It’s been some 10 years since South Korea enacted its antiprostitution law, but new forms of sex trade have continued to evolve through legal loopholes, including sex services for women and overseas prostitution. With the law vocally opposed by an increasing number of sex workers, its efficacy has constantly been questioned. The Korea Herald is publishing a three-part series shedding light on the hidden side of Korea’s sex industry. The following is the second installment. – Ed.　When Lucien Lee,

Social Affairs Dec. 15, 2015

Shin Yu-hee (not her real name), a 29-year-old office worker, is worried whenever she thinks about her parents’ postretirement years. Having graduated from a private women’s colleges in Seoul, she currently makes about 2.5 million won ($2,120) a month working at a marketing firm. As she lives alone and supports herself in Seoul while her family is in Daejeon, she doesn’t have much opportunity to save.　“I know my parents don’t have anything ready for their postretirement expenses,” she told The K

Social Affairs Dec. 11, 2015

UIJEONGBU, Gyeonggi Province -- Near one of the U.S. military camps in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, there is an old, white cement building that now serves as a shelter for former sex workers for U.S. soldiers in the region. 　For Min Su-hwa (not her real name), it is also where she was forced to get weekly checkups with painful treatments for sexually transmitted diseases in the 1980s. The building used to be a state-run health clinic for Korean sex workers who served U.S. troops, including her.

Social Affairs Dec. 9, 2015

 Another South Korean woman who was forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military during World War II died Saturday, bringing the number of Korean survivors to 46.　Choi Gab-soon died at age 96, after years of suffering from chronic conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes and dementia, said the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Choi was the ninth Korean victim of slavery to die this year.　The late victim was born in 1919 in Gurye, South Jeolla Province. When she was 15, Ch

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2015

With the latest passage of a set of bills to support easier overseas advances of the medical industry, the government said Thursday it will aim to attract some 500,000 foreign patients in 2017, while also creating new jobs for young Koreans.　The National Assembly late Wednesday night passed a string of medical-related bills that would, among other things, allow distance consultations between Korean doctors and overseas patients and job training programs for interpreters and medical coordinators

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2015

A local court has come under fire for “lenient” punishment on a dating abuse perpetrator, a medical student who was slapped with a fine after being charged for locking up and beating his then-girlfriend in March. 　The Gwangju District Court handed down on Nov. 30 a fine of 12 million won ($10,300) in consideration that a jail sentence could “heighten his chances of getting expelled” from his school, Chosun University.　The case was thrust into the media spotlight this week and soon went viral on

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2015

South Korea plans to set up a state-run medical school that would exempt its students from tuition fees and require graduates to serve 10 years at public medical institutions to meet the demand for health care in remote regions, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.　The ministry has earmarked some 327.8 billion won ($282 million) to establish the school by 2020, offering a six-year degree program for 100 medical students each year. Students who do not fulfill the 10-year duty after graduation must p

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2015

A total of 71 South Koreans are confirmed to have been infected with hepatitis C caused by reused syringes at a clinic in Seoul as of Friday, health authorities said. 　The Health Ministry said on Friday a medical doctor of Dana Hyeondae Clinic in Seoul’s Yangcheon-gu claimed he suffered from brain injuries since 2012 while admitting to having resused disposable needles during blood donations that resulted in the massive hepatitis C infection. 　The Health Ministry is testing 2,268 more patients w

Social Affairs Nov. 27, 2015

ISTANBUL, (AFP) -- Turkey's downing of a Russian war plane on the Syrian border risks inflicting significant damage on relations between Moscow and Ankara, even if they both have an interest in avoiding a permanent rupture.Modern Turkey and Russia are the successor states of empires that fought over three centuries of war from the late 16th century for the Black Sea and Caucasus but in recent years forged a sometimes uneasy but pragmatic alliance.Energy-poor Turkey relies on Russia for over half

Social Affairs Nov. 26, 2015