Prostitution in North Korea
Encyclopedia
Prostitution in North Korea is illegal, and according to the North Korean government does not exist, but it is still practiced discreetly.

State prostitution

The North Korean government engages in forced prostitution. Its prostitutes are known as manjokcho ( “satisfaction team(s)”) and are organised as a part of the kippŭmjo, who are drafted from among 14 to 20 year old virgins, trained for about 20 months, and often “ordered to marry guards of [Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...

] or national heroes” when they are 25 years old. For a girl selected to serve in the kippŭmjo, it is impossible to refuse, even if she is the daughter of a party official. Manjokcho must have sex with male high-ranking party officials. Their services are not available to most North Korean men. Not all kippŭmjo work as prostitutes – the source used is unclear as to whether only adult women are assigned to prostitution, or whether there is prostitution of children
Prostitution of children
Prostitution of children or child prostitution is the commercial sexual exploitation of children in which a child performs the services of prostitution, for financial benefit. The term normally refers to prostitution by a minor, or person under the local age of majority...

; other kippŭmjo activities are massaging and half-naked singing and dancing.

Chinese prostitution in North Korea

Many Chinese women are working as prostitutes in the Kumgangsan Tourist Region of North Korea. Chinese prostitutes’ clients in North Korea are often South Korean men who are travelers.

Female defectors in Northern China

North Korean women are increasingly falling victim to sex exploitation in China attempting to escape poverty and harsh conditions in their homeland. Nearly 10,000 women are reported to have escaped from North Korea to China; many of them are forced into sexual slavery according to human rights groups.

According to a source from 2005, “60 to 70 % of North Korean defectors in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 are women, 70 to 80 % of whom are victims of human trafficking.”
Violent abuse starts in apartments near the border, from where the women are then moved to cities further away to work as sex slaves. When Chinese authorities arrest these North Korean slaves, they repatriate them. North Korean authorities keep such repatriates in penal labour colonies (and/or execute them), execute any Chinese-fathered babies of theirs “to protect North Korean pure blood” and force abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

s on all pregnant repatriates not executed.

Further reading

  • Kim, Eunyoung, Mirang Park, Hue Williams. "A Case Study of Trafficking in North Korean Women in China". Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Nov 13, 2007
  • Yoon, Bang-Soon. "Sex-Trafficking and Human Rights of North Korean Women Defectors". Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention, USA, Feb 28, 2007

External links

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