National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women - February Activities Update
The 23rd Annual General Assembly of the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women was held from February 3 to 4, 2026, as a 2-day, 1-night gathering at Taekwondowon in Muju.
Activists from across the country came together in Muju and participated in both meaningful pre-program sessions and the official general meeting. After activists from 13 member organizations nationwide greeted one another, participants attended a keynote session on exploring directions for integrated support from an abolitionist perspective. This was followed by discussions where each region shared the challenges and achievements they face in their local work.
Through conversations filled with questions, reflections, and mutual understanding from different regions, the gathering reaffirmed an important insight: the answers are in our fieldwork and on the ground.
[Commentary] Discussions on Prostitution that Presume Demand Only Erase Human Rights
Recently, a male celebrity’s post on his personal social media account advocating the legalization of prostitution was reported in the media. We agree with his remark that “one cannot help but question the presence of entertainment districts in front of churches, schools, and police stations.” It is entirely reasonable to question a reality in which the sex industry has embedded itself deeply within our everyday spaces.
Yet strangely, this question almost always shifts away from asking “Why has women’s bodies become commodified?” and instead becomes “How can this industry be better managed?”
Why is the object of “management” not the culture of buying sex—the demand—but rather women’s bodies?
Why does the premise always assume that “demand cannot be helped”?
Arguments that prostitution will never disappear and therefore should be recognized, regulated, taxed, and hygienically managed may appear at first glance to be pragmatic and rational solutions. In reality, however, they merely assume the existence of demand for buying sex and propose to manage it more efficiently.
The claim that “with the rise of single-person households, we cannot simply ignore this reality” ultimately implies that men’s sexual desires are natural and therefore must be addressed by society. And the proposed solution, once again, is women’s bodies.
Experiences from countries where prostitution has been legalized or decriminalized provide us with clear lessons. When it becomes normalized that women’s bodies are offered to satisfy men’s sexual desires, those women who are already in the most vulnerable positions are inevitably pushed into the prostitution market. Migrant women and women living in poverty face the pressure of being asked, “Why don’t you engage in prostitution if you need to survive?” The state collects taxes from them, but does nothing to address the underlying inequalities. As a result, women are pushed toward lower prices, more dangerous conditions, and stricter forms of control. “Management” does not eliminate exploitation; it simply turns it into a market.
Men’s sexual desires and the demand for prostitution are not fixed or inevitable. They are shaped by policies, cultural norms, legal frameworks, and education, and can therefore change.
There was once a time when marital rape was widely believed not to be a crime. Today, however, we are able to say clearly that non-consensual sex within marriage is violence and that violence within intimate relationships is a crime. Discussions about the need for explicit consent in sexual relations are no longer unfamiliar. The logic that “there was no refusal, so it must have been acceptable” is no longer persuasive.
Similarly, social awareness around stalking, digital sex crimes, illegal filming, and sexual objectification has also changed. Acts that were once dismissed as trivial are now recognized as clear forms of violence against women and are subject to punishment.
Society has indeed changed. All of these changes were possible because they were built on the understanding that men’s desires are not uncontrollable instincts, but rather something that can be shaped and transformed through social norms, laws, and education.
Prostitution can be reduced and eventually eliminated. Policies that reduce demand, strengthen penalties against buyers, expand exit support for those leaving prostitution, and strengthen housing, labor, and welfare systems have already demonstrated their effectiveness in several countries.
Rather than presuming sexual demand as inevitable, societies can create laws and institutions that regulate purchase, reduce inequality, and prevent violence. We have already witnessed such changes.
Discussions about prostitution should not begin with the question, “How should we manage prostitution in a society with increasing numbers of single men?” Instead, they should begin with the fundamental question: Why are women’s bodies assumed to be the solution for men’s sexual desires?
We hope that this debate will move beyond the attitude that treats entertainment culture and prostitution as inevitable parts of Korean society, and instead confront the structural gender inequality created by prostitution. We also hope that it will become an opportunity to ask together how a society without prostitution can be made possible—and to seek concrete alternatives through open discussion.
February 20, 2026
National Solidarity Against Sexual Exploitation of Women
Announcement: The 41st Korean Women’s Rally Commemorating International Women’s Day 2026
The 2026 International Women’s Day Women’s Rally will take place on Saturday, March 7, at Gwanghwamun Square!
For more than 40 years, the square has been a place where women and citizens have gathered to communicate, stand in solidarity, and push forward toward a deeper and broader democracy. In every moment when democracy has been under threat, despite countless forms of discrimination, violence, and hatred, women have continued to join hands and lead change for gender equality—transforming our society together.
Now is the time to raise our voices even louder and stronger so that the light of democracy, safeguarded through gender equality last year, can shine more brightly in everyone’s everyday lives.
Let us stand together in solidarity and call for the realization of gender equality, so that the progress that has long been delayed or pushed back can move forward once again.
The National Solidarity Against Sexual Exploitation of Women (NSASEW) will also be participating as part of the Korean Women’s Rally organizing team and will be running a booth at the event.
On March 7, 2026, join us in the solidarity of light at Seosipjagak, Gwanghwamun, where the 41st Korean Women’s Rally will take place.
You can find the NSASEW booth at Booth No. 49.
We look forward to seeing you there! ✨
National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women - February Activities Update
The 23rd Annual General Assembly of the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women was held from February 3 to 4, 2026, as a 2-day, 1-night gathering at Taekwondowon in Muju.
Activists from across the country came together in Muju and participated in both meaningful pre-program sessions and the official general meeting. After activists from 13 member organizations nationwide greeted one another, participants attended a keynote session on exploring directions for integrated support from an abolitionist perspective. This was followed by discussions where each region shared the challenges and achievements they face in their local work.
Through conversations filled with questions, reflections, and mutual understanding from different regions, the gathering reaffirmed an important insight: the answers are in our fieldwork and on the ground.
[Commentary] Discussions on Prostitution that Presume Demand Only Erase Human Rights
Recently, a male celebrity’s post on his personal social media account advocating the legalization of prostitution was reported in the media. We agree with his remark that “one cannot help but question the presence of entertainment districts in front of churches, schools, and police stations.” It is entirely reasonable to question a reality in which the sex industry has embedded itself deeply within our everyday spaces.
Yet strangely, this question almost always shifts away from asking “Why has women’s bodies become commodified?” and instead becomes “How can this industry be better managed?”
Why is the object of “management” not the culture of buying sex—the demand—but rather women’s bodies?
Why does the premise always assume that “demand cannot be helped”?
Arguments that prostitution will never disappear and therefore should be recognized, regulated, taxed, and hygienically managed may appear at first glance to be pragmatic and rational solutions. In reality, however, they merely assume the existence of demand for buying sex and propose to manage it more efficiently.
The claim that “with the rise of single-person households, we cannot simply ignore this reality” ultimately implies that men’s sexual desires are natural and therefore must be addressed by society. And the proposed solution, once again, is women’s bodies.
Experiences from countries where prostitution has been legalized or decriminalized provide us with clear lessons. When it becomes normalized that women’s bodies are offered to satisfy men’s sexual desires, those women who are already in the most vulnerable positions are inevitably pushed into the prostitution market. Migrant women and women living in poverty face the pressure of being asked, “Why don’t you engage in prostitution if you need to survive?” The state collects taxes from them, but does nothing to address the underlying inequalities. As a result, women are pushed toward lower prices, more dangerous conditions, and stricter forms of control. “Management” does not eliminate exploitation; it simply turns it into a market.
Men’s sexual desires and the demand for prostitution are not fixed or inevitable. They are shaped by policies, cultural norms, legal frameworks, and education, and can therefore change.
There was once a time when marital rape was widely believed not to be a crime. Today, however, we are able to say clearly that non-consensual sex within marriage is violence and that violence within intimate relationships is a crime. Discussions about the need for explicit consent in sexual relations are no longer unfamiliar. The logic that “there was no refusal, so it must have been acceptable” is no longer persuasive.
Similarly, social awareness around stalking, digital sex crimes, illegal filming, and sexual objectification has also changed. Acts that were once dismissed as trivial are now recognized as clear forms of violence against women and are subject to punishment.
Society has indeed changed. All of these changes were possible because they were built on the understanding that men’s desires are not uncontrollable instincts, but rather something that can be shaped and transformed through social norms, laws, and education.
Prostitution can be reduced and eventually eliminated. Policies that reduce demand, strengthen penalties against buyers, expand exit support for those leaving prostitution, and strengthen housing, labor, and welfare systems have already demonstrated their effectiveness in several countries.
Rather than presuming sexual demand as inevitable, societies can create laws and institutions that regulate purchase, reduce inequality, and prevent violence. We have already witnessed such changes.
Discussions about prostitution should not begin with the question, “How should we manage prostitution in a society with increasing numbers of single men?” Instead, they should begin with the fundamental question: Why are women’s bodies assumed to be the solution for men’s sexual desires?
We hope that this debate will move beyond the attitude that treats entertainment culture and prostitution as inevitable parts of Korean society, and instead confront the structural gender inequality created by prostitution. We also hope that it will become an opportunity to ask together how a society without prostitution can be made possible—and to seek concrete alternatives through open discussion.
February 20, 2026
National Solidarity Against Sexual Exploitation of Women
Announcement: The 41st Korean Women’s Rally Commemorating International Women’s Day 2026
The 2026 International Women’s Day Women’s Rally will take place on Saturday, March 7, at Gwanghwamun Square!
For more than 40 years, the square has been a place where women and citizens have gathered to communicate, stand in solidarity, and push forward toward a deeper and broader democracy. In every moment when democracy has been under threat, despite countless forms of discrimination, violence, and hatred, women have continued to join hands and lead change for gender equality—transforming our society together.
Now is the time to raise our voices even louder and stronger so that the light of democracy, safeguarded through gender equality last year, can shine more brightly in everyone’s everyday lives.
Let us stand together in solidarity and call for the realization of gender equality, so that the progress that has long been delayed or pushed back can move forward once again.
The National Solidarity Against Sexual Exploitation of Women (NSASEW) will also be participating as part of the Korean Women’s Rally organizing team and will be running a booth at the event.
On March 7, 2026, join us in the solidarity of light at Seosipjagak, Gwanghwamun, where the 41st Korean Women’s Rally will take place.
You can find the NSASEW booth at Booth No. 49.
We look forward to seeing you there! ✨