The Hankook Ilbo is reporting that a Misuda panelist named “A” allegedly worked as a hostess in a Kangnam “sexy bar” called “S”. According to the Hankook, tvN, a cable channel, ran a story called “Misuda’s Shocking Past” as part of its entertainment news show called “Entertainment E News.” It showed “A” serving customers in lingerie, and an interview with “A”, albeit with her face covered, and voice changed.
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30 Comments
Sadly, the next thing for “A” is probably to be “outed” (by “accident”, of course).
This “scandal” in a country where prostitution has historically been a greater portion of the GDP than agriculture and fisheries or defense. One source I couldn’t verify stated that here on the RoK in 1989, 23.1% of the female population was engaged in prostitution.
But my, how we can put on airs after we have “reformed”! A scandalous Kangnam “sexy bar”! Oh me, oh my, can this be so in sparkling Korea?!
Could “A” be getting this attention because she is a waegook? Perhaps, but my bet is that somebody got the cold shoulder “way back when”…..
I havent seen any noticeable changes in the skin business ever since the Korean govt passed the anti-prostitution laws years back. Who are they kidding? Even in my parents’ neighborhood, I still see many Anma and Daeddal places that advertise out in the open.
I love it when Koreans act so surprised that someone could possibly be doing something “shameful” like this TO MAKE A GODDAM LIVING. If you’re so concerned, then find them a damn job before judging. And not all “mool” jobs required spreading of the legs or bobbing of the head. Maybe this chick was just serving drinks in a bikini. Is that so different from a scantily clad model walking up and down the runway?
I, too, read something about 25% or so of women in Korea being involved in the business. I dont doubt that. Korea is not exactly an equal opportunity country. On top of that, it’s constantly suffering from lack of employment even before the IMF crisis. Unless I dont know about some huge civilian project aimed at getting these women alternative employment, I dont see where they’re all gonna go.
How can it be something so shameful if 1/4 of them are doing it? That means–chances are–someone’s sister, mother, or daughter is involved in this…most likely, someone you personally know.
For the record, I am a libertarian and strongly in favor of prostitution.
I believe I read somewhere that those figures were tallied up by a Christian group…maybe not the most reliable source of statistical information on population demographics.
This thread is completely useless without pictures, or directions, or both.
#3, yes, I double checked the stats and the math confirmed, but I have problems with the source and the credibility thereof. The only link I could find to hard data was an NGO in HongKong (will try to find link ASAP) but who they were, what their agenda was and by whom they were backed remains a mystery. If anyone could save me time and report on the real origin of this oft-cited figure, I would be much obliged.
“How can it be something so shameful if 1/4 of them are doing it?”
No, 1/4 are not doing it. I suspect the so called “entertainment business” includes not just prostitutes, but also bar hostesses/room salon girls (the ones who are there to sell drinks only), cashiers, waiters/waitresses, cleaners, dancers.
I don’t think anybody can really know how many there are.
So who’s the mystery girl?
#6 cm:
I agree. That 1/4 figure probably covers most of the workers in that field, whether they are giving it up to customers or not. But you cant deny the fact that a lot of women in Korea are involved in the sex trade. I still say it’s a high number even if 5% of women were prostitutes in Korea. I mean every damn corner I make in Korea, there is an Anma house, Daeddalbang, and/or a barbershop.
It does not matter that you live in an affluent neighborhood or a ghetto. You can ALWAYS get sexual service within 30 minutes no matter where you live in Korea. I woulndt be surprised if there’s something offered in Dok-do.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong but that establishment in the original Misuda article sounds like a room salonish or a bookchangdong typish of place. If that’s the case chances are, sex is offered. Frankly, I’ve never heard of a place like that where they DONT give it up. If they dont give it up, then I was wrong. But I think whether or not you give it up, most Koreans will ASSUME that you give it up if you work dressed in lingerie. And stigma will forever be attached to you no matter where you go.
I remember a student friend-girl who worked as a part-time bartender in NYC got her head almost chopped off by her parents in Korea bc they equated bartending with room salon type of serving! They would not hear of it when she tried to explain that all she does is really just serve beverages. I think they said something about a stand bar or something. I know most Korean parents are not idiotic but I would doubt they go around boasting that their kid works as a bartender for the most part. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
3 Misuda posts in one day: If that’s not hit-whoring……
“This “scandal” in a country where prostitution has historically been a greater portion of the GDP than agriculture and fisheries or defense.”
Prima facie this quote looks a tad suspect.
Will this poor excuse for entertainment never jump the shark?
I can’t think of a better way to prepare to go on Misuda, which is a virtual room salon anyway.
I have seen that statistic tossed around before, and I question its validity. Where the heck are all these women plying their trade? Compare the number of room salons, barber shops, and glass booths to restaurants, stores, banks, schools, and other places that employ women.
http://www.humantrafficking.or....._practices
and
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FE26Dg03.html
http://www.cityglance.org/asia.....tion.shtml
A great Neff bit of research:
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/.....in-choson/
And Korea Beat translates some local sources:
http://koreabeat.com/?p=407
plus this nauseating figure:
http://koreabeat.com/?p=452
If you consider 1/4 an accurate figure, then those of you with Korean wives might as well consider your wives prostitutes - because I’m sure whoever it was who gathered that data definitely would.
What is the definition of prostitution according to those figures? Giving a girl 20,000 won worth of Pepero on 11/11 and getting some head in a video room? Probably.
I thought that this 25% figure was that at some time in their lives 25% of women had worked in sex-related service businesses (and that can be quite a wide definition - coffee shops, bars, etc.) - not that 25% were involved at any one time. That makes it a little more likely for the time I first saw this statistic appear (20 years or so ago).
Here’s the deal. A few years ago the Ministry of Women or whatever it is estimated there were a million women in the SK sex industry. This means about 15-20% of all women between 18 and 30. Which does not seem unrealistic to me. We also tend to forget a) the burgeoning noraebang doumi phenomenon and b)the internet self-pimping that is invisible to the foreign eye.
#15: You are right. A quarter having been in the trade at some point is a lot more likely than 25% doing it now. Think of the ones who are only in for a few years until they get married. That said, it is still a staggering number.
“Here’s the deal. A few years ago the Ministry of Women or whatever it is estimated there were a million women in the SK sex industry. This means about 15-20% of all women between 18 and 30.”
What is the definition of the “sex industry” according to the Ministery of justice? If you take the questionable figures at face value that 25% of women are prostitutes, then how do you explain their estimated number of one million Korean women were used as prostitutes by US soldiers? Does that figure make sense as well?
Silly numbers, silly believers.
It is realistically not possible a quarter of Korean women would have worked in the sex industry during their lifetime.
Guys, guys!!!
Please take a long hard look at yourselves.
You appear to be trying to turn this into a discussion on statistics. The post was about a foreign woman, possibly an attractive one, working in a juicy bar…..please use more imagination.
#6,8
Yes, I distinctly remember reading that the figure also includes hostesses, waitresses in skimpy outfits and any other women that were connected to those kinds of businesses. They were using a very broad definition of a sex business and a sex worker. Regardless of whether they were prostituting themselves or not, that would still make for an awful lot of young women helping ‘entertaining’ men in one way or another–not that I am convinced that the figures were accurate.
And to be honest, the “Sexy Bar” is one of the most innocuous types of “sexual entertainment businesses” going. Girls wear skimpy clothing in the bar to provide an eye-pleasing environment for male patrons. That’s basically Hooters.
Oh noes! An attractive young woman worked at Hooters!
@22 but that has never stopped some of my coworkers from trying to cop feels. repeatedly.
@22 I live across the street from Hooters. Sad to say, the last reason that I’d recommend that anybody go there is to see the girls. A couple of them are ok, but the rest… I mean, one girl even has rotting teeth. WTF.
I suspect that the sex industry is to blame for this. Girls who are willing AND QUALIFIED to wear (somewhat) revealing clothes are can get paid a lot more and in a more private environment if they walk 5 minutes to the northeast. The rest can get jobs at Hooters.
Guys, guys…yeah, prostitution isn’t the greatest thing in the world…but it ain’t just a Korean phenonemon. Have you ever been to Miami or LA or East Saint Louis. Have you ever been to strip clubs in the U.S.? Have you ever been to Germany or the Netherlands or Eastern Europe. It sucks everywhere. Unfortunately it exists everywhere, even in the U.S.–maybe illegal but still exists and then you have strip clubs everywhere where women will rub your bodies and sometimes give you some hanky panky on the side.
#21,
…..please use more imagination.
I’m with you there, bro!
#26,
So? Does getting a lap-dance in the US have anything to do with Korean tabloid journalism?
For those, like me, looking for definitions of some of the terms used above, check this previous Marmot post:
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/.....ecial-law/
I’m still unclear as to what a stand bar is. I asked a number of Korean students in L.A. to explain it and often got chuckles but never a good answer. Anybody want to help a brother out?
Agreed with most, this stinks of hypocracy. In a country where whoring and cheating seems to be the norm rather than the exception.
Either way, the lame ass Korean media will take this ball and run with it as far as they can, since they lack the ability to report anything worthwhile.
On Dokdo, I bet there is a whorehouse. But don’t go there unless you want a gum-job by a 45 year old fajumma.