Despite bad economic times the sex industry in Korea is still finding a way to thrive:
The number of hostess bars, karaoke rooms and clubs has increased during the past few years despite a sluggish economy, according to a parliamentary report released Monday.
The report suggests that the so-called sin industry has flourished while consumers have tightened their belts since the 2008 financial crisis.
The number of stores registered as “amusement and entertainment business,” including room salons (hostess bars), cabarets, karaoke rooms, pubs and Internet cafes, totaled 192,108 as of September, up 6.3 percent from 187,751 two years earlier.
The number of room salons hit an all-time high of 32,790, up 4.8 percent from 2010, while karaokes that are allowed to sell alcoholic beverages increased by 4.3 percent to 18,789 during the same period.
The number of such amusement venues that have been found to have engaged in irregularities more than once during the past two years totaled some 67,000, the report said. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link.
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3:40 am on October 6th, 2012 1
That is totally amazing since the “police” have cracked down on those types of businesses. Oh wait, I mean to say only the ones that were frequented by foriengers. They only speak of the ones that are only open to local nationals and pay off the police to stay in business.
4:45 am on October 6th, 2012 2
Dave wrote:
To suggest that only whore houses frequented by ‘foriengers’ are the ones that the police have cracked down on is incredibly naive. They are ALL owned and operated by Koreans – and the Korean police have no problem extracting bribes from ALL of them – and as long as the bribes get payed – the police don’t give two sh!ts about the nationality of the clientele.
5:24 am on October 6th, 2012 3
Once again… uninformed information floating about… those joints busted aren’t about foreigners… those joints had to do with taxes unpaid… or.. skimmed..
probably political… you don’t need to be defensive.. you got the Ville.
Korean Police are probably cleaner than most .. and yes… including NYC, LAPD, and Canadian Mounted Police. Oh… and Scotland Yard.
5:26 am on October 6th, 2012 4
All those girls from outside of Yongsan station and Cheongyangni had to go somewhere…
5:37 am on October 6th, 2012 5
5:54 am on October 6th, 2012 6
#3,
I find that hard to believe when just 15 years ago there were plenty of stories to go around about how lowly traffic cops were making a killing.
Ever seen this movie?
http://www.kmdb.or.kr/movie/md_basic.asp?nation=K&p_dataid=04958
6:02 am on October 6th, 2012 7
I paid off some myself then… thanks to internet and sns… anyone who tried got caught will be canned for good…
Frankly, I yearn for the days back then.. I wouldn’t have to go through all the hardships when I get caught in the hot waters with those cops… they don’t want money anymore… at least not on the traffic cop level..
4:21 pm on October 6th, 2012 8
Professor at Christian college in Daejeon calls for decriminalization of male and female prostitution.
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/10/113_121599.html
8:01 pm on October 6th, 2012 9
#8, your statement is somewhat misleading… It’s not “a Christian Professor”, it appears to be a career politician who got a job under false pretenses and is following polls to find her sense of morality…
From the article:
—————————————————–
A former police officer has recently called for the designation of red-light districts to curb sexual offenses against women.
“There are people in our society who feel alienated because of sexual deprivation. There is a need to set up red-light districts in certain areas,” said Kim Kang-ja, a visiting professor at Hannam University in Daejeon who was formerly chief of the Jongam Police Station in Seoul, in a radio program last month.
She is widely reputed for her massive crackdown on prostitutes while in office.
—————————————————–
8:07 pm on October 6th, 2012 10
Anyone who thinks rape is about sexual satisfaction probably blames the victims for “enticing” the attackers somehow…
9:22 pm on October 6th, 2012 11
#10,
I would think that for the majority of those who are in favor of legalizing prostitution, this has very little to do with preventing rapes. Most Koreans are a lot more liberal than the very vocal and politically influential Christian minority would have you believe.
10:31 pm on October 6th, 2012 12
“Korean Police are probably cleaner than most…”
Hahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10:32 pm on October 6th, 2012 13
“There was no prostitution before the US Army came to Korea.”
“There was no homosexuality before the japanese came to Korea.”
Koreans actually used to say these things.
10:38 pm on October 6th, 2012 14
http://www.hannam.ac.kr/eng/html/about/about_01000000.html
She is a visiting professor at Hannam University, which has “has never faltered in maintaining its Christian roots”.
11:38 pm on October 6th, 2012 15
<blockquote Baek In-je
10:32 pm on October 6th, 2012 13
“There was no prostitution before the US Army came to Korea.”
“There was no homosexuality before the Japanese came to Korea.”
Population of Korea in 1940 i.e. Before Pacific War
Total ……..24,327,327
Koreans ……23,547,465
Japanese ……..707,742
Other …………71,120
A ratio of more than 33 Koreans to 1 Japanese.
Women’s Sexual Labor and State in Korean History
Chunghee Sarah Soh
Institution of Kisaeng/Kinyo
“The kisaeng system is an institutionalized endorsement of the masculinist double standard for sexual norms and behaviors that facilitated and legitimated Korean men’s “sex-rights” to non-marital carnal desires and erotic activities.
The state institution of kisaeng or kinyo (literally, skilled woman) originated more than a millennium ago in Kory˘o dynasty and continued to the end of Choson.
The Kory˘ kinyo belonged by law to the government, and were trained to entertain men at court feasts and other parties with songs, dances, and witty repartee. They were classified into three types: official kinyo (kwanki), private slaves play ing the role of household kinyo (kagi), and private kinyo (sagi).
With time, they increasingly became sex workers for the government officials dispatched to provincial towns and for the troops stationed
in borderline districts.
The private kinyo were those old retired ones who bought young girls and trained them as kinyo as a means of making a living for themselves. These kinyo apparently served mainly commoners and lower-class Korean men.
By the mid-fifteenth century, during the reign of King Sejong (r. 1418–1450) of Chos˘ n dynasty, prostitution came to dominate the life of kinyo.
By the late 19th century during the reign of Kojong (1863–1907), kisaeng became synonymous with courtesans and whores (kalbo). Since then, professional women in the entertainment industry used to be loosely called kisaeng.”
In 1910, 30-40% of Koreans were slaves. The population of Korea in 1910 was 13,130,000. About 4 million to 5 million were slaves. i.e. About 2 to 2.5 million Korean slave women in 1910.
How many Korean female slaves were kinyo?
Renowned Korean history scholar and US Navy veteran Gerry Bevers will one day uncover the answer to that question.
http://gerryskoreanmediablog.blogspot.kr/
11:41 pm on October 6th, 2012 16
11:51 pm on October 6th, 2012 17
“In 1910, 30-40% of Koreans were slaves. ”
Yes and no. Slaves were freed and the caste system was abolished in the 1890′s, but most Koreans didn’t notice.
12:06 am on October 7th, 2012 18
@Seoul Guy,
“Baek; You’re a phaggg boy…”
Your mother knows I’m straight.
12:06 am on October 7th, 2012 19
Teadrinker, thanks for the clarification. How many were kinyo?
Here is Gerry’s Korean History blog.
http://koreanhistorytranslations.blogspot.kr/
12:11 am on October 7th, 2012 20
# 8,
Male prostitution is already legal in S. Korea because there isn’t a word in the Korean language for a “male prostitute.” It’s not about the criminal act itself, it’s who does it and whether it’s in the language. The Korean President(LMB) and others at the Blue House can’t find it within themselves to imagine making a criminal out of a male if he earns money while having sex. However, if a Korean female pays(or sells) for sex then she is a criminal.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/03/113_84246.html
“To mend the loophole, the government is moving to revise the law ㅡ it was discussed in the Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday.
“The discussion was quite comprehensive and productive. But a concrete decision has yet to be made,” said an official from the Ministry of Justice.
Officials from the welfare, justice and gender equality ministries as well as the National Police Agency discussed the proposal to change a related decree so that men can be included in “jeopdaebu,” the official said.
But they failed to reach an agreement as altering the decree could mean that the government acknowledges male hosts, the official said.”
12:23 am on October 7th, 2012 21
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12:45 am on October 7th, 2012 22
Tbone, Korean lesbians selling sex is also legal?
Ehwa Women’s University has an active lesbian club. Not sure how many are lipstick lesbians.
1:48 am on October 7th, 2012 23
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1:58 am on October 7th, 2012 24
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5:16 am on October 7th, 2012 25
Why do you ask? What do you want to do?
5:50 am on October 7th, 2012 26
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5:55 am on October 7th, 2012 27
“There was no prostitution before the US Army came to Korea.”
“There was no homosexuality before the japanese came to Korea.”
Koreans actually used to say these things.
That’s funny, but I never heard of that from other Koreans, but I do hear that a lot from angry expats who supposedly heard it from some Koreans in their biased persecution complex filled imagination.
5:58 am on October 7th, 2012 28
Let me re-word that.
That’s funny, but I never heard of that from other Koreans, but I do hear that a lot from angry expats with their biased persecution complex filled imagination, who supposedly heard it from some non existing Koreans.
7:29 pm on October 7th, 2012 29
Tom wrote:
That’s funny . . . because you live in Canada and are never around Koreans and ex-pats.
If you lived in Korea – you might actually have a clue what it’s really like here and what people who live here say and do. But of course . . . you don’t live here . . . and are basically clueless to what life in Korea is actually like.
Tom ~ the Canadian 왕따 strikes again.
7:50 pm on October 7th, 2012 30
While you clowns are talking about each other’s mothers, anyone have a map?
8:04 pm on October 7th, 2012 31
Vince, if you look Korean the touts will find you on the street or on KakaoTalk. They don’t need a map.
For those who can read Korean, walk outside turn left or right, go across the street if you like. Within 50 yards you will find a salesroom.
If you can’t read Korean, then you will realize that the USD 10 billion per annum Korean prostitution industry wasn’t really erected for you.
1:19 am on October 8th, 2012 32
All because of US bases.
6:57 am on October 9th, 2012 33
USD 10 billion per annum divided by 25 000 USFK servicemen is about USD 1000 per night each, that’s 2 girls per night, every night all year.