Government support for prostitutes who opt to leave the trade is not nearly
enough to start a small business or get career training, she said.
"This is about the only thing we learned to do. What are they trying to make us
do?" Aerang said all government programs are fundamentally flawed because none
can guarantee the livelihood of people like her once they leave the brothels.
South Korea had one of the region's most vibrant sex industries, belying its
image as a strait-laced, conservative Confucian society.
Contrary to widely held beliefs, very few of the women in the business are
coerced, abused or held against their will, another woman at the rally said.
"We get our holidays, we get sick days, just like every other worker," said
Kang Mi-ju, 30.
Prostitution has been illegal since 1948 but had been widely tolerated until
the new law, which has been rigorously enforced.
Because the law mainly targets brothels, much of the business has moved to
other seemingly harmless establishments, such as barber shops, massage parlors
and special delivery coffee shops, brothel owners and critics of the law said.
"This law flies in the face of the rights of women," said Lee Sung-sook, a sex
historian and college lecturer who attended the rally. "I believe prostitution
should be de-criminalised, not just limited to brothels," Lee told reporters.
Reuters
