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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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 Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 7:07 am Post subject: Why the sex trade won't be disappearing in Korean anytime so |
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http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101001000786
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Sex trade still problem despite tough law
2010-10-01 20:48
In July a series of three suicides occurred in Pohang, a port city about 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The three women, who were employed at bars, were involved in a joint surety for the �slave contract� with their pimps. After one woman killed herself, the others followed suit, feeling pressure to bear the debts she left behind.
Aimed at rooting out the rampant sex trade here, the government implemented the Special Law on Sex Trade in 2004. Brothels in red-light districts were shut down and millions of pimps and prostitutes were forced to quit working.
However, the nation�s sex trade shows no sign of a recession with new, clever types of prostitution, such as barbershops and massage parlors employing prostitutes, taking advantage of legal loopholes.
Marking the sixth anniversary of the law, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family held Thursday a meeting of experts to discuss the situation.
Participants, consisting of academics, activists and government officials from the ministry and police, agreed that the law has lost its early momentum while prostitution is still rampant in its blind spot.
�The government�s policy against sex trade seemed to be going in the right direction. But the strong will has weakened over the years while abuse of women remains prevalent in reality,� said Shin Park Jin-young, president of the human rights center at the Daegu Women�s Association.
�Even high-ranking government officials and social leaders who are required to lead the anti-prostitution efforts are frequently reported to have been involved in the illegal sex trade,� she said.
She demanded the government review related measures and revive the spirit of 2004, making it clear that �the still-burgeoning sex industry is not the side-effect of the law itself but the result of the government�s lenient law enforcement.�
Under the current law, brothel owners who arrange sex for pay can face up to three years of imprisonment or up to 30 million won in fines while the prostitutes face up to one year in prison or up to 3 million won of fines.
When found to have bought sex, most clients are punished with fines. Those who finish an eight-hour education program called �John School� can have their indictment suspended.
Kwak Chang-yong, chief of the female crimes division at the National Police Agency, also admitted that the sex trade remains profitable because the people involved earn more money than the potential fines imposed.
According to him, a client pays 160,000 to 200,000 won for prostitution at a massage parlor. If the shop hires three women and they service three clients a day, its profits could reach 40 to 50 million won per month.
But the fines that they face don�t exceed 5 million won in most cases, he said. No administrative measures such as suspension of business are imposed.
Their promotional skills are getting cleverer. Some brothels operate popular online websites where clients post their comments after using their prostitution services. Others scatter thousands of name card-sized flyers using a vehicle with a hole at the bottom.
�Moreover, such punishment is possible only when their sexual affairs are proved with obvious evidence,� he added.
Amid the ongoing demand for prostitution brothel owners hire women through more shady deals, making prostitutes more vulnerable to abuse.
Having enduring years of abuse under an unfair contract with their employers, some women risk their lives seeking help from the police. But some police officers, bribed by pimps, often ignore their reports or the women also should be questioned as a suspect.
�The women�s statement is the most important part of the efforts to crack down the rampant sex trade. If they are to be investigated as suspect too, they would hesitate to speak their voices,� said Shin Park, the president of the human rights center.
Some activists said during the discussion, however, that there was some progress in helping former prostitutes with self-reliance.
As part of the law, support programs for former prostitutes also started in 2004. The number of support centers has increased from 36 to 87 nationwide this year. Along with temporary shelters for protection, several organizations offer consultations for housing and employment.
Activists said such help should be more specified to better meet the demands of the different women, such as those with children, those who are handicapped and those who are teenagers.
By Lee Ji-yoon ([email protected]) |
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murmanjake
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 9:05 am Post subject: Re: Why the sex trade won't be disappearing in Korean anytim |
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| Quote: |
Aimed at rooting out the rampant sex trade here, the government implemented the Special Law on Sex Trade in 2004. Brothels in red-light districts were shut down and millions of pimps and prostitutes were forced to quit working.
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So in 2004 the population of SK was about 48 million. The lowest "millions" could mean is 2 million. So that's about 4% of the population that became jobless overnight? I just can't believe this number. They successfully shut down millions of prostitutes and pimps, yet they are readily available everywhere still?
Must be hyperbole. Right? |
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Globutron
Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Location: England/Anyang
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 9:48 am Post subject: |
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| Nah, they simply mean millions worldwide (Russia). |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
Location: In my Kingdom
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 9:58 am Post subject: |
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1. That 4% of Koreans are involved in the flesh trade sounds about right. It's an institution of society here. The number of coffee shops, barber poles, massage parlors, love motels and rites of passage here ensures the custom continues.
2. Koreans are reluctant to put law breakers in jail, hence the ineffectiveness of fines compounding the problem.
3. Perception is more important than reality, and the plight of women a tough sell, so don't expect a wave of social activism.
4. The Internet has introduced whole new avenues of pimping and prostitution and newspaper stories galore have talked about it. |
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redaxe
Joined: 01 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 10:43 am Post subject: |
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| Louis VI wrote: |
| 1. That 4% of Koreans are involved in the flesh trade sounds about right. It's an institution of society here. The number of coffee shops, barber poles, massage parlors, love motels and rites of passage here ensures the custom continues. |
I read somewhere (probably on Dave's) that one out of six Korean women are involved in the sexual services trade. So that's counting all the women who work at tabangs, keopi shaps, adult telephone bangs, adult computer bangs, barber pole places, anma parlors, "co-ed massage" parlors, sexy clubs, bikini bars, room salons, kissing clubs, licking clubs, etc... it supposedly adds up to almost 17% of all Korean women.
I'm not sure how they arrived at that statistic, but if you look around in Seoul, yeah you can see that there are basically multiple businesses offering sexual services on nearly every city block. |
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Newbie
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 12:35 pm Post subject: Re: Why the sex trade won't be disappearing in Korean anytim |
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| murmanjake wrote: |
So in 2004 the population of SK was about 48 million. The lowest "millions" could mean is 2 million. So that's about 4% of the population [b]that became jobless overnight?]/b] I just can't believe this number. They successfully shut down millions of prostitutes and pimps, yet they are readily available everywhere still?
Must be hyperbole. Right? |
Don't forget that most of these pimps/madams/girls have legit jobs during the day. UE rate wouldn't necessarily be hurt as much as one thinks. |
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hellofaniceguy
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: On your computer screen!
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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Sex workers will ALWAYS be around and have been around since day one.
Suppy and demand.
EZ money to make for them.
SW sees 5 guys a day...100 minimum....500.000 Won a day. Even at 5 days a week...that's a minimum of 2,500.000 a week! Month...10,000.000 Won!
CASH! And that's minimum.
Beats the heck out of teaching for 2.5 a month I'd say. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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Don't forget that many of these girls are foreigners from countries like China, the Philippines and Russia. I'm sure they are a large percentage of the women.
I find that almost 1/5 number to be unbelievable. |
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Paddycakes
Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="redaxe"]
| Louis VI wrote: |
| . So that's counting all the women who work at tabangs, keopi shaps, adult telephone bangs, adult computer bangs, barber pole places, anma parlors, "co-ed massage" parlors, sexy clubs, bikini bars, room salons, kissing clubs, licking clubs, etc... it supposedly adds up to almost 17% of all Korean women. |
Has anyone here even been to a "licking club"? |
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redaxe
Joined: 01 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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| jvalmer wrote: |
Don't forget that many of these girls are foreigners from countries like China, the Philippines and Russia. I'm sure they are a large percentage of the women.
I find that almost 1/5 number to be unbelievable. |
I suspect the ones from China are almost all ethnically Korean and speak Korean as their mother tongue. There are some Russians (to fulfill fantasies of "riding a white horse") but not that many. And probably very few from the Philippines or other Asian countries. Why? Because most of the customers don't speak any language other than Korean, and conversation is a big part of any service that these girls provide. The girls are almost all Korean. |
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redaxe
Joined: 01 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Paddycakes wrote: |
Has anyone here even been to a "licking club"? |
Have you?
I haven't, but I've heard enough stories to know that such a thing exists. |
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tardisrider
Joined: 13 Mar 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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| I recall reading a newspaper article a few years ago that talked about the economics and statistics of the sex trade. I don't remember exact figures but the article basically stated that most of the people who have vested financial interests in the Korean sex trade aren't necessarily prostitutes or pimps, but rather people who benefit indirectly: Love motel owners, for instance, or the people who run restaurants and pojangmachas near drinking and red light districts. |
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excaza
Joined: 27 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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Well, the sex trade has been around for thousands of years. That's a pretty convincing argument  |
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misher
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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There is a saying among Koreans about really REALLY pretty women here and that is 5% of them are actors, models etc etc. 5% are just normal women working in a company or studying in a uni. The other 90% are dabbling in the "services" industry because the money they make is absolutely insane. 100,000 KRW an hour? Try 10 million KRW for a few hours with a rich adjossi business man. It can be even more than that as well.
If a rich Korean guy is dating a smoking hot girl (and I mean in the upper echelon of looks) and she is not from a rich family herselff he will think twice about what she has done to afford her designer bags and plastic surgery etc. |
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crossmr
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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| redaxe wrote: |
| Louis VI wrote: |
| 1. That 4% of Koreans are involved in the flesh trade sounds about right. It's an institution of society here. The number of coffee shops, barber poles, massage parlors, love motels and rites of passage here ensures the custom continues. |
I read somewhere (probably on Dave's) that one out of six Korean women are involved in the sexual services trade. So that's counting all the women who work at tabangs, keopi shaps, adult telephone bangs, adult computer bangs, barber pole places, anma parlors, "co-ed massage" parlors, sexy clubs, bikini bars, room salons, kissing clubs, licking clubs, etc... it supposedly adds up to almost 17% of all Korean women.
I'm not sure how they arrived at that statistic, but if you look around in Seoul, yeah you can see that there are basically multiple businesses offering sexual services on nearly every city block. |
These kinds of statistics are often inflated in all kinds of sneaky ways to paint a much grimmer picture than really exists. The number is probably high, but probably not as high as they claim. If it was low, no one would care or want to change it.
The "sex industry" will often get some kind of very broad definition that extends well beyond what any reasonable person would consider the sex industry and contains several "related" jobs. For example, they might be counting every single woman who has ever worked at a love motel as a house cleaner as being in the "sex industry" because her job primarily exists due to the nature of where she works.
being in the sex industry doesn't directly mean that 1/6 of all women have been prostitutes. |
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