South Korea: poor sex workers in the face of the pandemic
Korean sex workers at a demonstration in Seoul on September 22, 2011 to protest against the authorities' crackdown on prostitution.
AFP - JUNG YEON-JE
Text by: Nicolas Rocca Follow
6 min
Illegal prostitution is nowhere near as widespread in Korea as in some Southeast Asian countries.
It takes place in bars or massage parlors, and the Covid-19 crisis, with its attendant health restrictions, has turned the daily lives of these 500,000 to 1.2 million precarious workers upside down.
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From our correspondent in Seoul,
“
When I came of age, I became a sex worker
,” said
Yo Lim, 26.
A business student, she fights for the rights of those who drive this extremely lucrative market: $ 13 billion generated per year.
However, they do not reap the benefits, even less during this hectic period.
“Most places that offer sexual services had to close in June-July.
We are the only industry that has been completely shut down without any support from the government.
"
While health restrictions were accompanied by plans for aid to entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, taxi drivers, sex workers remain on the tile.
"
Now I have to have sex
"
In South Korea, if certain districts are known to be high places of prostitution, a large part of women work in bars, massage parlors or strip-tease.
Which was the case with Yo Lim before the Covid-19.
“In the bar, I didn't have sex with customers, it was mostly dancing.
And then, we were a little protected.
But now I am forced to have sex.
"
The hundreds of thousands of sex workers find themselves in a very precarious situation.
Other girls have stopped working, which has forced them to take out loans, especially from the mafia, at extremely high interest rates.
Finally, if some places remain open, they are those that respect women the least, according to Yo Lim.
“Some immigrants, coming from China or Southeast Asia, work in poorer conditions.
There are bars where women have no choice but to have sex.
It's
hard to remain open with the impressive system of tracing patients put in place by the South Korean government.
In the event of contamination, the authorities trace the routes and places visited by the patient in order to find contact cases.
And brothels don't want to catch the eye of the authorities.
More dangerous, more lucrative
Yo Lim, she continues to work but alone, without any framework.
She chooses loyal customers, whom she meets in
love hotels
, very common in the "land of the morning calm".
A more profitable practice, but also more dangerous.
Indeed, it must comply with the desire of the customer and has no security on his behavior.
Her previous job paid her 373 euros a day, enough to finance her studies and her apartment in which she resides with her sister and her husband.
Faced with the loss of her income, she adapted.
“I choose my appointments according to the sexual practices required, the client's mind and the price
,” she explains.
I get a million won (750 euros) for the entire evening.
Dinner, and then at night.
"
But these face-to-face meetings with clients can leave sex workers helpless in the face of human will.
“
Even if we have agreed in advance, it's very difficult to say no to the customer.
If he doesn't put on a condom or asks for anal sex, how can you refuse if you are alone with him
?
"
►
Also listen: South Korea: the problem of underage prostitution is getting worse
The health risk, too, is total.
"How can we protect ourselves from the coronavirus?
I mostly try to put on a condom, but I can't do anything else, ”
sighs Yo Lim.
Difficult to improve the situation of these sex workers in the South Korean context.
Until 2004, prostitution was in fact tolerated.
But the law against the sex trade came to put an end to this situation.
According to a 2012 United Nations report, between 2004 and 2009, 28,000 sex workers were arrested, along with 160,000 clients.
If following the application of the legislation, repression has increased, it remains limited.
However, the criminalization of sex work is a central problem for Yo Lim, according to who
“decriminalize, it would allow us to have a recognized job and to change the way South Korean society looks at us.
"
Uncertain future
The Covid-19 has reshuffled the cards.
But the concern of these women is palpable.
“I would like to go back to my previous job, the situation is very anxiety-provoking.
As soon as a customer stops answering me, I wonder how it's going to be, if I could get some money in the future.
"
The big question resides on the working conditions, once the health crisis is over.
Many stores have closed their doors for good.
"Once everything opens up, what kind of job will I be forced to take?"
In which bar?
What will I be asked to do?
»
Asks Yo Lim.
So many questions for these women after almost a year of uncertainties.
► Article produced with the help of Myung Eun Oh
►Our Covid series
: disrupted professions can be found here
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