January Update from the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women
Hello, and Happy New Year! We send warm New Year’s greetings to everyone who supports the activities of the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women.
January 29, 2002, marks a tragic day in Korean history when a devastating fire broke out at a bar in Gaebok-dong, Gunsan, causing the death of 15 people. This catastrophic event, following the Gunsan Daemyung-dong brothel fire that shocked the Korean society just a year and a half earlier, laid bare the exploitative and violent nature of the sex industry. In response, the Anti-Prostitution Law was enacted in 2004 to eradicate prostitution and sexual exploitation and to protect the human rights of women in sex exploitation industry.
As we commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Gaebok-dong fire tragedy on January 29, 2026, we would like to share a heartfelt memorial letter written by Kissing Gourami, a Survivor group based in Jeollabuk-do.
---
Dear Sisters,
Hello. We are Kissing Gourami, a Survivor group based in Jeollabuk-do.
After rushing through the busy end of the year in December and finally catching our breath, January arrives. Just as we start wondering, “Is it really winter?”, the cold that stings the tip of our noses reminds us that winter has truly come. When January comes, there are people who fill our hearts. We think, “Ah, the season has come again to send our hearts to our sisters.”
After the weekend passed, today I decided to write a letter to you. As if in response, the snow began to fall beautifully. Watching the snow quietly, it makes no sound as it settles wherever it wishes to land. At times the wind suddenly grows strong and carries it elsewhere—snow landing in unexpected places, or melting away in puddles. The world I saw today seemed to remind me entirely of you. It feels as though it is telling me not to forget.
The year 2026 is a special year for Kissing Gourami in Jeollabuk-do—it marks our 20th anniversary. Amid the busyness of life, we have already reached our twentieth year together.
Before we met Kissing Gourami, we lived like the snow carried by the wind—falling here and there regardless of our own will, sometimes stepped on, sometimes disappearing. We lived without knowing where we were going, what had happened to us, when or where things had gone wrong, or where the control over our own lives had gone.
Then we came under the protection of the Anti-Prostitution Law, met the support centers, and formed a connection with Kissing Gourami. Together with women who were no different from ourselves, we spent twenty years caring for one another and reflecting on our lives.
This year, Kissing Gourami hopes to bring out the feelings that may have grown dull with time. We want to once again give meaning to the free life that our sisters longed for so deeply, and to engrave in our hearts how we came to gather here together.
Many years have passed since leaving prostitution, and before I realize it, many things have become dull with time. I work to survive, relieve stress in my own ways, earn money again to live, share good food, and spend everyday moments with others. There are even days when my experiences feel as if they never existed at all.
But then, when I suddenly encounter a situation similar to something from the prostitution sites, a sharp sensitivity emerges. Sometimes others judge me without understanding why, and sometimes I find myself irritated, wondering why I still react this way. I clench my fists, then loosen them again, repeating this cycle while living a life that is always tense.
Yet one truth does not change: there are still many women like me who continue to live in pain.
Even on days when things feel numb, encountering them strengthens our resolve again and reminds us of the path we must take. And we ask ourselves once more:
“Has the world really changed?”
It is difficult to say the world has changed when so many things remain the same. Because of the sacrifices of our sisters, the Anti-Prostitution Law was enacted, and many women like us came under its protection. Yet women with experiences of prostitution are still punished and continue to be spoken about somewhere between “criminal” and “victim.”
After leaving prostitution, once what society calls “enough time” has passed, we are expected to become normal members of society—as if nothing happened—simply because we left the sites. But in reality we must continue to live day by day with the memories in our bodies, our wounds, struggles for survival, isolation, and the fear that “we must never go back.”
Still, society pressures and scolds us, saying, “You should change,” or “By now you should be living well.” Personal circumstances that do not easily change repeat themselves, and we have even seen women who, in order to survive, return again to sites of sexual exploitation. Whenever we witness this, the coldness of the world fills us with sorrow and resentment.
As time passes, the methods of sexual exploitation grow more sophisticated, spreading into online and digital spaces. Women’s existence is easily violated not only through the sale of bodies but also through photos, videos, private conversations, and gossip among strangers who have never even met them.
Yet society still says, “She chose it,” or “She could just quit,” shifting the weight of responsibility onto individual women.
Amid those words, we think again of our sisters.
We remember Gunsan in 2000 and 2002, and we know that the lives of the sisters who longed for freedom are not so far from our reality today.
In a society where women’s bodies are still bought and sold, where there is no sense of guilt, and where life after exiting prostitution is still not protected, January 29, 2002 remains an unfinished story for us.
Sisters,
We are still here, and we remember you.
We live the freedom that was gained through your sacrifice. Calling one another’s names with warmth, we will try to pass through another cold winter. Just as you allowed us to live, we will stand beside women who are suffering and tell them, “You are not alone.”
We will remain with them.
January 29 Kissing Gourami, a Survivor group based in Jeollabuk-do.
---
In the new year, the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women will continue to engage in various meaningful activities. Thank you for your continued support and interest!
January Update from the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women
Hello, and Happy New Year! We send warm New Year’s greetings to everyone who supports the activities of the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women.
January 29, 2002, marks a tragic day in Korean history when a devastating fire broke out at a bar in Gaebok-dong, Gunsan, causing the death of 15 people. This catastrophic event, following the Gunsan Daemyung-dong brothel fire that shocked the Korean society just a year and a half earlier, laid bare the exploitative and violent nature of the sex industry. In response, the Anti-Prostitution Law was enacted in 2004 to eradicate prostitution and sexual exploitation and to protect the human rights of women in sex exploitation industry.
As we commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Gaebok-dong fire tragedy on January 29, 2026, we would like to share a heartfelt memorial letter written by Kissing Gourami, a Survivor group based in Jeollabuk-do.
---
Dear Sisters,
Hello. We are Kissing Gourami, a Survivor group based in Jeollabuk-do.
After rushing through the busy end of the year in December and finally catching our breath, January arrives. Just as we start wondering, “Is it really winter?”, the cold that stings the tip of our noses reminds us that winter has truly come. When January comes, there are people who fill our hearts. We think, “Ah, the season has come again to send our hearts to our sisters.”
After the weekend passed, today I decided to write a letter to you. As if in response, the snow began to fall beautifully. Watching the snow quietly, it makes no sound as it settles wherever it wishes to land. At times the wind suddenly grows strong and carries it elsewhere—snow landing in unexpected places, or melting away in puddles. The world I saw today seemed to remind me entirely of you. It feels as though it is telling me not to forget.
The year 2026 is a special year for Kissing Gourami in Jeollabuk-do—it marks our 20th anniversary. Amid the busyness of life, we have already reached our twentieth year together.
Before we met Kissing Gourami, we lived like the snow carried by the wind—falling here and there regardless of our own will, sometimes stepped on, sometimes disappearing. We lived without knowing where we were going, what had happened to us, when or where things had gone wrong, or where the control over our own lives had gone.
Then we came under the protection of the Anti-Prostitution Law, met the support centers, and formed a connection with Kissing Gourami. Together with women who were no different from ourselves, we spent twenty years caring for one another and reflecting on our lives.
This year, Kissing Gourami hopes to bring out the feelings that may have grown dull with time. We want to once again give meaning to the free life that our sisters longed for so deeply, and to engrave in our hearts how we came to gather here together.
Many years have passed since leaving prostitution, and before I realize it, many things have become dull with time. I work to survive, relieve stress in my own ways, earn money again to live, share good food, and spend everyday moments with others. There are even days when my experiences feel as if they never existed at all.
But then, when I suddenly encounter a situation similar to something from the prostitution sites, a sharp sensitivity emerges. Sometimes others judge me without understanding why, and sometimes I find myself irritated, wondering why I still react this way. I clench my fists, then loosen them again, repeating this cycle while living a life that is always tense.
Yet one truth does not change: there are still many women like me who continue to live in pain.
Even on days when things feel numb, encountering them strengthens our resolve again and reminds us of the path we must take. And we ask ourselves once more:
“Has the world really changed?”
It is difficult to say the world has changed when so many things remain the same. Because of the sacrifices of our sisters, the Anti-Prostitution Law was enacted, and many women like us came under its protection. Yet women with experiences of prostitution are still punished and continue to be spoken about somewhere between “criminal” and “victim.”
After leaving prostitution, once what society calls “enough time” has passed, we are expected to become normal members of society—as if nothing happened—simply because we left the sites. But in reality we must continue to live day by day with the memories in our bodies, our wounds, struggles for survival, isolation, and the fear that “we must never go back.”
Still, society pressures and scolds us, saying, “You should change,” or “By now you should be living well.” Personal circumstances that do not easily change repeat themselves, and we have even seen women who, in order to survive, return again to sites of sexual exploitation. Whenever we witness this, the coldness of the world fills us with sorrow and resentment.
As time passes, the methods of sexual exploitation grow more sophisticated, spreading into online and digital spaces. Women’s existence is easily violated not only through the sale of bodies but also through photos, videos, private conversations, and gossip among strangers who have never even met them.
Yet society still says, “She chose it,” or “She could just quit,” shifting the weight of responsibility onto individual women.
Amid those words, we think again of our sisters.
We remember Gunsan in 2000 and 2002, and we know that the lives of the sisters who longed for freedom are not so far from our reality today.
In a society where women’s bodies are still bought and sold, where there is no sense of guilt, and where life after exiting prostitution is still not protected, January 29, 2002 remains an unfinished story for us.
Sisters,
We are still here, and we remember you.
We live the freedom that was gained through your sacrifice. Calling one another’s names with warmth, we will try to pass through another cold winter. Just as you allowed us to live, we will stand beside women who are suffering and tell them, “You are not alone.”
We will remain with them.
January 29 Kissing Gourami, a Survivor group based in Jeollabuk-do.
---
In the new year, the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women will continue to engage in various meaningful activities. Thank you for your continued support and interest!