the thickness dependent on the rank of the police official.

Against the backdrop of a sex industry in Korea that is becoming more diversified, foreign women have become an important source of labour to support this industry. The report notes that many of these women were not initially imported to provide sexual services to South Korean clients. Rather, they were brought into South Korea since they were essential to the survival of the military camp town businesses.

SITE NOTE: These references to the camptowns is rather telling of the target -- which pointed makes no mention of "Texas Street" in Pusan which saw the first appearance of the Russian prostitutes in the 1990s and is now exclusively Russian with the bars signs in Cryllic. Texas Street is to Pusan what Itaewon is to Seoul.

The demand for foreign female entertainers has more than doubled since South Korea's recovery from the Asian financial crisis of 1998. Since 1995, on average, over 90% of female entertainer (E-6) visa-holders entering South Korea came from either Asian or European countries, particularly from the Philippines and the former Soviet Union states.

The report does concede however that the Korean authorities and NGOs have been making efforts to stamp out trafficking.

The report makes several recommendations, the most pressing of which is that an official consensus be reached on Korean terminology to describe trafficking of women into situations where they are exploited as prostitutes or placed in low-paying jobs by abusive employers. 'Until that consensus is reached, it will be very difficult to establish methodologies to monitor this problem or even collect meaningful statistics,' according to Dr Lee.

- Third World Network Features
About the writer: Kanaga Raja is a researcher with the Third World Network.

SITE NOTE: As of 2003, there still is no working definition for the Korean terminology for "trafficking" though it has been discussed many times at the National Assembly level. As a center of human trafficking, it does NOT want a definition that can be used to point the gun at itself.

"They are reportedly in connivance with Mr. An S. H. of the Korean Special Tourist Association. Mr. An is said to be residing in Metro Manila and works with Mr. Kim Kyong-Su, a Provincial Councilor of Kyonky province. Mr. Kim was recently reported in Han Kyo Reh as being investigated by the Yong-San District Police for "importing 1,093 foreign women, from the Philippines and Russia, to work as entertainers near the U.S. military camp." He is being charged together with 2 other accomplices for illegal recruitment and forging of documents. He allegedly regularly receives commission from 234 club owners in the area."

It went on to say, "Upon coming to the clubs, women are made to undress on the third day, and perform sexual acts such as tabletop dancing and blowjob. They are paid $600 but only $300 go to the woman. Still, they are not given the money until after two months.

The unbearable exploitation led two women to escape and report their conditions to officials. The Episcopal Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People of the Korean Catholic Bishops Conference reported that seven Filipinas (pinays) ran to them for problems of contract violation, illegal taxation and prostitution. Not long afterwards, 15 other Filipina entertainers went to the Yong-san District Police to seek for assistance."

Prostitution in Kunsan's Red-light District:

Kunsan has had a sex-trade even before the Americans arrived. During the Japanese colonial days, there was the Kunsan Geisha Association. When the Occupation forces of the 3rd Battalion 63rd Infantry Regiment arrived in Kunsan, there was a complaint registered with the battalion's adjutant by the manager of the petroleum plant that his girlfriend who was the head of the association was two-timing on him and he wanted justice.

During the Korean War, many North Korean refugees poured into Kunsan and were housed in warehouse living in horrific conditions. Around the train station, many of the starving women turned to prostitution...some living in holes dug in the hills. This area became known as 50-won hill. However, most GIs at Kunsan AB (K-8) could not avail themselves of this red-light area as everywhere off-base was off-limits to them. They were restricted to playing "rice paddy daddy" just outside of the fence line. Only the 5th Mule Train who drove trucks off-base and the Army unit in Kunsan Harbor had access to this area.

However, after the war, the red light district started to take shape. Sleazy bars sprung up. By the late 1950s, many of Kunsan's airmen had taken up residence downtown and commuted to base on the morning buses. Kunsan AB (K-8) was a hell hole and Kunsan City was even worse. By the 1960s, there were three primary bars that the GIs hung out in at the Yonghwa dong area. This was the "high-class" bars of the time aimed at the GI trade. Down the street was the old Kunsan City Hall. Further down the street near the train station and public open market was the red-light district with brothels.

From the 1960s through the 1980s, the red light district remained the same. However, when Kunsan entered into the era of the Miracle of the Han in the late 1980s, the red light district started to take on a different face. New affluence meant that more Korean customers came to visit. Then the Kunjang industrial area was built up bringing in more workers and more business. False fronts of the old buildings spruced up the outside, but on the inside it still was nothing more than a gaudy whore house filled with brothels and "sailor" bars where anything goes. The police were stationed in the area, but they were mostly the corrupt variety who took regular payments "in trade" to turn a blind eye to any illegalities in the area.

To emulate the brothels in Seoul, storefront brothels appeared where young prostitutes displayed their wares behind the glass. In the rear was small rooms with beds. Nude bars appeared where you could have sex right in the bar if you wanted. The area was not a genteel area and the Kunsan "mafia" (Gang of 300) hung around the area.

This well-known red-light district is officially prohibited in 'the Act of Prevention of Prostitution' but in Korean society, laws are "flexible." In fact, the law is worthless. The red-light district has always been off-limits to GIs and used to be patrolled by the Town Patrol years ago. However, GIs didn't frequent the area -- preferring to go to the safer A-town or the Yahwa-dong clubs. In the mid-1990s, the Town Patrol stopped monitoring this area.

The situation in Kunsan's redlight district is no different than anywhere else in the Cholla provinces. Groups of prostitutes from Chollanam-do province reported being forced to perform sex for fear of suffering violence. They said they were held captive and their every move was monitored, making escape impossible. However, the police did little or nothing. According to recent reports and testimony from the prostitutes involved, many police officers have long been taking payoffs from brothel owners, with some even demanding sex with prostitutes in return for turning a blind eye to the brothel's activities. In one incident in 2004 in the Cholla province, two police officers were questioned, and another two sought, for allegedly having group sex with at least four junior-high-school girls working at area sex clubs.


Kunsan Redlight District (2000) (Kunsan and A-Town)

On 19th September, 2000, a fire burned down the 2nd floor of an unlicensed building at red-light district in Daemyong-dong, Kunsan. Unfortunately, five women who were sleeping on 2nd floor were trapped and burned to death. The house had all windows and only gate blocked thoroughly by iron bars allowing little air to come in and leaving the house with no emergency exit. According to the investigation conducted by the police, the fire was caused by the electric leakage of a power distributor beside the exit stairs. Inside the building, there were 7 rooms and each was about 4 yards large, which was blocked by iron window bars. Also originally the doors were designed to be locked from outside like a prison, nobody could get away from the room.

There was a coverup attempt initially, but the truth came out with much sensationalism nationwide. At first the newspapers described the brothel as a home for juvenile delinquents under contract to teach the youths a trade. This supposedly was the reason for the bars on the windows to prevent their escape. But the truth came out. The police at first imprisoned only the brothel owner, ex-brothel owner and a lessor of that building and stopped investigating this accident. Civic pressure forced the police to reopen the case. The main police station was a block away so to say that they did not know about its existence is ludicrous. It was later found out that the Police frequented the brothel in order to buy their silence. The case ended up with the conviction of five brothel managers and 19 public officials.

The following is from 2001 in the Protection Project:

Those who feel this assessment is unfair need only take heed of a lawyer's recent revelations about the case of five young women who were burned to death in an iron-barred brothel room in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province last year. The tragic death of these women, who were all in their early 20s and enslaved due to perennial debt bondage, epitomized the inhumane sufferings of most women in the profession anywhere. Strangely, however, the case was brought to a quick close after a brief investigation that brought nobody under due punishment. Now to our dismay, some 10 months after the unfortunate young women perished in the flames, it has been made known that some officials of the provincial city were provided with sexual services by the brothel owners for closing their eyes on the illegal businesses. This represents a classic case of lobbying at the expense of the exploitation of hapless women. It is a sad fact that Gunsan is by no means the only city where prostituted women find themselves shackled by debts and threats of physical and mental abuse.

Victims of Gunsan Pub Fire were Locked in by Owner

The Korea Herald
February 2, 2002
Lee Joo-hee

The 15 people who were killed or severely injured in a fire at a pub in a red-light district in Gunsan Tuesday had been locked in by the pub owner, now at large, police said yesterday.

Police said they secured a statement from the pub's cook, identified by her family name, Im, that the female employees had been confined in the pub, "Daega."

Im, who reported the information to the police Thursday after escaping the fire, said the pub's front door and a gate to the second floor were locked from the outside at the time of the accident, police said.

"I was preparing a meal after I went into the pub's kitchen at 11:10 a.m. through a side door connected to an adjacent pub when I heard an explosion followed by fire," Im was quoted as saying. Im said she escaped through the same side door.

Police said Im is a relative of the 38-year-old pub owner and stepmother to the pub manager, one of the victims of the fire.

Judging from Im's testimony, police suppose the employees were asleep on the first floor when the fire began, and ran to the second floor to escape but died of suffocation when the gate did not open.

Thee fire claimed the lives of 11 female employees and pub manager Kim In-shik, 24.

Police said they are looking for the pub owner, who ran away after reporting the fire to the Gunsan fire department, to determine whether or not he was involved in human trafficking and prostitution.

The tragedy, largely similar to September 2000's fire in the same area in Gunsan, again aroused public attention to forced prostitution.

The fire in 2000 had killed five female workers who could not escape from their rooms because of the locked doors and iron-shafted windows. The case ended up with the conviction of five brothel managers and 19 public officials.

Since Tuesday's fire, top policymakers such as Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs Lee Keun-sik, and Minister of Gender Equality Han Myung-sook visited the accident site and the victims' bereaved families, and promised a thorough investigation into the case.

A number of civic groups, including the Korea Women's Associations United (KWAU) held protest rallies calling for the government and the National Assembly to conduct an investigation and punish those who are responsible.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The following is from the Korea Times:

Funeral Held For Kunsan Fire Victims

By Soh Ji-young Staff Reporter

A solemn funeral was held in Kunsan, North Cholla Province, yesterday morning to mourn the 14 young women who lost their lives in a fire at a drinking establishment last week.

About 300 bereaved family members, residents and women group representatives took part in the joint memorial service in front of the burned pub in Kaebok-dong, a major red-light district in the city.

The victims' families wept uncontrollably in front of incense altars, utterly in disbelief. Other participants silently looked on, paying their respects to those who perished.

``How can we shed our guilt of not hearing your voices of suffering when your spirits had already been suffocated while being confined in those rooms?'' read Lee Kyong-sook, standing representative of the Korea Women's Associations United (KWAU), during the ceremony.

Resolving to make a society where ``all daughters can live in peace and human dignity,'' participants called for a thorough investigation into the incident, punishment of those responsible and special legislation against sex trafficking. On Jan. 29, a fire erupted at the two-story pub at around 11:50 a.m., with 14 female employees and the 24-year-old male manager, Kim In-shik, inside.

Four were severely injured, but died soon after in nearby hospitals. The last surviving victim, Kim Mi-ok, 26, passed away on Wednesday night, finalizing the death toll at 15.

Although the fire had broken out in broad daylight, no one was able to escape since they were locked in from the outside.

Police found special locks installed at all the exits of the establishment, designed to only be opened by an outside key.

The victims, who were reportedly sleeping in the rooms of the first floor after working late shifts, had tried to escape through the second floor but suffocated to death when the doors would not open, according to police.

During a police interrogation, the pub owner, Lee Song-il, admitted that the women were confined in the building and forced to engage in prostitution.

The partially burned diaries and memos that were found at the scene of the fire also provide a bitter clue of the imprisoned life the sex workers had led.

``I miss home. a hopeless tomorrow. How am I supposed to live?'' read one memo.

``Already a year has been passed since I came here. My mind and body are so tired. I hate myself. I want to return to the old me,'' another comment reads.

The incident, which was tragic enough in itself, was even more shocking as it was a horrible repeat of what happened two years ago.

In September 2000, five sex workers suffocated to death after a fire erupted in a bar in the same area. Gates had been locked and iron bars installed over all the windows, making it impossible for the victims to escape.

``Last week's tragedy proves that little has changed during the past two years,'' said Kim Ki Seon-mi of KWAU.

``The government must conduct a thorough investigation and punish those who are responsible to prevent similar incidents in the future,'' she said.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Department (SMPD) conducted an intense crackdown Thursday on five major red-light districts in the capital area to check for possible safety and human rights violations.

(SITE NOTE: There is an anti-prostitution law on the books, but notice how the Seoul Metropolitan Police Department enter brothels to remove locks and check for "human rights violations." To even report this act boggles the mind as it shows how Korea really views prostitution.)

During their inspections, they found four brothels equipped with the same locks installed at the establishment where the fire occurred, and removed them.

The SMPD said it would intensify inspections of red-light districts in the future.

jysoh@koreatimes.co.kr

Kunsan Redlight District (2000) (Kunsan and A-Town)

Koreans are Hypocrites on Prostitution.

Sex trade reported at 4.1% of GDP

Korea's sex industry accounts for up to 4.1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), with over 330,000 women engaged in prostitution, a report showed yesterday.

According to the report released by the Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC), the nation's sex trade was estimated at 24 trillion won ($20.4 billion) last year, accounting for 4.1 percent of 578 trillion won, the total GDP.

The amount far exceeds that of the electricity, gas and water supply industry, which accounts for 2.9 percent of the GDP, and lags slightly behind the agricultural industry's 4.4 percent.

There are no guaranteed statistics on the sex industry, however, as prostitution is outlawed in Korea.

But the KIC said it calculated the volume of industry based on its survey of 5,403 sites providing sex services, such as bars and massage parlors, in Seoul and six other cities between August and November last year.

The report estimated that up to 4.1 percent of Korean women in their 20s and 30s work in the business. This accounts for 8 percent of employed women in these age groups.

About 358,000 men buy sex each day. Nearly 20 percent of men aged between 20 and 64 visit prostitutes on average 4.5 times every month, spending a sum that breaks down to 154,000 won each time, according to the report.

The KIC said among the employers or brokers of prostitutes uncovered by police, an average of 76 percent were fined last year.

There has been a heated debate in Korea on whether to decriminalize prostitution. Proponents have claimed that legalization would make it easier for the authorities to supervise the sex industry and protect the rights and health of prostitutes, while opponents contended that the trade of women's bodies should not be encouraged at any cost.

Moral Re-Armament

Park Moo-jong
Chief Editorial Writer

The talk of town last week was the flourishing sex industry, worth 24 trillion won ($21 billion) last year alone, a figure comparable to the sales in the agricultural and marine sector, accounting for 4.1 percent of the gross domestic product.

But the public did not seem all that surprised at this news, based on an official report on prostitution released by the state-run Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC), the first of its kind. Much of the public simply clicked their tongues while watching the news on TV or reading it in the paper _ and that’s all.

Prostitution, known as the oldest profession, is illegal in Korea. Licensed sex service for money, officially introduced in 1916 by the former Japanese colonial government, was abolished in 1947, two years after the nation was liberated from 35 years of Japanese rule.

It is quite an inscrutable phenomenon that such an illegal, unauthorized business is flourishing, with more and more young women yielding to the temptation of earning money easily, in the face of the tough Anti-Prostitution Law that ``harshly’’ punishes both sellers and buyers.

The tough law should deter potential johns, who could face up to 365 days behind bars or fined up to 3 million won ($2,500), ``if caught on the scene.’’ But such a situation has not happened once since the law was revised to that effect in 1995, and is not expected to occur also in the days to come in light of the policies and attitude and attitude of law enforcement agencies.

Either law enforcement authorities are neglecting their duty of enforcing the law, or people are ignoring the law, without hesitating to add to the prosperity of the illegal business.

This nation is notorious for being a country with one of the worst records. In a 2001 U.S. State Department report on human trafficking, it can be seen that the harsh reality here is that many of the women are traded like slaves and forced into prostitution.

The latest tendency is for more and more young women, even college students and housewives, to enter the lucrative business as ``freelancers,’’ earning money to buy top name brand goods or ``myongpum,’’ or to earn their livelihood.

The seriousness of the situation lies in the fact that only 7.5 percent of the money the sex industry earned last year came from traditional prostitution at brothels in specific red light districts such as ``Miari Texas’’ in Seoul, ``Yellow House’’ in Inchon and Wanwol-dong in Pusan.

Most of sex trade occurs at various kinds of entertainment spots like ``song rooms’’ that are allowed to sell liquor and beer, taverns, massage parlors, sports massage rooms (formerly steam rooms or Turkish baths), hostess bars, barbershops, tearooms and elsewhere.

In particular, many who drive have to remove several lewd business card-style cards introducing ``freelancers’’ or massage services and giving their mobile phone numbers from their car windows every morning.

The KCI estimated there are 330,000 women offering sex for money, but this figure may reach 1 million if those working independently are included. In addition, there are many young girls who surf the Internet in search of sex partners for ``wonjo kyoje’’ _ literally ``aid for company,’’ but actually in reference to teenage girls offering sexual services to adult men for pocket money.

A daily newspaper survey found 20 percent of men aged between 20 and 64 buy sex about once a week. It is no wonder that the sex industry should continue to grow, with such a high demand for prostitution.

It is a piece of cake for a man to find a woman selling carnal services any time, if he wants.

This sick social phenomenon shows that national morality are collapsing at an alarming pace, and people have increasingly become inured to moral depravity.

Is there no remedy? The stark reality is that the government virtually gives tacit permission to the illegal business, although has recently cracked down on teenage prostitution, particularly via the Internet, by punishing the buyers strictly, even making public their names on the Internet and bulletin boards of related agencies.

This means that the Anti-Prostitution Law is a mere scrap of paper and law enforcement authorities are violating the law themselves, while emphasizing a law-abiding spirit for the people.

People say now it is the era of reform and change, and that’s why ``reform-minded’’ Roh Moo-hyun beat relatively conservative Lee Hoi-chang in the Dec. 19 presidential election last year.

If so, the incoming administration, to set sail in two weeks, should reform the ``dead’’ Anti-Prostitution Law.

A global trend is to decriminalize prostitution. Prostitution is legal in most Western European countries like the Netherlands and Germany, and sex workers pay taxes.

Instead, the government protects their human rights, welfare and health, while heavily punishing pimps who exploit prostitutes and cracking down on pedophiles.

The famous policewoman Kim Kang-ja, who fought a determined battle against underage prostitution at the ``Miari Texas’’ in Seoul three years ago, has proposed the revival of licensed prostitution. Even though we regard prostitution as immoral, the global trend is to treat it as a public health and social welfare problem, not a criminal one.

We need to consider positively allowing prostitution by women aged 20 or older in specially designated areas on the absolute condition that the government strictly controls the trade elsewhere.

What is the most important of all, however, is to create a sound social atmosphere where morality and ethics are still respected.

Where have all the active civic organizations gone? Now is the time for them to kick off a moral movement. Most of all, we have to keep in mind that sex is something for people who are in love.

moojong@koreatimes.co.kr

Changing Attitude Toward Sex Threatens

South Korea 14/03/03 -- San Francisco Chronicle

In South Korea, conservative mores discourage frank discussion about sex and some people say promiscuity and adultery are less common than in other Asian countries. Many health experts say society's renunciation of promiscuity is a major reason why South Korea's 50 million inhabitants have one of the lowest HIV infection rates in Asia.

UNAIDS says there were only 4,000 cases, or .01 percent of the 15-to-49 age bracket, at the end of 2001. However, some recent surveys show that 17 percent of high school students are sexually active. Men account for nearly 89 percent of Koreans with HIV, official statistics show. Most are in their 30s (35.2 percent) and 20s (27.1 percent).

About 94 percent of all South Koreans with HIV contracted it sexually, 67 percent from heterosexual intercourse and 30 percent from homosexual intercourse, according to Korea's National Institute of Health. Very few contracted HIV through dirty needles.

In 2002, South Korea recorded 400 new HIV cases, compared to 124 in 1997. And by 1993, the majority of new infections were passed from Korean to Korean.

The sex industry in South Korea is big business, accounting for $20 billion, or 4.1 percent of the nation's gross domestic product in 2002, according to the Korean Institute of Criminology. To control prostitution, government officials are considering legalizing it.

Korea's National Institute of Health plans to install 18,000 condom vending machines at major nightspots throughout the country and at "every possible location we can," said Kwon Jun Wook, an NIH official.

The government now also offers a Web site with AIDS information, a 24-hour hotline and free HIV tests. A government campaign encourages middle school and high school teachers to lead candid discussions with their students about the consequences of unprotected sex. Starting in middle school, students are taught about abstinence and safe sex practices.

Miari brothel (Sep 2003)

However, the Christian Science Monitor ran an article that may also be telling that the new law against children prostitution has impacted "Texas Miari" as well as 80 percent of the prostitutes in its brothels are UNDER 18. The article lauds Korea's first female police chief, Kim Kang Ja, whose area of responsibility encompasses the Miari red-light district. However, a revised prostitution law that triples jail terms and fines for pimps, and no longer treats the young girls as criminals. (NOTE: Kim Kang-ja will retire in 2004 from the KNP and seek election to the National Assembly in 2004 promising to continue her campaign against children prostitution. Also see Asia Times article on Miari minor's prostitution.)

S. Korea's first female chief of police tackles prostitution

In a male-dominated society, Kim Kang Ja has inspired a national war on 'underage' prostitution.

Michael Baker
Special to The Christian Science Monitor
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA | published 03.10.00

KIM KANG JA: Korea's first female police chief: Her name means 'strong one.' MICHAEL BAKER Police officer Kim Kang Ja was once locked for hours in a dark room in a brothel. It was a not-so-subtle effort to dissuade Officer Kim from bringing an 'underage' prostitute home to her mother. Mrs. Kim was not cowed and the family was reunited.

That was seven years ago, and Kim is still confronting angry brothel owners and pimps. But thankful mothers have lavished her with bouquets and phone calls many times over. Since January, when she became Korea's first female police chief, Kim has enlarged her personal crusade, launching a war on underage prostitution. Of Korea's 1.2 million prostitutes, 500,000 are minors, she says.

It's an effort that requires some courage and grit, given Korea's male-dominated society and a deeply entrenched culture of prostitution. Her campaign targets everyone from landlords to security guards aiding in the illegal activity.

Kim's city ward hosts "Texas Miari," a collection of 260 brothels named for the American soldiers who helped popularize the area. Of the 1,500 women working in Texas Miari, 80 percent were under 18, says Kim. But that's already changing: At least 40 of the district's brothels have been closed since Kim took over as chief.

It's everywhere

Prostitution at any age is illegal here, but the problem is so ubiquitous that just tackling prostitution by minors is a major job. This is particularly so because much of it is hidden. Most of Korea's prostitutes also work part time at minor hotels, cafes, barber shops, steam baths, and salons for businessmen. Young girls who date middle-aged men for pocket money are also on the rise. Dates can be arranged online.

What Kim is tackling is the tip of the iceberg, says Byun Wha Soon, a researcher at the Korea Women's Development Institute in Seoul.

The dearth of job opportunities for women in Korea is a factor. According to Dr. Byun, 57 percent of female college graduates found jobs in 1998, compared with 91 percent of men. And while a secretary or store clerk might earn $600 a month, women working as prostitutes in tea rooms or steam baths can earn up to $4,000 a month. The rise in minors becoming involved in prostitution is also attributed to today's materialistic culture. For many girls, "it's hard to buy a brand-name handbag with [a secretary's] wage," says Byun.

Cracking down is complicated by rampant corruption: The brothels frequently pay off the police. Kim says that her campaign would not even be possible if it didn't have the support of the government. "In the past when we tried to deal with it, there was a lot of pressure from upstairs. The owners of brothels amass huge fortunes and had huge influence against powerful people," says Kim.

City effort spreads nationwide

Her crackdown has inspired a 50-day nationwide antiprostitution campaign, and a new law allowing police to publicize the names of people who have used underage prostitutes. The law triples jail terms and fines for pimps, and no longer treats the young girls as criminals.

Police are also stationing more women officers in red-light districts.

"This is a woman's issue and is best handled by a woman," says Commissioner Lee Mu Yong. The police are actively recruiting women for other duties, too. Female riot police are less likely to be attacked by demonstrators, says the commissioner, who is recruiting hundreds more women this year.

Next, Kim hopes to improve rehabilitation facilities for the girls. The halfway houses that teach such skills as hairdressing and computer literacy are underfunded, and some women who have participated in the program say the rules are too restrictive.

Whether Kim's campaign can succeed in the long term is uncertain. Korean businessmen still often entertain clients with prostitutes. Texas Miari "is not active and lively anymore," says one customer. But "that place is so old and thriving and well known," that he doubts it will disappear.

"We cannot eliminate prostitution, but we're trying to get rid of prostitution districts. [It] has a long history," says Kim Yong Su, a police spokesman. But Kim's example is encouraging. As Commissioner Lee notes, the new police chief's name, Kang-ja, means "strong one."

SITE NOTE: An example of the Korean myopia dealing with prostitution deals with the Japanese Comfort Women issue. The Joongang Ilbo wrote in Feb 2004, "Korean professors found evidence in documents held in U.S. and Japanese government files that the Japanese military operated facilities in which Korean women were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers. .. Until now, the Japanese government has claimed that such facilities were private establishments that were run voluntarily by individuals for profit. Therefore, it said, the Japanese government and military had no responsibility regarding the treatment of comfort women. These documents, however, show that the Japanese military was directly involved in the establishment, management and supervision of the comfort facilities. ... According to the research team's report, the Japanese military kept a detailed record on the comfort women, including physical characteristics, education and former occupation. Documents also showed that civilians and soldiers were mobilized to force women to be sex slaves. A report by the U.S. Army written in 1944 contained the names of 36 comfort women whose situation had not been known in Korea."

What makes this attitude myopic is that the Japanese are accused of past acts, that the present government continues to condone in Korea. The American soldiers had their camptowns erected by the Korean government and given special tax advantages in the 1970s. Though the U.S. did not keep records of the prostitutes, the U.S. base did assist the operations of VD clinics outside of A-town -- but the clinics were funded by the Korean government. In the 1970s, the prostitutes were praised for bringing in hard currency for the economy. To this date, the Korean police continues to have a list of "registered" prostitutes.

Turn the statement in the article around, "These documents show that the Korean government was directly involved in the establishment, management and supervision of the comfort facilities." Every Korean would deny it...but the truth is that the camptowns are Korean government sponsored prostitution centers.

Korea is a Center of Human trafficking

SITE NOTE: Before we start getting a "holier-than-thou" attitude, one might consider some US statistics.

• 269,000 human beings were smuggled into the States for sexual purposes in 2000. “International sex trafficking is the new slavery,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.;
• 28 baby girls younger than 3 months — all intended for global trafficking — were discovered packed into nylon suitcases on a bus in southern China in March 2003;
• 10 percent of U.S. missing children are sold internationally for as much as $30,000 each.

Four men are arrested for human trafficking

Police in Gyeonggi province yesterday arrested four alleged members of a crime ring on charges of human trafficking and prostitution. The men allegedly promised 25 women that they would get them high-paying jobs in nightclubs and bars in Los Angeles after placing ads on the Internet offering to find women such jobs. The four then allegedly sold the women who responded to the ads to Korean American owners of bars in Los Angeles, who later put the women to work as prostitutes. Police say they are also attempting to track down five other members of the criminal ring who they suspect also engaged in the trafficking of the women. The police said that the men allegedly sent the women to Canada or Mexico, where no entry visa is required. The women were then smuggled to the United States from those countries. According to police, the men received $8,000 to $10,000 per woman.

by Jeon Ick-jin .2003.09.06

f. Trafficking in Persons There is no single law that specifically prohibits trafficking in persons; however, various laws can be used to prosecute traffickers, including laws against kidnaping, inducement to prostitution, and laws protecting juveniles. These laws stipulate that proper security measures as well as financial assistance must be provided to trafficked victims when they report a trafficking crime. The Labor Standards Law prohibits the employment of any person under 18 years of age in work that "is detrimental to morality or health." The Juvenile Sexual Protection Act, which took effect in July 2000, imposes lengthy prison terms for persons convicted of sexual crimes against minors (see Section 5).

Trafficking was a problem. The Republic of Korea was a country of origin, transit, and destination for trafficking in persons. Young female Koreans were trafficked primarily for sexual exploitation, mainly to the United States, but also to other Western countries and Japan. Female aliens from many countries, primarily Chinese women, were trafficked through Korea to the United States and many other parts of the world. In addition to trafficking by air, much transit traffic occurred in the country's territorial waterways by ship. Women from the Philippines and Russia were trafficked to the country for sexual exploitation. They were recruited personally or answered advertisements, and were flown to Korea, often with entertainer visas. In some cases, victims' passports were held by their employers.

The country was considered a major transit point for alien smugglers, including traffickers of primarily Asian women and children for the sex trade and domestic servitude. Relatively small numbers of Korean economic migrants, seeking opportunities abroad, were believed to have become victims of traffickers as well. There were reports of the falsification of government documents by travel agencies; many cases involved the trafficking or smuggling of citizens of China to Western countries.

In August 2001, the Supreme Prosecutor's Office established joint investigation centers in collaboration with the police force and local governments to address trafficking and inveigling of women for forcible sexual exploitation, for the forcible transfer to foreign territory for employment in "service establishments of indecent nature," for granting illegal entry into the country for purposes of sexual exploitation, for the sale of women between prostitution establishments, and for the illegal departure from the country through fake employment or marriage overseas.

During the year, the Government tightened restrictions on the "entertainer" visas by which many trafficked persons formerly entered Korea. Applicants for this type of visa must now be interviewed in their home country by a Korean consular official. The Government also instituted restrictions on the types of establishments in which foreign entertainers may be employed. The National Police Administration initiated a program of informing foreign employees of bars and similar establishments of their rights, and, in cooperation with the Ministry of Gender Equality, established a multilingual hotline for victims of trafficking.

During the year, 445 people were investigated for suspected trafficking, of whom 64 were arrested. In addition, 118 suspected visa brokers and alien smugglers were investigated for violation of the Stowaway Control Law, of whom 40 were arrested.

Various laws stipulate that appropriate facilities, such as temporary shelters, as well as counseling assistance, medical treatment, and occupational training programs, be provided to protect and assist trafficking victims. During the year, 91,978 calls were received by hot lines dealing in women's issues. There were 23 guidance and protection facilities that were used by 1,457 persons; 92 sexual assault counseling centers, with 39,627 cases reported; 8 protection facilities for victims of sexual violence and trafficking that were used by 129 persons; 142 counseling centers for family violence, with 114,612 cases reported; and 30 protection facilities for victims of family violence that were used by 3,023 persons.

In November 2001, the Ministry of Gender Equality published booklets to publicize counseling centers and protection facilities for victims of family violence, sexual assault, and commercial sex. The Ministry of Gender Equality conducted a comprehensive survey of the sex industry; as of year's end, the results of the survey were not available.

The Government worked with various NGOs to develop awareness of the issue and help prevent trafficking. Some foreign women working in the entertainment industry were advised of their rights in an orientation program organized by the National Police Agency. The police cooperated with officials of various embassies in investigating and attempting to resolve various trafficking-related issues and disputes.

Most Foreign Prostitutes Victims of Human Trafficking

About 5,500 foreign women in Korea are engaged in prostitution and most of them are forced into it, a survey showed Wednesday. These prostitutes wish to go back to their countries or take new jobs at Korean factories, but are forced to work in the illicit business through violence or threats. In addition, they are paid W785,000 a month on average, well below the average of W995,000 that foreign workers get in Korea.

These results are based on a survey conducted by the Korean Sociological Association on 196 foreign women across the country. According to the survey, 91 percent of foreign women working in entertainment businesses entered Korea through lawful channels by getting work visas and signing contracts.

However, their employees often abuse their human rights by forcing them to sell a certain amount of alcohol or selling sex to customers. These women also pay a large portion of their wages in commissions to agencies who brought them to Korea.

The association said that bars hiring foreign women serve Koreans as well as American soldiers and openly run places of prostitution like "VIP rooms" or "second stops." "Most of foreign women working in Korean entertainment businesses are victims of human trafficking. To solve the problem, the procedure of issuing visas for those in the entertainment business should be reformed and monitoring of working conditions of women in the industries should be strengthened," said Prof. Sol Dong-hun of Chonbuk National University, who headed the survey project.

Increase in Russian Prostitutes Seeking Help from Police (Sep 2003):

Bar and bar girls in Pusan "Texas Street"
(NOTE: Bar signs written in Cryllic instead of English.)

Changing Attitudes but Questionable Actions (Jan-Apr 2004)

S.Korean prostitutes sue pimps in landmark case

Tuesday January 6, 08:27 AM

SEOUL (Reuters) - Nine former South Korean prostitutes have filed lawsuits against their pimps seeking damages in a landmark legal case, their lawyers say.

Seven of the women say they were lured into prostitution rings as minors under the age of 18 and never received promised up-front payments of as much as 10 million won in addition to room and board.

Prostitution is illegal in South Korea but flourishes in myriad forms -- in large brothel zones, barber shops, bathhouses and "ticket coffee shops" which send prostitutes bearing hot drinks on house calls.

Lawyers representing the nine said they were seeking punitive damages as a way to discourage prostitution involving minors.

"We are dealing with cases that ruin a young woman's whole life," Lee Sung-hwan, one of the lawyers, said by telephone.

Kang Ji-won, who heads the legal team, said seven of the women were seeking 100 million won each for emotional distress and back wages. The other two are seeking 50 million won each in wages withheld.

Promised advances to prostitutes are usually withheld by pimps as security, the lawyers said.

Prostitutes can find themselves in debt to pimps -- many of them in the pay of organised crime groups -- who deduct penalties from the advance if they fail to secure a set number of customers in a given period. Interest is charged when the penalties exceed the advance.

Police in recent years have broken up prostitution rings which keep women as virtual slaves until they earn enough to pay back advances, sometimes until they are too old for the trade.

"They think that one day they will get their money," said Lee Kyung-eun, a director at the Commission on Youth Protection, referring to the indentured women. "So they stay."

The cases are the first brought on behalf of prostitutes by Kang's team, set up in early 2003 with the help of the commission he once headed.

Lee Kyung-eun said the law in South Korea made it difficult for prostitutes to file suits, let alone win them. The law punishes prostitutes as well as pimps, she said.

In addition to the difficulty of collecting evidence in cases which took place years ago, women face possible counter-suits from accused pimps for fraud and defamation, she said.

An amended law on youth protection is set to take effect in March, and it is expected to make lawsuits against prostitution ring operators easier, the lawyers said.

S. Korea plans to shut down red-light districts

By Joseph Giordono and Choe Song-won, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, April 3, 2004

SEOUL — In a nationwide crackdown against prostitution and human trafficking, the South Korean government will shut down all of the estimated 70 red-light districts in the country beginning in 2007, officials said this week.

The plan, announced at a news conference by the Gender Equality Ministry, Justice Ministry and Korean National Police Agency, also calls for seizing all brothel profits beginning this September.

By 2007, officials said, the government will actively close down red-light districts, moving sex industry workers to 14 new "self-support" centers designed to retrain them for other trades.

"To get more effective results, we introduced both punishment and welfare in our measures," said Paek Young-lan of the Gender Equality Ministry's Women's Rights Planning Division.

Though illegal, prostitution in South Korea is widespread and rarely prosecuted. According to the Gender Equality Ministry, more than 330,000 women worked in some 80,000 sex industry establishments in 2002, the last year figures were available.

All told, the ministry said, the sex industry in South Korea — including legal entertainment associated with brothels — accounts for some $20 billion each year. In one case this February, officials said, police seized $1.7 million from a single Pusan massage parlor that was a front for prostitution.

The South Korean Prime Minister's office signed off on the plan, proclaiming its determination that it no longer would tolerate the trafficking in women's bodies.

"The government will enact a special law next year to provide the legal ground for the closure of brothels and begin to shut down 69 red-light districts across the country in phases from 2007, starting with those in juvenile-protection and residential areas," said Gender Equality Minister Chi Eun-hee.

The crackdown will be done gradually, and officials could not predict how long the process would take, Paek said. By 2005, the special law will be introduced, she said; in 2006, a few test areas will be chosen and closed. The widespread closures would kick off in 2007.

And officials already are talking specifics. A press release accompanying the announcement was 93 pages long. First, Paek said, brothel owners "will be advised to change their business into something legal, and after some time given, they will get neither electricity nor water."

Another provision of the bill would allow the government to identify publicly people who hire minors to work as prostitutes.

In recent years, U.S. military officials have taken harsh measures to reduce both the actual number of troops who indulge in the sex industry and the perception that the military contributes to the problem.

A 2003 Defense Department report found military police didn't report most sex trafficking activities because of a lack of evidence. Military police, the report found, sometimes were overly friendly with bar owners during their patrols and failed to report trafficking activity.

A controversial 2002 Fox News report also linked the U.S. military to a thriving sex trade in which women from countries such as the Philippines and Russia were held against their will, had their passports seized, and were forced to provide sex and sell drinks to patrons. It alleged military patrols were providing security for soldiers soliciting prostitutes.

In response, military officials made "off limits" establishments that veered into the sex trade. Soldiers routinely receive briefings and updates on the sex trade and what bars to avoid, officials have said.

U.S. Forces Korea law enforcement and Korean National Police officials meet monthly to discuss concerns, officials said. And a special hotl ine was established for soldiers to report prostitution or human trafficking. The numbers are DSN 333 or, from off-post, 0505 736-9333.

In reality, sex industry watchdogs say, the problem of cracking down on prostitution is that it is so ingrained in Korean culture, particularly in the business world. There are red-light districts in Seoul and other cities that only allow Korean patrons. Likewise, there are red-light districts in places like Itaewon, which cater to a mix of U.S. military and other foreign residents.

"You cannot solve the problem by simply addressing the supply side," said Goh Hyun-ung, head of the International Organization for Migration, which monitors sex trafficking in South Korea.

"The people who indulge in the industry will find another way. The industry is very good at adjusting to new tactics aimed against it."

Goh said the new plan to close red-light districts needed more emphasis on changing the business practices and attitudes.

South Korea is both source and destination for women trafficked for sexual exploitation, according to the 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report by the U.S. State Department. Victims come from the Philippines, Thailand, China, Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the report said.

ROK PROMISES TO SHUT DOWN RED-LIGHT DISTRICTS: (MAR 2004)

"The federal government seems set to continue denying the scope and scale of the sex industry, declaring this month that it would "shut down" South Korea's red-light districts by 2007. The government was careful to focus only on red-light districts, even though government ministries estimate these areas account for only 2 percent of South Korea's enormous sex industry. These districts have been in steady decline for the past 10 years, relics of Korea's postwar camp-town past. Seoul's red-light districts include Hawolgok-dong, Chongnyangni, Yongdungpo, Yongsan, Chonho-dong and other smaller zones, areas that feature block after block of young women in windows. These extensive areas feature women displayed under red fluorescent lights, the same kind of lights Korean butcher shops use to display meat.

Putting these zones on the chopping block will do little to curb South Korea's sex industry, as most men prefer clubs, singing rooms and massage parlors - or increasingly popular Internet portals - to procure sex. Indeed, the closing of these red-light districts, if it actually happens, will actually increase the health risks to workers and their patrons, as government reports have found that the rates of sexually transmitted disease are higher in the more popular and ubiquitous clubs and salons than in traditional red-light zones.

Further, the move against these historical zones could well be geared more toward freeing up real estate for residential development than striking a blow against prostitution. The area around "Miari" in Hawolgok-dong, for instance, is virtually surrounded by residential apartment blocks, creating an obvious profit incentive for residential rezoning.

Prostitutes File Suits Against Government, Brothel Owners

(Photo Not Available) In a press conference for the "Class Action Suits by Sex Workers" held at Seoul City Hall on Thursday, Jo Jin-kyung, the director of the Seoul Together Center, says the center will survey the damages from the sex trade and file suits against the government and brothel owners. /Yonhap

Prostitutes who were confined in red-light districts and forced to provide sexual services filed a class action suit against the government and the brothel owners for massive compensation.

This is the first time that prostitutes have brought about such a lawsuit against the government on the grounds that it neglected its job to regulate, manage, and supervise the sex trade.

Seven prostitutes raised suits against brothel owners calling for compensation of W50 million per person and a confirmation of the cancelation of advance payment debts, which are W157 million. They said, "We are detained in a brothel in Jung-dong, Sungnam and forced to sell sex and engage in all kinds of abnormal sexual acts, thus our human rights are being infringed upon."

A victim argued that her owner had installed a sensor on the stairs of his establishment so that she could not move around it, and added that police officers from Sungnam came and not only did she have to serve them alcohol, but she also had sex with them.

Victims also filed massive compensation suits against the government for W100 million per person on charges that they have failed to protect them from sexual exploitation.

The advanced payment contract, or the modern version of a "slave document", is a practice in which brothel owners lend money to the women when they are first employed at the establishment; the women are not legally obliged to pay it back, but owners often find ways to coerce its repayment.

If these suits are accepted, it will be an epoch-making event in which the advanced payment practice is ended and the human rights of sex workers become protected.

"South Korea is not known for openly confronting societal problems, traditionally preferring to shunt nationally embarrassing issues to the side, in the belief that if something isn't acknowledged it will cease to exist. But the sex industry is not disappearing. Indeed, it is one of South Korea's few truly recession-proof industries enjoying steady growth, largely immune to economic cycles. However, Korean society is changing and women, long exploited and often abused by the still rigidly patriarchal society, are beginning to demand that their legally enshrined personal and human rights be respected.

With the help of the Korean Bar Association (Legal Aid), some prostitutes have begun taking ruthless brothel owners to court for violating their human rights. And as these women come forward and give testimony about being physically confined and forced into the sex trade, often to repay loans proffered by the same gangsters who own the sex clubs, the ugly realities of South Korea's sex industry are beginning to come to light. Women receiving loans from gangsters must pay ridiculously high rates of interest, making it impossible for the girls and women ever to pay them back."

PHILIPPINES URGES LIMITING ISSUANCE OF E-6 VISAS: (JUL 2004)

Philippines Urges S. Korea to Limit Issuing of Visas By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter

The Philippine Embassy in Seoul on Monday submitted a petition to South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, urging the South Korean Embassy in Manila to stop issuing entertainment visas or E-6 visas to unqualified applicants, which allegedly help the illegal trafficking of Filipino women into Korea.

``Our embassy has received information that Filipino entertainers were able to obtain visas from the South Korean Embassy in Manila or in other countries with forged documents through bribery,'' Philippine Ambassador to Seoul Aladin Villacorte told The Korea Times.

The envoy added, ``Though the South Korean government agreed last year to limit the issuance of E-6 visas to only musicians and singers who will be performing at reputable establishments including five-star hotels, it has not been properly implemented.''

The E-6 visas are issued by Korean Embassies overseas to local people who will come to work as entertainers in South Korea. However, they were reportedly misused as a tool for Korean recruiters to pursue an illegal human trade.

Villacorte stressed that many Filipino women, who have come here with illegal visas, suffer physical abuse and other inhumane treatment. In particular, his concerns are focused on women forced to work as prostitutes. ``We have piled up documents of abuse cases involving Filipino entertainers employed to clubs and bars around the United States military bases here,'' the ambassador continued. ``Such events keep happening, one after another.''

The ambassador said that the South Korean Embassy in Manila keeps issuing E-6 visas without much consideration of applicants' identification, which aggravated the situation.

Meanwhile, the top Philippine envoy pledged to solve the trafficking of women and related concerns by appealing to South Korean authorities, including the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the police and prosecution.

``I'll stop by the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry soon to make sure the issue is not shelved by its officials,'' he said. ``The issue is my greatest concern now.''

In the petition, the Philippine Embassy also conveyed the exasperated sentiment of the Filipino communities here by the inability of a number of club owners and promoters to live up to their repeated promises of protecting human rights.

The Philippine government, for a start, has decided to completely stop the processing of documents involving women entertainers to South Korea, except those contracted by major hotels and with duly authenticated contracts.

Tongduchon (Ujungbu) 169
Pyongtaek 231
Uijungbu 19
Paju 2
Total 431

In 2002 the statistics for Russian/Kazakh women working in clubs in Korea was:

Tongduchon (Ujungbu) 66
Pyongtaek 77
Uijungbu 10
Paju 1
Total 149

KOREA EVICTS RUSSIAN "ENTERTAINERS": (JULY 2004)

Community Leaders Busted for Paid Sex With Russian Girls

With about 20 community figures recently getting busted in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province for engaging in paid sex, the revelation that even more men have been hiring the services of Russian girls through the Internet is adding to the shock.

According to the South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Cyber Investigation Unit on Tuesday, its investigations of five members of a racket pimping Russian girls have revealed that 277 men have utilized the rackets services since March.

Police have booked (without detention) 93 of those men for violations of prostitution laws, and are continuing investigations against the remaining 184.

Police said most of 93 they booked for sex with Russian prostitutes were men in their 20s~40s who live in Seoul who have a variety of jobs.

A large number, however, were social leaders like an assistant professor at a university in Seoul, a lecturer at a regional college, and Seoul-based doctors. The incident nakedly revealed the men's twisted sexual consciousness. Moreover, nor only employees of household name communications, electronics, insurance, car and construction companies, but also students at famous universities in Seoul and bankers fell pray to the misplaced temptation of sex with Russian women. In particular, the form the prostitution took was diverse; a 32-year-old doctor would call a Russian girl over to his house for sex after having a fight with his wife, while a 33-year-old professor used his business car while on business trips to Seoul and a 26-year-old college student had sex with Russian girls in his room.

Police said, "Most of the men remembered the prostitution racket's contact number that they learned through a major Internet chatting site, and requested its services after drinking, family troubles or to satisfy their sexual cravings... We've confirmed that this degenerated prostitution culture is prevalent throughout society."

In particular, police added, "We believe that in this incident, the fact that it was easier for community leaders with money and relative Internet-savvy to approach this online racket using Russian girls as bait egged on their fall from grace."

South Gyeongsang Province Cyber Investigation chief Shim Tae-hwan said, "Recently, with cyberspace being used as a tool to arrange prostitution, it seems more and more community leaders with money and computer skills are buying sexual services... We will continue to crack down on the crime of cyber prostitution."

KOREA DECIDES TO TACKLE PROSTITUTION: (SEP 2004)

Special Law Aims to Crack Down on Myriad Forms of Prostitution

A special law on punishing brothel owners and prostitution goes into effect from Thursday. The law, which calls for tough punishments for human trafficking, forced prostitution, and prostitution advertising, is expected to be accompanied by a month long special crackdown by police, so it would seem big changes are in store for the custom of prostitution.

A police official said, "We plan to book even those who distribute prostitution advertisements, something that wasn't a punishable offence before."

Police feel that once the special law is introduced, it should be very effective in getting women to actively cooperate with investigations and punishing men who buy sex, because women who are minors or were forced into the sex trade through confinement or human trafficking would be designated as victims and not receive punishment.

• Strengthening punishments of brothel owners
  
  The punishment for brothel owners who force their women to engage in prostitution has been increased from "up to 5 years in jail or W15 million in fines" to "up to 10 years in jail or W100 million in fines." Moreover, those who lock up girls, force them to have abortions, or engage in human trafficking will get a minimum of three years in jails, while in cases where drugs are used to force women to commit acts of prostitution or the brothel owner is a gangster, the courts will hand down a minimum of five years in jail. A Justice Ministry official said it was exceptional that minimum jail sentences were being stipulated. He added that brothel owners and other criminals would lose all their property or valuables earned through criminal activity, completely closing off the possibility that they may repeat their crimes.
• Other sexual acts punished
  
  The new law includes not only sexual intercourse, but also other sexual acts using tools or parts of the body as targets for punishment. This is to allow crackdowns on places like barbershops, which have avoided punishment by claiming that they do not actually provide customers with "sex," per say. A police official said that up till now, even if police made a raid, it was hard to punish an establishment if no condoms or semen were found. Now, he said, the fact that the concerned parties were naked at the time of the raid would be seen as sufficient evidence of prostitution, and punishment would be possible.
• Protecting the human rights of victimized women
  
  Debts related to prostitution, regardless of whether in contract or other forms, would become null and void. Moreover, women forced into prostitution through human trafficking, confinement or drug addiction would be designated victims, leaving open the way for them to avoid punishment. Up till now, the biggest reason women in prostitution were reluctant to inform the police was strain from receiving money and fear of punishment. So far, women who were unable to pay back brothel owners the money owned to them could be prosecuted for fraud and punished for their activities.

There are big hopes for the new anti-prostitution laws that will go into effect today, which will punish not only prostitutes' customers, but their pimps as well. Although prostitution has been clearly illegal for a long time in Korea, it has been so pervasive in our society, to the point of becoming part of our daily lives. This is because of non-existent police enforcement and virtually no real punishment for either customers or their pimps.

The law that was in place only punished the powerless women involved in prostitution. Under such conditions, prostitution spread like a poisonous fungus while these women had to live in a blind spot of our society, where their human rights were of the least concern.

What is even more worrisome is that so many different forms of prostitution are being conducted that it is difficult to find a moral corner in our society, and that more violent means of trading in human lives are being used to secure prostitutes. The entire society is in a struggle to get rid of the problem of prostitution. In order to truly get rid of prostitution, the supply and demand must be cut off at the same time. In order to help prostitutes from falling into the same trap again, we have to provide a support system.

The newly announced measures are designed to punish those who arrange prostitution, while protecting the victims, the prostitutes. One would like to think that this time, our efforts to root out prostitution will bear some fruit.

Nevertheless, getting rid of prostitution won't be easy. There's a reason why it's called the world's oldest profession.

Last year, in a phone survey, 48.5 percent of men surveyed admitted to having bought sex. Eighty percent of them said they didn't feel any guilt.

The success of the new law depends on how much it can raise the moral standards of our society. Already, there are worries that the new law will act as a catalyst for new forms of prostitution to emerge.

Enforcement should be continuous and persistent. At the same time, at school and at home, parents need to shed the awkwardness that comes with talking about sex and teach their children that the act is a beautiful thing to share with someone you love.

Religious groups and social organizations should also help in encouraging healthy attitudes toward sex in Korea.

S. Korea in new anti-prostitution drive

By Jack Kim and Paul Eckert

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's usually bustling brothel districts have fallen silent after police enforced stringent new anti-prostitution laws against human traffickers, pimps and even clients.

Police who fanned out in midnight raids in Seoul's big red-light districts -- the most visible face of a trade that generates an estimated $21 billion (11.7 billion pounds) a year -- found shuttered doors and hostility from the sex workers, they said.

"The owners and the women actually complained about losing their livelihood and they seemed serious about it," said Park Kyung-hee, a police officer involved in the crackdown.

The strict new laws -- which call for jail terms of up to 10 years or steep fines for people who force women to work in brothels -- were passed earlier this year after years of lobbying by woman's rights groups as well as brothel fire deaths and international censure.

Park said about 100 brothel owners, prostitutes and older women who lure customers got into an argument with women's rights activists outside the sprawling Miari red-light district in northeastern Seoul.

"Some of the people got quite emotional," Park said, describing how police quadrupled their forces to prevent a clash after only two dozen officers were sent to raid the red-light zone. The prostitutes insisted they were not being held against their will, she said.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police officer said 38 people were arrested in Seoul and 138 nationwide on day one of the crackdown.

"The number is probably small compared with what goes on in the sex trade, but considering the widespread awareness of the crackdown, it's surprising that there were this many," the officer said.

Seoul police officer Song Kab-su, who led pre-dawn raids in Seoul's trendy Kangnam area, said the targeted establishments in his district were almost completely deserted.

"We picked a massage parlour and kicked the door in and found three women, no customers," Song said.

ILLEGAL SINCE 1948

Belying its image as a strait-laced, conservative Confucian society, South Korea has one of the region's most vibrant sex industries. Prostitution has been illegal since 1948, but is widely tolerated and ubiquitous.

The Korean Institute of Criminology conducted a survey in 2003 and found that 20 percent of adult males bought sex four times a month on average, while 4.1 percent of women in their 20s made their living from myriad forms of prostitution.

The sex trade -- from Amsterdam-style windowed bordellos to barber shops to special delivery coffee shops -- had annual turnover of 24 trillion won, or four percent of gross domestic product in Asia's third-biggest economy, it found.

The brunt of the new crackdown falls on those involved in human trafficking and who force women into prostitution.

In 2002 in a red-light district in the southeastern city of Kunsan, 15 prostitutes were killed when the brothel where they lived and worked caught fire. The doors were bolted from the outside and the windows barred to prevent their escape.

The annual U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report for 2004 described South Korea as a "source, transit, and destination country" for Southeast Asian women trafficked for sexual exploitation.

South Korea was upgraded in the previous year's report to a "tier one" country in recognition of government efforts to crack down on the trade and to protect and compensate victims.

The new laws call for seizure of property and heavy fines for those who run brothels. Those caught buying sex can be jailed for up to a year and fined 3 million won.

Police say the intensive crackdown will run to October 22, after which authorities will still enforce the new laws.

Critics argue that the campaign may simply drive the sex business underground or to take new forms. South Korean media said previous campaigns had come and gone and questioned if this drive would be different.

Crimes against informants and witnesses are on the rise. According to a National Police Agency report released by Grand National Party (GNP) lawmaker Kim Jae-kyung, the number of these crimes from January to September of this year totaled 2,454. At this rate, the number will soon exceed last year's total of 2,634. The figure had been falling in recent years, from 4,734 in 2000 to 4,166 in 2001 and 3,503 in 2002 -- the figure has suddenly taken a turn for the worse this year. Police say that they do not know the reasons behind this new trend.

In crimes committed against informants and witnesses, assault topped the list at 2,241 cases, robbery was second at 765, and murder and burglary were third at 60. Sexual assault accounted for 18 cases, already exceeding last year's 11 cases. Kim said that as in the case of serial killer Yoo Young-chul's capture, tips from informants are crucial in catching criminals. If police cannot curtail crimes of retribution, they may have a difficult time finding informants and solving cases.

A special Informant protection bill enacted in June, 2002 states that informants and their immediate family have the right to receive police protection for a certain period of time to prevent just such cases of retribution.

Sex Trade being Crippled by Crackdown (October 2004)

Medical Checks of Prostitutes End, Businesses around Red Light Street Suffer

OCTOBER 17, 2004 23:16
by Jin-Kyun Kil Yi-Young Cho (sunjung71@hotmail.com)

With special laws against prostitution taking effect, the police are consolidating their efforts to crack down on prostitution, and strong criminal penalties are being levied on those involved in prostitution. However, some express worry that this stern action is, contrary to expectations, resulting in many side effects.

Following the announcement of the crackdown, the prostitution industry has shown a tendency to make inroads into residential areas, which is called a “bubble effect”--the phenomenon that if a part of something is compressed, another part will expand.

On top of that, experts predict the rapid spread of venereal disease because prostitution is becoming more clandestine. In fact, since the measures were implemented, the public health center’s system of checking the medical condition of prostitutes has practically been crippled.

According to a Dongdaemun public health center, which takes care of prostitutes in the Cheongrangri 588 area, a famous red light street, “Since a special crackdown was implemented, the number of prostitutes who visit the center for medical checks is none.”

According to data published by Korean Institute of Criminology in 2002, the prostitution industry generates 24 trillion won annually, and at least 330,000 people are working in the industry. Even some women’s groups estimate that the number is as high as 1.5 million.

Therefore, due to this strong regulation, other relevant businesses have also been hit hard. For example, beauty shops, restaurants, clothing ships, and accommodations that are located near red light streets are suffering from a serious drop in sales because their main customers, street girls, are no longer around.

Kim, 39, who sells coffee and beer in the 588 area, complained, “I used to earn anywhere from 50,000 to 60,000 won per day. But now my income has fallen to 10,000 or 20,000 won. I don’t know how to get by now.”

A number of accommodations have been put up for auction because their businesses have suffered great losses while at the same time, financial institutions are beginning to collect debts. Recently, a certain security corporation produced reports that worry about the increasing debt of the accommodation sector.

However, the opposite opinion is just as strong.

Wie Pyeong-ryang, a senior researcher for the Economic Justice Research Center of Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, said, “It is dangerous to predict the influence of a policy on the economy from just short-term phenomenon,” adding, “Downsizing the prostitution industry is expected to make our economy more competitive and healthy in the long run.”