Hello. My name is Mumu, and I am an activist in 'Moongchi,' a network of women with lived experience of prostitution in South Korea. 'Moongchi' has spent the past 20 years breaking the silence imposed by the sex industry and exposing violence in our own words. We are agents of change. It is a great honor to speak here today representing all the members of Moongchi and to share the reality we face in Korea.
‘Moongchi' operates six regional self-help groups across Korea where women with lived experience of prostitution support one another and work toward recovery. We are a survivor-led movement that speaks in our own voice, telling Korean society why the equality model is needed and naming the violence we have endured.
What matters most to us is the process of reinterpreting our experiences of prostitution. Before the state ever punished us, we had already been punishing ourselves. But through meeting others in Moongchi who share the same experiences, we have shed the burden of self-blame and begun holding accountable those who maintain the structures of prostitution. They are the real perpetrators. Through that process, we have become a source of strength for one another, and confirmed that none of us is alone.
It is an honor to speak at this meaningful occasion marking the 10th anniversary of France's equality model.
Today, we want to state clearly once again: prostitution is not a simple "choice" or "transaction." It is structural violence that violates women's lives and dignity.
Korea has two laws under the name "Act on the Prevention of Prostitution": the Punishment Act and the Protection Act. When they were enacted, the Punishment Act was intended to punish those who sustain the sex industry, including business owners, buyers, and landlords who provide premises, while the Protection Act was meant to protect women in prostitution and support their self-sufficiency and independence. Today, however, the law divides women in prostitution into "voluntary" and "involuntary" and punishes them accordingly, losing sight of its original purpose and failing to reflect reality.
The sites of prostitution we experienced were never spaces of free choice. We were pushed there by poverty, violence, discrimination, and social isolation. Prostitution was not a choice for women. It was something forced upon us as a matter of survival.
'Moongchi' stands alongside many women with lived experience of prostitution. Based on the Protection Act, which allows women to be seen as victims, or the Punishment Act, which allows women to be punished, and depending on whether individual officers or institutions have a gender-sensitive perspective, some women are categorized as "victims" and become recognized as harmed women, while others are categorized as "suspects" and punished. A significant number of our members have experienced this. But no matter how we are categorized, we know that the violence of prostitution itself is never any different. That is why we are calling for reform of the Punishment Act, and beyond that, working toward the introduction of an equality model under which women are not punished.
In Korea, there are many researchers who argue that prostitution should be recognized as labor and that individual choice should be respected as a right. They use the language of "work" to romanticize the violence happening on the ground. We know with certainty that the reality of prostitution is not simply a workplace. It is a site of ongoing control, threats, violence, and exploitation. It is a place where human rights are routinely violated, where women's bodies are treated as commodities and their dignity as human beings is easily stripped away. In this reality, the framework of "voluntariness" imposed on women serves only to conceal the structural violence of poverty and exploitation.
Korea's national survey finding that one in two Korean men has paid for sex did not shock us, because we expected the number to be even higher. Although prostitution is illegal in Korea, venues with subtle variations such as kiss rooms divide women's bodies by body part to exploit them, and justify the power to trample human rights simply because buyers have paid. They do not see women as human beings. They dismantle us part by part. Lips, hands, breasts. They attach a price tag and exploit us. We must now break the chain of this violence forged between massive capital and patriarchy. We believe the introduction of the equality model is where that begins.
And yet, there is one important development in Korea worth noting. Systems exist to support women in prostitution and help them exit. Through these programs, some women are gaining opportunities to start new lives. But punishment and social stigma remain, and women are still treated as criminals. That is why, in Korea, showing our face and name as a survivor activist is still deeply difficult for many of us. Which is why standing here, face uncovered, I feel a profound sense of liberation.
Why are buyers and procurers protected, while the women who were prostituted are punished?
The Nordic Model offers a clear answer to this question. Criminalize the demand that makes prostitution possible, and protect those who have been exploited. This is the true human rights perspective.
This kind of change is urgently needed in Korean society as well. Women with lived experience of prostitution must not be targets of punishment. We must be recognized as right holders, receive the protection they need from the state, and be offered real alternatives for living a different life. We are not criminals. We are survivors.
Today, from this stage, we are asking for your solidarity. Please send your support and strength so that the Nordic Model can be introduced in Korea, and so that more women can break free from violence and exploitation.
Our voices may be small, but they will never disappear. We will keep speaking. About our experiences, and about the change we want to see. We hope that each of you here today will stand alongside us.
Thank you.
Mumu
Director of Network of Women with Lived Experience of Prostitution 'Moongchi'
Member of Daejeon Regional Self-Help Group for Women with Experience of Prostitution, 'Hakuna Matata'
Hello. My name is Mumu, and I am an activist in 'Moongchi,' a network of women with lived experience of prostitution in South Korea. 'Moongchi' has spent the past 20 years breaking the silence imposed by the sex industry and exposing violence in our own words. We are agents of change. It is a great honor to speak here today representing all the members of Moongchi and to share the reality we face in Korea.
‘Moongchi' operates six regional self-help groups across Korea where women with lived experience of prostitution support one another and work toward recovery. We are a survivor-led movement that speaks in our own voice, telling Korean society why the equality model is needed and naming the violence we have endured.
What matters most to us is the process of reinterpreting our experiences of prostitution. Before the state ever punished us, we had already been punishing ourselves. But through meeting others in Moongchi who share the same experiences, we have shed the burden of self-blame and begun holding accountable those who maintain the structures of prostitution. They are the real perpetrators. Through that process, we have become a source of strength for one another, and confirmed that none of us is alone.
It is an honor to speak at this meaningful occasion marking the 10th anniversary of France's equality model.
Today, we want to state clearly once again: prostitution is not a simple "choice" or "transaction." It is structural violence that violates women's lives and dignity.
Korea has two laws under the name "Act on the Prevention of Prostitution": the Punishment Act and the Protection Act. When they were enacted, the Punishment Act was intended to punish those who sustain the sex industry, including business owners, buyers, and landlords who provide premises, while the Protection Act was meant to protect women in prostitution and support their self-sufficiency and independence. Today, however, the law divides women in prostitution into "voluntary" and "involuntary" and punishes them accordingly, losing sight of its original purpose and failing to reflect reality.
The sites of prostitution we experienced were never spaces of free choice. We were pushed there by poverty, violence, discrimination, and social isolation. Prostitution was not a choice for women. It was something forced upon us as a matter of survival.
'Moongchi' stands alongside many women with lived experience of prostitution. Based on the Protection Act, which allows women to be seen as victims, or the Punishment Act, which allows women to be punished, and depending on whether individual officers or institutions have a gender-sensitive perspective, some women are categorized as "victims" and become recognized as harmed women, while others are categorized as "suspects" and punished. A significant number of our members have experienced this. But no matter how we are categorized, we know that the violence of prostitution itself is never any different. That is why we are calling for reform of the Punishment Act, and beyond that, working toward the introduction of an equality model under which women are not punished.
In Korea, there are many researchers who argue that prostitution should be recognized as labor and that individual choice should be respected as a right. They use the language of "work" to romanticize the violence happening on the ground. We know with certainty that the reality of prostitution is not simply a workplace. It is a site of ongoing control, threats, violence, and exploitation. It is a place where human rights are routinely violated, where women's bodies are treated as commodities and their dignity as human beings is easily stripped away. In this reality, the framework of "voluntariness" imposed on women serves only to conceal the structural violence of poverty and exploitation.
Korea's national survey finding that one in two Korean men has paid for sex did not shock us, because we expected the number to be even higher. Although prostitution is illegal in Korea, venues with subtle variations such as kiss rooms divide women's bodies by body part to exploit them, and justify the power to trample human rights simply because buyers have paid. They do not see women as human beings. They dismantle us part by part. Lips, hands, breasts. They attach a price tag and exploit us. We must now break the chain of this violence forged between massive capital and patriarchy. We believe the introduction of the equality model is where that begins.
And yet, there is one important development in Korea worth noting. Systems exist to support women in prostitution and help them exit. Through these programs, some women are gaining opportunities to start new lives. But punishment and social stigma remain, and women are still treated as criminals. That is why, in Korea, showing our face and name as a survivor activist is still deeply difficult for many of us. Which is why standing here, face uncovered, I feel a profound sense of liberation.
Why are buyers and procurers protected, while the women who were prostituted are punished?
The Nordic Model offers a clear answer to this question. Criminalize the demand that makes prostitution possible, and protect those who have been exploited. This is the true human rights perspective.
This kind of change is urgently needed in Korean society as well. Women with lived experience of prostitution must not be targets of punishment. We must be recognized as right holders, receive the protection they need from the state, and be offered real alternatives for living a different life. We are not criminals. We are survivors.
Today, from this stage, we are asking for your solidarity. Please send your support and strength so that the Nordic Model can be introduced in Korea, and so that more women can break free from violence and exploitation.
Our voices may be small, but they will never disappear. We will keep speaking. About our experiences, and about the change we want to see. We hope that each of you here today will stand alongside us.
Thank you.
Mumu
Director of Network of Women with Lived Experience of Prostitution 'Moongchi'
Member of Daejeon Regional Self-Help Group for Women with Experience of Prostitution, 'Hakuna Matata'