In Korea of the 1960s and 1970s there were at least four distinct type of the
prostitution. First, there was cheap sex to the lusty male masses. Second,
there was the prostitution, which served the US forces. Another group of
prostitutes catered to foreign sex-tourists (largely Japanese), and yet another
included high-level call girls who provided sexual pleasures for the top crust.
Remarkably, in the 1970s there was not much soul-searching about prostitution -
at least, outside the church groups. The prostitution for foreigners did
occasionally lead to some problems, but these were stimulated, first and
foremost, by nationalism. In general, the pragmatic and somewhat cynical
attitude to sex, so common in East Asia, prevailed: pre-marital and
extra-marital sex was permissible and even laudable for males, although
definitely a taboo for ``decent'' women.
The cheap mass-oriented prostitution continued largely in the same areas which
had housed brothels and hookers' room in the 1930s. The small aquarium-like
shops where the working girls sat under the seductive red light, visible to
passersby, could be found near all major railway stations and bus terminals.
In the Seoul of the 1960s, there were two major areas of mass prostitution. One
was conveniently located in the very heart of the city, in the Chongno 3-ga
area. Nowadays, this somewhat up-market area houses a number of movie theaters
(but also an impressive array of ``love hotels'' which, however, cater to
lovers, not johns). The location was important, since a tired and lusty
salaried man or a small vendor could easily get there by tram - cars were a
rare luxury in the 1960s, and those who could afford a car, would purchase
sexual services from a different type of establishment.
The second largest area was around the Chongnyangni railway station. Professor
Son Chong-mok, a brilliant historian of Seoul, once wrote that the growth of
the sex industry in that area began in the final years of the Korean War, when
the station became the terminal for all trains which went east, to the
frontline. Most of the trains carried soldiers to their posts. Soldiers were
eager to buy sex before a sting in the trenches under the Reds' fire, and girls
from starving villages came to the area to earn some money to survive. Thus,
the Chongnyangni area, also known as ``588'' (I have no idea why), came into
existence.
Prostitution in Chongno 3-ga area was wiped out by a striking operation of the
city police in 1968, but ``588'' and a younger area of Miari have continued to
function down to the present day. Perhaps, the recent crackdowns on
prostitution will drive them out of existence, even though I believe that
changes in the sexual norms are more important than all the police raids put
together.
Another type of prostitution was associated with the US forces, more precisely
with the sleazy ``camp towns'' which developed around major US bases in the
country. In Seoul, this type of prostitution flourished in the Itaewon area,
near the main US base in the city. Some authorities stated that in the 1960s
there were up to 20,000 prostitutes for foreigners, with the girls known as
``foreign princesses.'' Frankly, I think that this figure is somewhat
exaggerated: 20,000 for 60,000 soldiers is a bit too much, so it must have
included some part-timers. At any rate, this was a large industry.
In the 1960s, the existence of the camptowns was recognized officially - pretty
much in open contradiction to the supposed ban on commercial sex. Prostitution
remained technically illegal, of course, but the Ministries of Justice, and
Interior and Social Welfare jointly designated a number of special areas where
the ``U.N. girls'' could safely ply their trade.
It seems that the ``domestic'' sex services largely remained separate from
those that catered to the foreigners. In Korea of the 1970s there were only two
major groups of foreigners who were ready to pursue sex for money. One was the
US soldiers and the other were Japanese tourists.
Until the early 1970s the major focus of Japanese sex tourism was Taiwan, but
complicated changes in international politics, combined with the normalization
of the diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan led to a switch of Japanese
tourism to Korea. To a large extent, this ``tourism'' was sex-driven: the
Japanese ``salaried men'' flew to Korea to buy sex at a fraction of the cost
they would have to pay in their home country.
Finally, there were services for the rich and mighty: powerful males in East
Asia were not supposed to be loyal husbands - rather, womanizing was expected
and even encouraged among them. They frequented a type of elite establishment
that combined the function of an elite brothel with that of a restaurant and a
club. The very top could enjoy the companionship of singers and stewardesses (a
rare and very glamorous profession in those times). Even President Pak was a
known admirer of this type of relaxation - the fact of which his detractors
keep reminding us (as if the opposition leaders behaved any differently).
Curiously, a look at the sexual mores of the North Korean elite - to the extent these mores are known - reveal a very similar picture. But that is another story.
