Sex Tourism in South Korea
The U.S. Congressional Research Service still rates South Korea as a major Asian destination for organized sex tours in a recent report entitled “Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress.”
Since the prostitution crackdown laws went into effect on Sept. 23, 2004, Korea says, brothels have been closed down, organized prostitution for foreign tourists has to all intents and purposes eradicated, and ordinary prostitution has been outlawed and drastically reduced. All this is corroborated by objective data. The latest classification by the CRS is therefore a blow for the Korean government, highlighting the need to disseminate accurate information to improve the national image.
In the report issued last week, the CRS lists South Korea as a primary Asian destination for organized sex tours, alongside the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. By citing Indonesia and Taiwan as secondary destinations for organized sex tours, the report suggests prostitution in South Korea is more serious than in these two countries.
An official with the South Korean Embassy in Washington said, “We’re making all-out efforts to present accurate information on Korea to politicians, government officials, academics and experts in the U.S. It is sometimes possible that accurate information on the reality in Korea is not delivered. We’ll take a proper countermeasure after finding out the truth first.”
According to the CRS report, U.S. President George W. Bush on Oct. 18, 2007 issued sanctions against North Korea, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, which the U.S. State Department had categorized, in its own human trafficking report, as Tier 3 countries for failing to address the problem of trafficking for forced labor.
S.Korea still a major sex tourism destination
South Korea remains a major destination in Asia for organized sex tours, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) has revealed.
According to the CRS’s recent report entitled “Trafficking in Persons: US Policy and Issues for Congress,” South Korea is on the same level as the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong as major Asian destinations for sex tourism, while Indonesia and Taiwan were categorized as secondary destinations.
“We’re making all-out efforts to present accurate information on Korea to politicians, government officials, academics and experts in the US,” a South Korean official in Washington told local Korean news agency ChoSun in response to the report. “It is sometimes possible that accurate information on the reality in Korea is not delivered. We’ll take a proper countermeasure after finding out the truth first.”
The Korean government has closed down brothels, “organized prostitution for foreign tourists has to all intents and purposes eradicated, and ordinary prostitution has been outlawed and drastically reduced,” after prostitution crackdown laws went into effect on Sept. 23, 2004.
“The latest classification by the CRS is, therefore, a blow for the Korean government, highlighting the need to disseminate accurate information to improve the national image,” Cho Sun news said.
The CRS report stated that US President George W. Bush on Oct. 18, 2007 issued sanctions against North Korea, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, which the US State Department had categorized, in its own human trafficking report, as Tier 3 countries for failing to address the problem of trafficking for forced labor.
Korea a Sex Tourism Destination?
Yonhap reports that a US Congressional Research Service report on human trafficking has sparked controversy by labeling Korea a major destination for sex tourism.
This, despite “objective records” showing that since the Special Law on Prostitution went into effect in 2004, the red-light districts have closed down, organized tourism for foreign tourists has been “virtually eradicated,” and even private prostitution has been greatly reduced.
Stop laughing, damn it.
Anyway, some are now calling on the government to get actively involved in providing accurate information about the country, if for no other reason than to boost the national image.
The CRS report, released on Jan 10, named Korea along with the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong to a list of Asian countries that are major destinations for organized sex tourism.
By naming Indonesia and Taiwan as secondary destinations, the report even had the audacity to suggest prostitution in Korea was worse than in, well, Indonesia and Taiwan.
This came after a June 2007 report by the US State Department slamming Korea for having a serious human trafficking problem, despite also naming Korea to a list of nations complying with standards to eradicate human trafficking.
An official at the Korean Embassy in Washington said they’re doing all they can to provide accurate information to US officials, scholars and experts, but “there are times when the realities of Korea are not accurately reflected.” He added that steps would be taken after they figured out what happened.
In the interest of doing my part to convey accurate information about Korea, let me say for the record that organized sex tourism for foreign tourists — while it probably still exists — is nowhere like it used to be (or so I’ve heard) during the heyday of gisaeng tourism. It’s definitely nowhere near the likes of Thailand. As for Korea’s attempts to eradicate domestic prostitution, well, that’s a different story…