From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prostitution in North Korea is illegal, and
according to the North Korean
government does not exist,[1] but it
is still practiced discreetly.[2]
State
prostitution
The North Korean government engages in forced prostitution. Its
prostitutes are known as manjokcho (만족조 “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] or national heroes” when they
are 25 years old.[3]
For a girl selected to serve in the kippŭmjo, it is
impossible to refuse, even if she is the daughter of a party
official.[3]
Manjokcho must have sex with male high-ranking party
officials. Their services are not available to most North Korean
men.[3]
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;
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.[4]
Female defectors in
Northern China
North Korean women are increasing falling victim to sex
exploitation in China attempting to escape poverty and harsh
conditions in their homeland. Below 10,000 women are reported to
have escaped from North Korea to China[5]; many
of them are forced into sexual slavery according to human rights
groups.[6][7]
According to a source from 2005, “60 to 70 % of North
Korean defectors in the People's Republic of China
are women, 70 to 80 % of whom are victims of human
trafficking.”[3]
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 abortions on all pregnant repatriates not
executed.[3]
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
References
External
links
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