Huge Crackdown on Prostitution in Eastern Seoul, Korea

Had this crackdown happened 20 years ago when I was a young, spry GI living in South Korea, well, I might not have liked it. But to be honest, I don't really see it as a horrible thing right now. As most educated people know, the people who are pushed into this life are generally tricked into it or just outright forced into it in one way or another. In a country like South Korea, prostitution is not something women generally chose as the best career choice they could have; it was usually something chosen for them. Although, I will admit there is probably a ronin element of prostitution with young women who see it as a lucrative way to buy expensive things. But I'm not really feeling a lot of compassion for that crowd either.

The Korea Times reported here about the recent crackdown. What caused me to actually become interested enough to post in my web log is the part that states:

At the height of the crackdown, a pimp identified as Choi hung himself in an underground parking lot on Aug. 29, condemning the head of Dongdaemun Police Station who initiated the operation for the alleged undue crackdown.

Now, maybe it's me, but I just don't see the police or the authorities crying over the fact that a pimp killed himself in a protest against their crackdown. I mean, mathematically speaking, he just made their job one pimp easier than the day before.

I understand the whole argument about free expression and how someone should be able to do with his or her body whatever he or she desires, but there's always been a shady element to the kind of prostitution you find in a place like South Korea. If it was a legit type of business, I don't think I'd have a problem with it, but way too often it feels like it's part of an exploitive environment where people who aren't doing the work are making themselves wealthy off of the exploited work of others. And that's never a good thing.

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