Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57654

Prostitution crimes down among troops in S. Korea
By Ashley Rowland, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, September 26, 2008



SEOUL � As South Korea continues a nationwide prostitution crackdown, a U.S. Forces Korea official said this week that the number of American troops visiting brothels in South Korea has dropped in recent years and is now "very low."

Chuck Johnson, action officer for USFK�s Prostitution and Human Trafficking Working Group, said U.S. troops� participation in prostitution was "a major issue" when the group formed five years ago. Now, about five servicemembers a year get into trouble for prostitution-related crimes, and the lack of business has forced some brothels outside U.S. military installations to close, he said. Johnson said educating troops about human trafficking is working. Servicemembers are required to complete computer-based training on prostitution before or when they arrive in South Korea, and additional training is required twice a year while they�re on the peninsula.

"It�s a sustained, continuous operation," he said.

South Korean police began a nationwide, three-month crackdown on prostitution in July. Police said earlier this month they planned to begin raiding brothels in the "glass house" area near Yongsan Station and on Itaewon�s infamous Hooker Hill in mid-September. Both locations are within walking distance of Yongsan Garrison, home to the headquarters for the U.S. military in South Korea.

A South Korean police officer said no U.S. troops were arrested during the recent sting, although a massage parlor in Hannam-dong, the neighborhood next to military�s Hannam Village housing area, that caters to South Korean businessmen was shut down.

And through the end of October, police will focus on shutting down illegal "hyugaetels," or rest hotels, where customers can call ahead to hire a prostitute and rent small rooms by the hour.

Former USFK commander Gen. Leon LaPorte started the command�s quarterly PHT group meeting in 2003 after a Fox News report that said American servicemembers were involved in trafficking prostitutes and a subsequent congressional investigation. After that incident, USFK instituted a zero-tolerance policy toward prostitution, toughening some of its regulations and setting up a hotline for people to report human-trafficking violations.

In an interview with Stripes in the fall of 2004, LaPorte said nearly 400 servicemembers had been punished that year for offenses related to prostitution. Those offenses included soliciting prostitutes, curfew violations and visiting off-limits establishments. Most were punished through Article 15s, nonjudicial punishments handed down by unit commanders.

Of the 11 calls made to USFK and Department of Defense hot lines in the past year, nine were deemed "unfounded." Two businesses outside Osan Air Base were put off limits based on the other reports.

Johnson said South Korean attitudes toward prostitution are rapidly changing. The country toughened its prostitution laws in 2004 to treat sex workers more as victims and increase penalties for their customers, he said.

"It used to be the johns would get a slap on the wrist, and the workers would get the stiffer punishment," he said.

Johnson said some brothels in the Dongducheon area that catered primarily to U.S. troops have closed in recent years because of a lack of business. But he said it�s frustrating to see that brothels in Itaewon, which have a larger pool of customers, remain open.

"There�s nothing else we as a hosted nation can do to shut them down," he said.

Stripes reporter Hwang Hae-rym contributed to this report.

[wylies99]

[jkelly80]

I think every male from the ages of 14-21 should have to watch two videos about human trafficking per week just to get an idea of how a quick BJ at a whorehouse isn't really a victimless crime

Usually. With call girls it's all good expensive fun.

[Juregen]

[bogey666]

[steroidmaximus]

I'd argue that at least some people who choose to prostitute themselves do so for a lack of jobs that provide a decent wage. In that sense, some are definitely victims. Think of a young woman who needs to support her mom and dad, or can't get a job that pays more than 3500 won an hour; or a divorced woman with two kids. Not many options out there for them.

If they were serious about putting a stop to prostitution, they'd create viable social conditions for these people to cover the cost of living. As it stands very few social programs exist to help. Hence, more prostitutes.

Instead of getting tough on the johns, go after the pimps. Those bastards are the real criminals. Unfortunately, they're also the ones who can more easily give cash donations to cover a police officer's kids' hogwon fees.

[PeterDragon]

I'm opposed to prostitution for the same reason I'm opposed to a man in his thirties with two children working at McDonald's. He may be there voluntarily but dammit there should be a less degrading way to make a buck.

Just because not all prostitutes are trafficked doesn't mean you should assume that visiting a whorehouse is "harmless". I've never bought the services of a prostitute. But if I ever decide to go that route for a lay/some fun, you can bet I'd only see an actual Korean prostitute in this country--- that way there's no chance her passport's being held over her head and she has now any of getting home. And I'd make damn good and sure she looked to be well into her twenties, even early 30s.

Need I cite the example of the kidnapped 14-year old Korean girl who made the news last year--- pimped out and raped a few hundred times before one of her "cleints" had enough of a soul to LISTEN to her when she said she was there against her will, and leave the brothel to call the police.

I've met a few Filipina call girls (not straight-up prostitutes, but "escorts") who were indeed "trafficked" and none too happy about it, but making the most of their situation til the end of the year when their boss would give them their passport back. In addition, the Korean mob in SOuthern California is NOTORIOUS for luring Korean women into the states with promises of lucrative jobs as singers and dancers, then yanking their passports, and threatening to kill their families back home if they don't work as hookers. There's nothing to say the K-mob doesn't try to pull stuff like that here, although they have a lot less leverage when dealing with Korean citizens on Korean soil.

Step carefully if you decide to pay for sex; it's a nasty industry that lends itself to a lot of very unsavory things.

[PeterDragon]

[Cornfed]

[PeterDragon]

The schools aren't permitted to hold our passports, and I haven't had to blow anyone yet.

It's a fine line I know, but I think I'm not trafficked, while juicy girls are.

[Ukon]

[bogey666]

the "livable wage" nonsense is socialist claptrap. (though it's hard to oppose it in principle)

in practice, I've read lots of stories of Thai girls that are far happier working in go gos then toiling in a rice paddy under the sweltering sun or working in some factory for 12 hours a day.

They lie on their back (or whatever) for a little while and make several times that amount.. then of course there is the very attractive "industry" of getting their farang "boyfriends" to send them money... for sick mother.. for sick water buffalo... etc etc etc

There is a HUGE difference between girls who are somehow lied to and coerced into working in brothels, etc and other girls who are involved in prostitution of their own volition and choice.

The pimps and human traffickers I would go after with the full force of the law and then some... but what happens is these proselytizing feminist and govt types (including this military bullshit) is they lump everything and everyone under the criminal element.

if I were the Overlord (which i should be), I would eliminate brotherls and such places (unless severely regulated) because that's where the crime and trafficking takes place. But there are lots of places (not in Korea) where there are certain discos where the girls work of their own volition.. (and they come with you to your place or hotel, etc). There is absolutely nothing "trafficking" about that setup.

[jkelly80]

[PeterDragon]

[PeterDragon]