A group of prostitutes hold a rally in front of Times Square Mall in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Sunday, demanding the authorities stop their crackdown on brothels in the district. / Yonhap

By Kim Tae-jong

Prostitutes and pimps are joining forces to protest the government’s “indiscriminate” crackdown on brothels, claiming the move threatens their basic right to survive.

On Sunday, dozens of women mostly wearing white surgical masks and red caps held a rally in front of a luxury brand shop in Times Square, a mall run by Shinsegae Department Store, in Yeongdeungpo in Seoul at around 5 p.m.

They were protesting the shopping mall’s refusal to sell Louis Vuitton and Gucci handbags worth 1.6 million won and 1.2 million won each to them as they tried to pay with tens of thousands of 10-won and 100-won coins they brought in suitcases.

They spread the coins on the floor of the lobby and held a sit-in protest before dispersing about three hours later at 8:15 p.m.

The incident is the latest in a series of rallies organized by sex workers from brothels in Yeongdeungpo.

They claim the posh shopping mall is one of the key reasons why they are being forced out of the region.

Matter of survival

They threaten they will step up their struggle against the authorities’ move to demolish their workplace.

“What can we do if the government drives us out of our job? This job is the last option for us, and there is no alternative,” 29-year-old Kim Eun-jung (alias) working in a brothel in Yeongdeungpo told The Korea Times.

“It’s a matter of survival for us.”

The move comes in response to the government’s crackdown on the red-light district in Yeongdeungpo last month.

Police cars now patrol the district and officers are dispatched to the district, which turns customers away.

Prostitutes and their pimps have held street protests, visiting the nearby police station and the National Assembly.

Last Wednesday, they also held a press conference at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul, asking for the abolishment or revision of the 2004 Act on the Prevention of the Sex Trade and Protection of its Victims, which reinforced penalties for prostitution.

However, prostitution has not been rooted out and major brothels are still in business with about 1,300 prostitutes working in red light districts in Seoul such as Miari, Yeongdeungpo, Cheongryangni and Cheonho-dong.

Prostitutes argue that the law fails to reflect the reality and will only worsen the situation.

“The special law fails to reflect the reality. It can’t root out prostitution, but rather pushes the sex trade further underground,” Kim said.

“As such, sex workers can be exploited. A lot of Korean prostitutes choose to go abroad to work, where their human rights can be easily violated and they have to work without proper protection.”

Crackdown ineffective

She also criticized the government’s efforts to help sex workers change their jobs.

“We also want to change our jobs. But the subsidy of 400,000 won a month and the rehabilitation programs proposed by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family are too unrealistic to reflect our situation,” Kim said.

Sex workers believe proper regulation is necessary instead of “meaningless” efforts to outlaw prostitution.

“We also know the big brothel districts in Seoul are an eyesore, which need to be removed, but we also need to survive,” said Kang Hyun-jin, director of the Hanteoh Women Workers Federation (HWWF), a nationwide group of prostitutes.

“The special law can’t root out prostitution, which I personally think is impossible,” Kang said, citing a survey result.

The HWWF recently commissioned a survey from the Hyundae Research Institute, and the outcome showed that half of the respondents said the special law on prostitution has had no substantial impact on the sex business, while 23.2 percent said it has pushed it further underground.

The survey was conducted on 1,000 adults.

Reflection of reality

“Our demand is that the special law should be amended to reflect the reality and the government should properly regulate prostitution so that it can take place in designated areas, which aren’t necessarily central areas of the city, and we think it can minimize the negative aspects of prostitution,” Kang said.

The Yeongdeungpo red light district faced a severe downturn even before the intensive crackdown due to the opening of the multi-complex shopping center, Times Square, in September, 2009.

This led to about 30 brothels shutting down ― only 50 are open currently.

Kang also alleged that the shopping center lobbied a politician and police to abolish the brothel district to make parking lots.

She argued that other major red light districts in Seoul are not experiencing a severe crackdown.

Prostitutes plan to send a petition to Cheong Wa Dae and the Prime Minister’s Office calling for the abolition of the law, as well as holding protests.

“If they call us nasty pimps who exploit sex workers, then the government is the biggest pimp who exploits all of us,” Kang said.

“In the past, officials from ward offices used to visit us to teach us English so that we could serve U.S. soldiers when there were big military drills taking place. They boosted the business to earn dollars, and now they try to abolish it all of sudden because they believe we are a rich country.”