•Industrialized form of prostitution was first introduced during the Japanese colonization: Law on licensed prostitution + state-regulated legalization
☞ The sex trade in Korea as a direct result of colonization •The sex trade targeting U.S. soldiers was promoted by the state after liberation (1945) as a way of earning U.S. dollars and the nation’s economic growth
☞ The sex trade in Korea as a direct result of cold war, military dictatorship, and developmentalism
• Illegal, yet pervasive
• Havocscope’s estimate: 10 billion euros, world’s 6th largest
• Korean Institute of Criminology’s estimate: 23-25 billion euros • 50.6% of adult men admitted that they have used women for prostitution •Half of johns first buy sex at the age of 19-23
• Dominant male entertainment culture:
- Multiple men among friends and colleagues buy sex together for fun
- ‘Providing a prostitute’ is considered a common business tactic to seal the deal between partnered companies.
• Red light districts: most traditional form still making up 10-20% of the industry
• Karaoke-rooms: up to 100 women per ‘business’
• Meet-ups through apps: most commonly used to get teenage girls
• Growing demand seeking migrant women: South East Asians, Russia and neighboring countries, Korean Chinese women
– Growing demand seeking migrant women: South East Asians, Russia and neighboring countries, Korean Chinese women
• During Japanese colonization, the sex trade was controlled by the state through license system, which resulted in large red-light districts and forced STD testing on prostituted women
• After the liberation (1945), both left-wing and right-wing women’s groups ignited a movement against the licensing system
• The system was officially abolished in 1948 by the U.S. military government, and an anti-prostitution law was legislated in 1961 during the military dictatorship
• Yet the government kept over 100 ‘Special Districts’ in which prostitution was allowed and promoted
• Large fires in red-light districts in early 2000s and stories of the women being subjected to inhumane treatment broke out, and women’s organizations began a movement for a new law on prostitution
• The new anti-prostitution laws were legislated in 2004:
• Not only buying sex and procurement but also selling sex remained illegal regardless of the view of women’s organization supporting the Nordic model
• Two laws: The law on punishment of acts of engaging in prostitution and the law on protection of the prostituted
• Major provisions in the new laws
• Law on punishment penalizes all actors in prostitution including those who procure or advertise, and exempts those who are selling sex ‘involuntarily’.
☞ distinguishes ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ prostitution
• Law on protection provides grounds for government-funded support centers and stipulated that all prostituted women can receive legal, medical, housing, and exit program services (currently 29 counseling centers, 38 shelters and 12 vocational training centers are established and designated specifically for the women in the sex trade)
☞ Doesn’t distinguish ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary prostitution’