There has always been a history of exploitation, mistreatment, and stigmatization towards women; it is a social problem that continues to prevail. The prostitution business in South Korea is the epitome of this issue. South Korea 's illicit sex business teems with local and foreign women that are coerced to sell their bodies or voluntarily do it to meet living standards. The women that partake in prostitution are frowned upon because they bring ignominy to the family name. There is an unfair and unilateral view: sex workers are immediately labeled and belittled by society, while the male customers go along their lives without degrading labels attached to them. It only gets worse for sex workers when they exploited by their boss and beaten,
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The poor working conditions are a prime part of the all the challenges they experience. The substandard working conditions in South Korea 's sex service industry pose hazardous public health concerns for the sex workers. Unfortunately, these workers do not have many rights thus they must cope working in these conditions to make an earning. Between 2002 and 2004, 24 sex workers died in a fire while working, a tragic event that revealed the awful working conditions (Jin, Bark-Yi, and Lehmann). A sex worker named Kim Yeo-ni, states that workers continuously experience police crackdowns where they are photographed nude, strangled and beaten by officers to retrieve the used condom that they swallow as evidence (McKay). In addition, sex workers are continually susceptible to get a sexually transmitted infection or HIV. Although some might argue that South Korea remains one of the countries in Asia with the "lowest infection rates...[with only] 4000 cases", recent statistics show a rise of STD/ HIV, "in 1997, the government recorded 124 new cases while in 2002, the number grew to 400" (McGill). There is trepidation that if prostitution was to become decriminalized, foreigners would soar the numbers of STDs …show more content…
Depicting a perspicuous picture of the reasons why Korean women join prostitution is difficult because of multiple reasons there are that influence a woman to be a sex worker. It is pivotal to note that unequal work pay is a problem in South Korea, reports show that Korean female workers earn "substantially less [than] their male equivalent" and this factor influences some women to become sex workers to equilibrate the financial imbalance (Purcell). While some women voluntarily engage in prostitution to earn an extra income, others have no other option. A case of this situation is of 22-year-old Sun, her pecuniary status forced her to leave the university to work as a sex work ("Sex Worker, Bad Work Conditions"). However, other women are forced into the business. This is the case for numerous East-Asian women who are deceived and falsely promised a deal as a model; however, once in South Korea, they are mandated to sell their bodies as a way to pay up for their expenses (S. Stawsk and M.
The poor working conditions are a prime part of the all the challenges they experience. The substandard working conditions in South Korea 's sex service industry pose hazardous public health concerns for the sex workers. Unfortunately, these workers do not have many rights thus they must cope working in these conditions to make an earning. Between 2002 and 2004, 24 sex workers died in a fire while working, a tragic event that revealed the awful working conditions (Jin, Bark-Yi, and Lehmann). A sex worker named Kim Yeo-ni, states that workers continuously experience police crackdowns where they are photographed nude, strangled and beaten by officers to retrieve the used condom that they swallow as evidence (McKay). In addition, sex workers are continually susceptible to get a sexually transmitted infection or HIV. Although some might argue that South Korea remains one of the countries in Asia with the "lowest infection rates...[with only] 4000 cases", recent statistics show a rise of STD/ HIV, "in 1997, the government recorded 124 new cases while in 2002, the number grew to 400" (McGill). There is trepidation that if prostitution was to become decriminalized, foreigners would soar the numbers of STDs …show more content…
Depicting a perspicuous picture of the reasons why Korean women join prostitution is difficult because of multiple reasons there are that influence a woman to be a sex worker. It is pivotal to note that unequal work pay is a problem in South Korea, reports show that Korean female workers earn "substantially less [than] their male equivalent" and this factor influences some women to become sex workers to equilibrate the financial imbalance (Purcell). While some women voluntarily engage in prostitution to earn an extra income, others have no other option. A case of this situation is of 22-year-old Sun, her pecuniary status forced her to leave the university to work as a sex work ("Sex Worker, Bad Work Conditions"). However, other women are forced into the business. This is the case for numerous East-Asian women who are deceived and falsely promised a deal as a model; however, once in South Korea, they are mandated to sell their bodies as a way to pay up for their expenses (S. Stawsk and M.