THE TRANSFORMATION OF SEXUAL WORK IN 20TH-CENTURY KOREA

Abstract

In this article, the author traces the transformation of sexual work, or prostitution, in 20th-century Korea. The author stresses the power relations that create and sustain the changing social organization of sexual work. The traditional, state-organized female entertainers, kisaeng, waned with the collapse of the Yi dynasty. During their colonia rule (1910-45), the Japanese enhanced the commercialization of sexuality and conscripted Korean women as sexual “comforters” (wianbu) for soldiers. In the postwar period, the U.S. military presence played a preponderant role in expanding prostitution (meach'un). In the 1970s, sex tours, dominated by the Japanese, proliferated. The 1980s witnessed a greater diversification of sexual labor.