The Zongmiao Park near the center of Seoul, South Korea is a paradise for the elderly. When idle, many elderly men come here to play chess and pass the time.

And not far from them, there are many old ladies who sell alcohol. Most of them are already very old and do not have social security or children to support them, so they can only make a living by selling homemade wine.

When men get tired from playing chess, they come over to buy some drinks. Of course, buying alcohol is just an excuse. When they handed the money in their hands to the old lady selling alcohol, both parties understood that it was actually a 'sex transaction'.

But the old ladies will not refuse, or rather, 'sex trade' is their true purpose.

There are many such old ladies who sell alcohol in Korea, and they have a common name - Bacchus Wine Girl.

Korean elderly engaged in sex trade (movie stills)

The sex trade between the elderly is still like this, let alone how rampant it is among some young people in Korea?

In 2014, Japan, which had a developed "sex industry," mocked South Korea, saying that prostitution was a cancer in South Korean society that had not been cured for a long time, and its reputation as a "big country in the sex industry" had a long history.

Although South Korea enacted the Special Law on Sexual Trafficking in 2004, 10 years have passed and the country's pornography industry continues to thrive in various disguised forms, even spreading globally and developing into a "globalized industry".

Korean sex workers

The pornography industry in South Korea has a long history.

After the Korean War, people's livelihoods in South Korea deteriorated even further. The chaotic social environment has created favorable conditions for the development of the pornography industry. A large number of women forced by life have begun to view "sex trafficking" as a legitimate job.

The pornography industry brought a large amount of profits to South Korea, which was in urgent need of development at that time, and the South Korean government did not issue any restrictive laws as a result.

After entering the new century, the reputation of South Korea as a major pornographic country has gained worldwide recognition.

At this time, in South Korea, from film and television to politics to ordinary life, there is no aspect that can escape the influence of pornography. Pornography has formed a complete and large-scale industrial chain.

In Seoul, the capital of South Korea, the most famous location for prostitution is 588 Qingliangli, sometimes abbreviated as 588.

Red light district in South Korea

In 2002, during the World Cup in South Korea, approximately 300000 foreign tourists came to South Korea, providing an opportunity for the growth of the country's sex industry.

In the coolness, prostitutes keep up with the times and learn the Dutch model in order to earn money from foreign tourists. They wear sexy clothes, sit behind glass windows, pose and wait for customers to choose.

These prostitutes are mostly young girls between the ages of 18 and 25, and there are even some students who earn tuition fees.

In order to compete for foreign tourists, these people not only show more enthusiastic movements than usual, but also learn some simple English, striving to satisfy foreign tourists.

Korean Window Trade

In addition to the prostitutes in Qingliang, various cities in South Korea have also introduced nightclub models. They use the name of the World Cup to package the accompanying ladies, allowing them to wear the uniforms of various national teams, drink with guests, watch the World Cup, and provide other services, which has become a beautiful "scenery".

In addition, due to the popularity of the internet, the revenue of third tier films has declined. Some actors in third tier films have also fallen into the trap of being bar girls, making a living by laughing and even selling themselves in entertainment venues.

They work at a restaurant in the affluent Jiangnan district of Seoul. Like an ordinary hostess, she accompanies guests to drink and sometimes goes to bed with them for a "second time".

Because these A-list actresses have good looks and figures, even if their prices are too high for ordinary people to dare to pay, their "business" is still very hot.

In addition to domestic prostitutes in South Korea, there were also prostitutes from other countries who entered South Korea during the World Cup to engage in sex trafficking. They enter South Korea through the local underworld through normal channels and usually come to South Korea with performing arts visas that can stay for six months and can be extended up to two years. They engage in prostitution activities under the guise of being dancers in nightclubs and other places, fully expanding the South Korean sex market.

Korean Women's World Cup

After the World Cup, South Korea's pornography industry has completely become rampant. There are over 50000 prostitution venues nationwide, with at least 330000 women involved in prostitution. The total revenue of the sex industry is as high as 24 trillion Korean won, approximately 8.4 billion yuan, accounting for 4.1% of the country's GDP. Its economic benefits are comparable to those of South Korea's agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries.

The large-scale pornography industry has caused serious social harm. A large number of underage girls who become pregnant during sexual transactions and then go to hospitals for abortions not only cause serious harm to themselves, but also have a serious impact on Korean society.

In addition, there have been many incidents of prostitutes dying during sexual transactions due to punishment from their clients. Among them, a prostitute was burned alive when her house caught fire due to being locked in a cage.

This incident has attracted widespread attention in South Korea, with women's groups and female parliamentarians calling for legislation to protect women and completely eradicate the sex trade.

South Korean sex workers demanding the repeal of the Special Act on Sexual Trafficking

In 2002, South Korea enacted the Special Law on Sexual Trafficking, which was officially implemented in 2004 after two years of revision and improvement.

In the first month since the introduction of the Special Law on Sexual Trafficking, the South Korean police have carried out a series of anti pornography operations, banning the sexual transactions of 17000 people, of which more than 1600 have been detained. Among the detained people, there are many sexual intermediaries and men engaged in sexual transactions.

The police's actions have achieved good results, and many women engaged in the sex trade have received full assistance, improving their living conditions.

Women in Red Light District of South Korea

However, the rampant situation of South Korea's pornography industry has not fundamentally changed. Most of the pornography transactions have begun to transform, using tools such as the internet to go underground and even infiltrate residential areas. In addition, some women engaged in the sex trade have also begun to expand overseas, causing serious impacts on other countries.

By 2007, the value of sex trade in South Korea had decreased compared to 2002, accounting for only 1.6% of GDP, about 14 trillion Korean won, but the number of women engaged in sex trade continued to grow.

According to a report from the South Korean government's Department of Gender and Family Equality, nearly 270000 South Korean women are engaged in sex work. This means that in South Korea at that time, one in every 20 women had experience in the sex trade.

In 2012, with the improvement and popularization of network technology, the sex trade in Korea was still expanding. Due to the fact that the Sex Trade Special Act is not a strict ban on sex trade, sex trade in South Korea remains rampant.

In Gwangju, South Korea, there are over 200 nightclubs densely packed on the streets of nearly 1 kilometer. More than 90% of the venues allow for sexual transactions, with prices ranging from 150000 to 600000 Korean won (863 to 3449 yuan) per person. These nightclubs were basically added suddenly after the implementation of the Special Act on Sexual Trafficking in South Korea in 2004.

Korean pornography

In addition, there are also places such as Gwangju Sangmu, Sindong Seoul Post Station, Busan Lianshan Transportation Hub, and Ulsan Sindong Mountain, which are collectively known as "sex trade new cities" developed after the enactment of the Special Law on Sex Trade.

These "sex trade new cities" are mainly developing rapidly in the form of karaoke bars and massage industry. The number of local karaoke bars and other entertainment venues increased from 28757 in 2007 to 31623 in 2010, and the number of massage venues also increased from 3360 in 2007 to 5271 in 2010.

Their distribution locations are very distinctive, mostly in residential areas or near schools.

For example, the red light district for sex trafficking in the Yeonsan dong area of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is located close to middle and high schools. Sex trading is very common here. As long as you pick up the phone and call the room manager of a certain office building to inquire about whether sex trading is possible, they will discuss the price with you and ask for your address, allowing sex traders to come to your doorstep for service.

Of course, the efforts of the South Korean police have not been entirely ineffective. By 2018, the sex industry in South Korea had visibly decreased significantly.

Red light district in South Korea

There are 22 red light districts in operation, a decrease of nearly half compared to 42 in 2016. But the private sex trade continues to expand, and they are changing their ways and using the internet to open up new avenues.

The most representative ones are office hotel sex transactions and kiss rooms. Business owners advertise on illegal gambling websites or adult websites, or open introductory trading websites to receive pre booked customers. And sex workers have also become rampant in conducting one-on-one business with customers through their mobile phones.

This trading model has added a lot of difficulties to the police's actions. This year, the size of the South Korean sex market basically reached 200 billion yuan.

In 2021, due to the pandemic and other reasons, a large number of illegal sex transactions began to occur in South Korea.

On October 8th, a gang that rented 120 commercial properties in 23 locations in South Korea and engaged in large-scale sex trading operations was arrested. The police have detained and prosecuted four individuals, including the gang leader A, on suspicion of violating the "Sexual Transaction Punishment Law", and have opened an investigation into 25 individuals who were not detained.

A group has been renting 120 commercial properties in 23 locations including Paju and Ansan in Gyeonggi Province, Jinhai in Gyeongsangnam do, and Cheongju in Chungcheongbuk do since June 2019, engaging in organized sex trade operations. More than 10000 transaction records have been confirmed in Busan and Gyeongsangnam do alone.

The mastermind behind Korean Room N has been arrested

The reason why the sex trade in South Korea is so rampant is due to the strong supply and demand. A South Korean woman engaged in sex trafficking claimed that she had a low education level and each had hidden needs for money, so she ultimately chose sex trafficking.

Although South Korea entered the ranks of developed countries at the beginning of the 21st century, the real national situation is not optimistic. A large number of poor people, a government controlled by capital, and inadequate social security have forced Korean women from minors to old age to choose sex trade to maintain their basic livelihood. And this situation has left most families in South Korea filled with tragedy.

In the future, if South Korea wants to solve this problem, it can either learn from some European countries and completely legalize sex trade, or introduce laws to prohibit any sex trade, not just restrict it.

However, no matter how South Korea chooses, it cannot avoid the fact that the development of the pornography industry has indeed brought many economic benefits to the country, but it is also destroying the country.Return to Sohu to view more