During a symposium in Seoul yesterday on Korean prostitution overseas, Cal State professor Timothy Lim claimed at least 5,000 Korean women were peddling their wares in the US of A, according to the Munhwa Ilbo.
He noted that prostitution rackets and human smugglers would customarily give U.S. soldiers money in return for entering fake marriages with Korean women to bring them to the United States. Prostitution brokers target women who have been abandoned or divorced by their GI husbands, he said (note: the Yonhap story said Lim explained that prostitutes used to use sham marriages with GIs to enter the country, but now the primary means were advertisements and direct hiring).
He also noted that even in places like the United States, it was hard to get information on smuggling and prostitution. In fact, he said, the number of unregistered Korean aliens in the United States might be 10 times the number estimated by the U.S. government.
Lim pointed out that in the 1980s, of the 25,000 marriages between U.S. soldiers and Korean women, 80 percent ended in divorce, and that for women with no job, relations, and English language skills, prostitution was the only option.
He also pointed out that in 2000, some 400-500 Koreans illegally entered the country through western Canada. About half of those illegal migrants were women under contract with Korean-run massage parlors.
He explained that poor women who could not officially enter the United States were crossing the border on their own in order to provide for their families. It was easy for women who were barred from immigrating legally to the United States to fall in with criminal gangs and end up doing factory work, domestic labor or prostitution.
31 Comments
i don’t want to sound like some heartless, uncaring bastard, but i find it hard to believe that people without jobs, language skills, or families members in the country to help them out have NO choice but to enter the sex trade. seriously. there are lots of people from south of the american border who come to the country with the same problems, but they manage to get honest (though illegal) work and even pay taxes after buying fake social security numbers.
and, how long does the average ends-in-divorce marriage between a GI and a korean last? are the Gi husands all fluent in Korean? how do these people have no language skills?
and, what is the point of saying people are doing something illegal because they need to “provide for their families”? isn’t that, generally, why people do things? will this replace the standard ‘they had a bad childhood” as the new explains-all excuse?
like i said, i’m not trying to be heartless; i just fail to understand some of what Lim is saying/bothering to point out.
absolutley one of those statistics that manipulates the reader…anyone with no knowledge of korea might be persuaded to see GI’s are the root of the problem
which is far from the truth and 90% maybe more of those girls are brought in by the korean mafia
i have seen many korean girls marry gi’s and a few years later return to korea divorced but nonetheless they return on their own
anyone with knowlege of korea having lived here for a few years knows the reality of the situation
these red light districts and massage parlors in korea are staffed by willingly young ladies
there were articles not to long ago boasting about how the sex industry in korea has shifted and adjusted amidst the crackdown on traditional whore houses
todays day and age holding someone against their will and forcing them to do things they dont want to is impossible
It would be swell if an anti-Bong Jun Ho type director made a film where some shifty Koreans send over a bunch of Korean whores to work in the U.S. who were infected with a sort of super-VD, perhaps genetically engineered by Hwang Woo Suck, that would target the white male population of the U.S.
He could call it “Host 2″.
Now that would be an idea.
Better yet, “The Hostess”.
Back when Dinkins was mayor, dozens of Korean brothels advertised and operated quite openly in New York City; the back pages of The Village Voice were chock-a block with quarter, half and full page ads for ‘em. Besides the usual fare, they peddled vast quantities of drugs to the johns (and other drug only customers), including the then newly popular rock candy (”crack”) - arguably worse than your garden variety stds, which could be cleared up by a couple of shots, compared to a crack addiction which very, very frequently had far more serious consequences. So, hey, there’s precedent. {To be fair about this, the girls in these places were themselves often victims of the same addictions to which they were introduced for obvious reasons by their handlers, usually Koreans, although Vito Corleone’s offspring were usually also feeding at the trough too through the extortion of protection money. The drugs mostly seemed to come from the Brighton Beach russians.
P.S. No; and don’t ask.
Munhwa Ilbo: Lim pointed out that in the 1980s, of the 25,000 marriages between U.S. soldiers and Korean women, 80 percent ended in divorce, and that for women with no job, relations, and English language skills, prostitution was the only option.
I knew I recognized Hines Ward’s mother. Prostition was her only option. Waaaah…waaaah…waaaah!
Mcnut: absolutley one of those statistics that manipulates the reader…anyone with no knowledge of korea might be persuaded to see GI’s are the root of the problem.
Bada bing!
There USED TO be an issue with GIs being paid to marry a Korean w/ the intention of divorcing her upon arrival in the US. Key words here: USED TO. In the ’60s through early ’80s. Tightening of the visa regulations and better scrutiny of marriages by USFK changed things. Reckon that Prof. Lim, like many of his colleagues, is still working off the yellowed lecture notes he plagiarized a couple of decades ago. Course he’s better off not noting that the young honeys are working at the Korean-only clubs; keep it focussed on the old dragon ladies at the AMPs that cater to whitey.
And 5,000? Strikes me there’s a zero missing if we’re looking beyond southern California.
I have a close friend who has availed himself of the services of the working girls in question (average of one encounter every two years over the last several years). He tells me that he has been quite satisfied with the deal. He goes in, the treatment is administered, and he walks out feeling better.
The only problem has been that because of his infrequent visits, he has to struggle on each occasion to convince the ladies that he’s not the police. The perception that only older girls work at the Asian massage parlors may not be completely accurate. My friend reports that Yumi was in her 20s, as was Cindy (his best ever). (He is quite familiar with both male and female Chinese/Korean/Japanese actual ages.)
Before you get all judgemental on my dear friend, go to craigslist and find one of the several rants about wives on anti-depressants, and how one of the side effects is the shrinking and eventual disappearance of the female sexual organs. (Or to be fair, find one of the several rants about husbands on anti-depressants. Same problem, mirror image.) On behalf of my close friend, I say, “Thank you, Korean working girls for your service.”
“To be fair about this, the girls in these places were themselves often victims of the same addictions to which they were introduced for obvious reasons by their handlers, usually Koreans, although Vito Corleone’s offspring were usually also feeding at the trough too through the extortion of protection money. The drugs mostly seemed to come from the Brighton Beach russians.”
Let’s see now.. we’ve covered the whores (Koreans), the pimps (Koreans), and the drug pushers (Russians).
But who are the Johns’?
Willing indeed! Its popular here in the Hermit Kingdom for young girls to sell their A$$ for a few years then get a new hymen.
Usually these guys with fey accents who used ‘eh a lot at the beginning and end of sentences.
It wasn’t about assigning blame, preacher man.
I had to laugh at the 400-500 Koreans entered the country illegally number. If you look at how many come over on tourist visa’s and never leave its a staggering number. I even know a few who have come over the border. And thats just who I know in a small area. Can’t imagine if you got actual numbers nationwide.
And, in the early 80’s when I first got to Korea, about half the girls in the clubs were sold by their loving parents into servitude so mom and dad could live well. The girls were stuck in the clubs/on their backs until the agreed amount was paid off. So, importing girls to the US isn’t a shocker either.
There was quite a stink recently as police rounded up brothel owners and their live-in employees in the Dallas area–on a second sweep…
Apparently, none of the girls were here because they had no option… they were greedy, lazy little things who got swindled (lower pay and higher bills than they expected)…
There are women who are kidnapped and forced into prostitution. But the six “hostesses” arrested were not in that category.
I don’t really get the responses to this story. Are all of you saying that there are Korean prostitutes in the US because they are all just a bunch of greedy little whores out to get more money than they can in Korea?
The article isn’t about blaming the US, or GIs, for this problem, but pointing out that this problem exists. And no, like Hines Ward’s mom, you don’t have to be a prostitute to make ends meet, but if your options are cleaning toilets for minimum wage, or jerking off losers for $100 bucks, what would you choose?
Oh yes! But thank God these women are providing this sevice, or all of the husbands with wives on antidepressents really just could not get off! It’s definitely a good thing there are tons of women in desperate situations that we can exploit to provide for all of these husbands who are truly in need.
5,000 would be a rather insignificant when considering the total number of prostitutes in the US. To me, it sounds like a rather flaky gee whiz figure.
I’m also suspect of the figure of 80% divorce for GI/korean marriages. Where did this figure come from? How would you know the number of divorces? I know of no government body that would have the information on divorces, as these are issued by the individual states. Once again, sounds like gee whiz figures to spice up this guys presentation.
Luke wrote:
“Oh yes! But thank God these women are providing this sevice, or all of the husbands with wives on antidepressents really just could not get off! It’s definitely a good thing there are tons of women in desperate situations that we can exploit to provide for all of these husbands who are truly in need.”
Amen, brother, I’m with you on that. To keep the record straight, though, I should note that I haven’t met any women in desperate situations. Just good, old-fashioned working girls.
If you could help out with setting up some kind of exchange system where guys with wives on anti-depressants meet up with gals with husbands on anti-depressants for no-strings-attached sex, I would be eager to participate.
Scientific note from a non-doctor: Not all users of anti-depressants suffer the side effects of sexual frigidity. Just an unfortunate percentage.
Steve, the “80% end in divorce” figure is as old as the (supposedly so pro-American) Chun era, in which movies, TV dramas, short stories went all out to persuade women to have nothing to do with any kind of foreigners, to portray Itaewon (with its few dozen aging cast-offs from the Korean-only RLD!) as poisoning sexual mores in the whole country, etc.
Never have I seen a source cited for the 80% divorce figure, and as you say, there can be no source for info like that. I know so many happily married couples (military husband) that I doubt very much whether the divorce rate is higher than for domestic couples.
‘who are the johns?’
well, the expat and the ex expat of course.
ps dogbert, your wife is korean, isn’t she? was she a whore when you met her? is she still one?
Gooseshit: You are contemptible.
pawikirogi, Your lack of taste is only eclipsed by your utter stupidity. Attacking a blogger is one thing, but insulting his wife is lower than whale $hit! The Johns are Koreans alike. You for real?
I won’t have whale $hit insulted by comparisons to Pawikirogi. I won’t stand for it!
This leaves little reason to come to Korea, doesn’t it?
Old news….. I dated a girl (KYOUNG)at camp humphreys for over a year. She told me she owed the club (EAGLES CLUB) 20 thousand dollars. But that was later, first she told me 10 thousand would free her from this club……..I gave her 10 thousand over a one year period, met her mom and son who live in Incheon….offered to marry her…… then all of a sudden it was 20 she owed…….
the mother is sick (Cancer), Father too old to work…..she needs money, so the family sells her to the club????
She is still there working and proprably selling herself to the best bidder……….contractors, soldiers etc…I can never forget about the money I lost and being fooled by this woman…
Be careful, don’t fall into the same trap!!
I am in Hawaii now retired from the Army and have a good job here and see the same crap here as there is in Korea….massage parlors?? where these girls are rotated between Los Angeles, Seattle and Hawaii, some from texas……
And the clubs work on the same premise as in Korea….only thing is that it is alot more expensive here in Hawaii….
One girl here told me she will make 200,ooo in two years doing what she does…………
Sex is a need for all, and the Koreans know how to exploit this as a major money maker for them……pretty smart if you ask me,
The Eagles Club used to have a little sign on a tip jar “NO MONEY, NO HONEY”
What do you expect from nulji? Kyopos are what they are, whether they’re polluting the U.S., Canada, Australia, or Germany. Worthless and parasitical.
Kyopos are what they are, whether they’re polluting the U.S., Canada, Australia, or Germany. Worthless and parasitical. lil putin
Oh my, word of wisdom from an parasitical and worthless expat-creature like you, lil’ putin. How’s it going in Korea, are they treating you right, heh?
Dave, You commander did not give you a copy of”The Keys to the Kingdom” It lays it all out!
What do you expect from nulji? Kyopos are what they are, whether they’re polluting the U.S., Canada, Australia, or Germany. Worthless and parasitical.
Come on, Dogbert. What Nulji said was completely uncalled for and stupid, but by saying things like this, you’re just proving you’re just as big an asshole as he is.
And yeah, Nulji, you’re an asshole.
I think you’d better just worry about the wrong group of Germans not mistaking you for a Vietnamese Gastarbeiter who has outstayed his welcome.
As for me, I am here at the pleasure of my non-Korean employer, which is treating me mighty nice. Koreans, some treat me well, others try to cheat me, but that would be par for the course in many countries (although not Germany, where I’ve also lived).
@kushibo — I remember a California with a significantly smaller kyopo population than it currently has and frankly, I don’t see what value nulji, et al. add that outweighs their arrogance, hatred of and contempt for their host societies, and general insolence. However, I’m willing to take your word that there are but a few bad apples that spoil the barrel.
@kushibo — I remember a California with a significantly smaller kyopo population than it currently has and frankly, I don’t see what value nulji, et al. add that outweighs their arrogance, hatred of and contempt for their host societies, and general insolence. However, I’m willing to take your word that there are but a few bad apples that spoil the barrel.
Dogbert, for your own sanity, stop spending so much time on Naver, the Fighting 44s, and those types of places. It seems you’re starting to think that the outspoken fringe speaks for pretty much everybody else. They don’t.
Kushibo, regarding kyopi, I’m just going by what I read on this site.
Kushibo, regarding kyopi, I’m just going by what I read on this site.
Well, then, for everybody’s sanity, stop spending so much time here.
Anyway, Nulji’s a shrill jackass with a chip on his shoulder. He doesn’t represent anybody but himself.