Military Prostitution in South Korea

The Construction of Military Prostitution in South Korea during the U.S.
Military Rule,
1945-1948
Author(s): Na Young Lee
Source: Feminist Studies, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Fall, 2007), pp. 453-481
Published by: Feminist Studies, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20459155 .
Accessed: 15/06/2014 22:18
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Feminist Studies, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Feminist Studies.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
of
TheConstruction
in
Prostitution
Military
SouthKoreaduring
the
U.S.Military
Rule,
1945-1948
Na YoungLee
S IN C E S E PT EM B E R I 9 4 5when the 24th Army Corps, consisting of some

70,000 soldiers and led by General John R. Hodge, arrived to accept the
transfer of power over Korea from the Japanese empire, U.S. soldiers
stationed on military bases have had a significant presence inKorean so
ciety.With the formal independence of South Korea, the number of U.S.
personnel was reduced to 22,823 in 1948, and thewithdrawal of occupation
forces began on June 30, 1949.1Soon, however, theKorean War turned the
peninsula back into a zone of protracted military confrontation. Ac
cordingto a Koreannongovernmental
organization(NGO), 101military
facilities,including fiftycamps, entangle the Korean territory in a complex
web.2 Despite the decline in the number of bases as the political atmos
phere has changed over time, theUnited States had at least 35,000 troops
inSouth Korea in the early 2000s.
Small villages that depend entirely on theU.S. military economy have
developed around themain U.S. bases. These "camptowns" (in Korean,
with their commercial districts filledwith clubs, bars, brothels,
gqjlchon'),
convenience stores, pawnshops, barbershops, tailor shops, photo and
portrait shops, and drug stores, center on selling sex to soldiers. Gijichon
prostitution is a large-scale activity; for example, in Gyeonggi Province
FeministStudies33, :no. 3 (Fall 2007). C 2007 by Feminist Studies, Inc.
453

454 Na YoungLee
prostitutionisconcentratedin four largecamptowns:Dongducheon,

Pyeongtaek,Paju, and Uijeongbu.More thanone-tenth(11percent)of
the total population of the province is engaged inmilitary prostitution.
The numberof so-calledentertainment
workerswith healthcertificates,
required to enter and work in the camptowns, reached around 30,000 in
the 1960s and remained around 20,000 in the 1970s and 1980s,amounting to
approximately one sexworker for every two to three soldiers at that time.4
Despite theofficialillegalityof domesticprostitution,theKorean
condonesand activelyregulatesprostitution
governmenttacitly around
U.S. military bases. As Katharine Moon has shown, camptown prostitu
tion has actually served the economic development of Korea, as well as its
The presenceofU.S. troopscontributed
nationalsecurity. 25percentof
South Korea's GNP, playing an especially important role during the 1960s,
and prostitution and related business supported over half of the U.S.
The Korean governmenthas demarcatedthese
camptowns'economy.5
spaces as open only to U.S. military personnel and foreign tourists; the
two largest gijichon,Dongducheon and Pyeongtaek, were designated as
Special Tourism Districts in 1997.6
Women working in the entertainment
industry of these areas must be registered and are subject to regular exam
inations for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Other Koreans com
monly call these sexworkers derogatory names, such as yanggalbo(Western
whore) and yanggongju(Western princess). The demeaning treatment of
thesewomen as pariahs, dirty trash, and immoral or "fallen" blames them
personallyfortheirsituation, themfrom
differentiates women identified
as chaste daughters and faithfulwives, and ultimately helps tomaintain
Korean national pride. The Korean government has successfully ghetto
ized the gilichonas buffer zones that prevent U.S. soldiers from entering
Korean society and prohibit ordinary Koreans, especially "respectable"
Korean women, from interacting with U.S. men, while reaping the
economic benefits that theU.S. military presence and the sex trade serving
soldiers
foreign provide.
The presence of prostitutes around military bases and the state regu
lation of sex workers who serve soldiers have been common features of
European, U.S., and Asian military systems, especially in situations of
imperial occupation or colonial domination. Rita Brock and Susan

Na Younfg
Lee 455
Thistlethwaite indicatethatthesex tradein thevicinity ofmilitarybasesis

ubiquitous; indeed,camp followershave customarilyaccompanied
European armiessinceat leasttheseventeenthcentury.7 Britainmain
taineda system of regulated
prostitution in itscolonies,includingBombay,
Singapore,Hong Kong, and Shanghai,afterdomesticprostitution was
abolishedin 1.886, andwomen serving Britishsoldiers were requiredto
undergoregularexaminations designedtodetectSTDs.8SinceWorldWar
II,thelarge-scalesaleofwomen's sexuallabortoU.S. soldiers has aroused
publicoutrageinOkinawa,thePhilippines, andThailand.'
Feministscholarshiphas analyzednot only thecontrolofmilitary
prostitution bystates,
occupyingarmies,and colonialregimes but also the
connectionsamongmilitarism, sexuality,nationalism, and colonialismas
interlocking forcesthatconstructandmaintainmilitaryprostitution.'(
However, theprocess through which I;J.S. camptownprostitutionbe
came entrenched inSouth Korea remainsunexplored.Few analyses
considerboth theasymmetrical. power relationshipsthathave existed
betweenKoreans and foreign occupiersand thesymbioticrelationships
thatwere constructed betweentheU.S. militaryand localgovernments,
whichmust beunderstood withinthecontextofKoreanhistory, culture,
and society.
Korean feminist NGOs have had significant successinbringing mili
taryprostitutionintoKorean public consciousness, while challenging
patriarchal assumptions and shiftingattentionfromthepersonalcharac
teristics
of sexworkersto structural, systemic,and socialproblems."' For
them, all formsof prostitutionare inherently coerciveand abusiveand
constitute violenceagainst
women, and thesuggestionisthatprostitution
has been introduced or at least greatly fomented in Korea through colo
nialistor imperialist byothercountries.In contrast,I argue
interventions
that their view of the responsibility of the United States for erecting the
systemisexaggerated; itnot onlyunderestimates theactiverolesplayed
by localKoreansbut alsobypassesthehistoricalrootsofmilitaryprostitu
tionon thepeninsula.Furthermore,domesticprostitutionaswell as
camptownprostitution hasbeenan integralpartof internationaltourism,
which catersto thesexualdesiresof foreigners.
Heart-wrenching descrip
tionsfocusedon victimized women ofteneclipsemore comprehensive

456 Na YoungLee
of thehistoricalconstruction
understanding ofmilitaryprostitution
and
the shifts in its form that have occurred over time.
Although theKorean systemhas parallelsinother settingsofwar,
colonialism,andmilitaryoccupation, theprocesses throughwhich
Korea's systemof combiningcriminalized
and regulated was
prostitution
put in place sheds significant new light on the fundamental factors that
shaped thissystemand on theshifting strategies
adoptedby successive
militaryregimes.In tracingthedevelopmentofKorea's systemof licensed
and regulated prostitution I argue that it is necessary to begin with the
system erected by the Japanese military on the peninsula. U.S. Army
policy tookover thefoundationlaidby the Japanesebutmodified the
system to achieve the dual goals of satisfying soldiers' sexual desires and
controllingSTDs during theperiod ofU.S. militarygovernmentrule
Korea's elite leadersalso figurein thishistory.Insteadof
(1945-1948).
accepting the linkbetweenmilitarycamps,colonial occupation, and
camptown prostitution as natural, I show that U.S. Army and public
healthofficials withKorean leaderstoconstructa dichotomous
interacted
system, one inwhich prostitution was tolerated and regulated near bases
To reconstruct
elsewhere.
butprohibited developments,I
thesehistorical
utilize primary sources including the minutes of VD Control Council
meetings of the U.S. military government, periodic reports of the U.S.
Army Forces in Korea, and newspaper accounts unearthed through
research at the U.S. National Archives II, the U.S. Library of Congress in
Washington, D.C., theKorean Library of Congress in Seoul, and McKeldin
Library at the University ofMaryland. In particular, the reports of "VD"
committee meetings held by theU.S. military government in South Korea
from the files on "venereal diseases" at the National Archives provided
excellent information regarding the emergence of gijichonprostitution as
well as U.S. military policies to control prostitutes in South Korea.
LICENSED PROSTITUTION UNDER JAPANESE COLONIAL RULE

Key elements of the system of camptown prostitution that are visible after
World War II can be traced toKorea's long history of colonial domination.
A substantial foreignmilitary presence combined with traditional forms of
prostitution inKorea produced a system ofmilitary prostitution thatwas

Na YoungLee 457
visibleevenbeforetheJapanese occupation. When theGoryeo Dynasty

(918-1392)on thepeninsulacameunderMongol domination,theKorean
statewas forcedto roundup youngwomen and send themas gongnyeo
(literally,tribute
women) toMongols of theYuan dynasty(1271-1368).
The Chosun Dynasty(1392-1910) continuedto recruitand offer Korean
women toChina'sMing Dynasty(1368-1662). M:oreover,throughoutthe
Chosun Dynasty,kisaeng (femaleentertainers similarto Japanesegeisha)
were trainedas registered entertainers to servetheyangban class,an elite
rulingstratumincludinglandowners, and scholars.12
officials, As a group,
kisaengrankedlow in thesocialhierarchy ofKorean society,particularly in
theperiodwhen.women's virginityand chastity were highlyvalued,
becausetheyoccasionally barteredsexfor money or goods.Nonetheless,a
professional likea Japanesegeisha,
kisaeng, was trainedinmusic, arts,and
literatureand enjoyeda certainrespectfromthepublic forher accom
plishments. These entertainers were not perceivedasmere sexualobjects
easilypurchasedin returnfor money,which isthecontemporary percep
tionofprostitutes,but ratheras a symbolofsexuality forpleasure.
As Japantransplanted itsmodern,commercialized formofprostitu
tiontoKorea,however,thekisaeng's symbolic meaningand actual rolesin
societywere dra.matically changed,and thebrothelbecame thedominant
institution ofprostitution. The singularfocuson thepurchaseof sex
distinguishes thisformofprostitution fromkisaeng.
Moreover,itwas impe
rialJapanthat,throughitsstate-regulated system of licensed
prostitution,
systematically, strategically, and collectivelyabusedKoreanwomen by
usingever-increasing numbersof themas sexualobjectsforitssoldiers.
This commercial systemhad its roots in the forcibleimpositionof
Japanesecolonialismon thepeninsulaand theappropriation ofKorean
women by theforeign military.
In 1904, the Japanese embassy on the Korean peninsula enacted
KyungsungConsulateOrderNo. 3,which officially sanctionedtheexis
tenceofprostitutes,
identifyingthemas "workers make money in
who
returnforsellingsex to anybodywho iswilling topay for[it]."Legiti
were establishedin every
mately authorized"pleasurequarterdistricts"
region where the Japanese came to be concentrated. The fiveyears after
Japan's 1910 annexation ofKorea marked the formalization and systemati

458 Na YoungLee
zationof licensedprostitution.
Beforeannexation,lawsregulating
prosti
tution were issued by the councils of the towns where the Japanese
resided;afterannexation,theprovincial. Bureaus
PoliceAdministration
took over the responsibility. The chief of police in each province could
designate as well as control the restricted areas where prostitutes were
to liveandwork.
.required
InMarch 1916,thecolonial governmentpassed LawsRegulating
Houses ofAssignation and Prostitutes(GovernmentGeneral Police
AdministrationDivision Ordinance No. 4), along with InnControl
Regulations;Restaurantand BarControlRegulations;andGeisha (yegi),
Shakufu (chakbu),and Geisha House Control Regulations. These regula
tions consolidated the licensed prostitution system on a national scale,
granting licenses to operate related business and setting out detailed regu
lationstocontrolprostitutes.
Themost prominentcharacteristics
of licensedprostitution
were the
registration system and compulsory STD examinations forprostitutes. In
Japan, the government had carried out its first
mandatory medical exami
nations for STDs inNagasaki's red-light district at the request of the Rus
sian.Navy in the late-nineteenth century. After that time, compulsory
examinations were instituted in the open ports in Japan and in theirAsian
colonies including Korea under "civilization" and "enlightenment" poli
cies. After the annexation of Korea, the Japanese colonial government
ordered prostitutes in Seoul to have STD exams twice a week and dis
patched public medical doctors to 186 regional. facilities for thispurpose. As
a result, 27,539 Korean women were forced to have these examinations in
1911 and 50,904 in 1915.1'To avoid the dreadful experience of STD checks,
many women stopped working temporarily, some fled to the countryside,
and others overdosed on opium.4 Some kisaengunions in Gaeseong and
Suwon called for strikes, demanding "abolition of the VD examinations
conducted twice a week, because this is too insulting to be tolerated."15
Another feature of the licensed prostitution systemwas the establish
ment of so-called pleasure quarters where prostitutes were required to live
and where their lives and bodies were involuntarily subject to constant
state surveillance. The extensive pleasure districts, such as wanwol-dongin
in Incheon,
Pusan and seonhwa-dong remain notorious red-light districts

Na YoungLee 459
even today.Kisaeng
triedtoformself-governing laborunions to respondto
conditionsin thepleasurequarters;theircollectiveactionsto
deteriorating
improvetheirworkingconditions continuedthroughthe1920sand 1930s.
AccordingtoYu HaeJeong, duringthe1930sthecolonialgovernment had
toamendtheharshregulations inresponsetoprostitutes'frequent strikes
to improvetheirworkingconditions; a freeone-dayleavesystem was put
intoeffectin 1935.16
Some prostitutesevenbecame activelyinvolvedin
socialmovementsto abolishthesex trade.However,neitherthekisaeng's
protestsnor theKorean antiprostitution movementbecamepartof the
broadernationaliststruggle duringthatperiod.And thekisaeng's spiritof
resistance,
whichwas nurturedby theirlowlystatusinsociety, seemedto
fadeby thelate1930sas licensedprostitutionbecamefirmly entrenchedin
Korea alongwith theestablishment ofJapanesemilitarybarracks.
From theonsetof Japan'simperialendeavors,theJapanese govern
mentmaintainedred-light solelyformilitaryuse both in Japan
districts
and in its colonies. But itwas not until 1937 that the Japanese government
and armybegan toconstructfull-scale
militarybrothelscalled "comfort
Somemilitarybrothels
stations."t7 were builtaftertheircivilian
managers
appliedforpermissiontodo so; otherswere pre-existingpublicbrothels
redesignatedfor
militaryuse.YoshimiYoshiakipointsout thattheideaof
brothels for the exclusive use of the Japanese military in war zones and
was easilyacceptedinan androcentric
occupiedterritories martialatmos
phere alreadyaccustomed to licensedprostitution.18 In response to
frequentrapesthatwere hindering militarygovernanceand causingthe
outbreakof full-scale in itscolonies,especially
hostilities aftertheNanking
massacre in 1937,theJapanese militaryconsideredtheestablishment of
militarybrothelsessentialtomaintainingdisciplineaswell asmotivating
soldiersto followordersunconditionally.InDecember 1937,thechief
commanderof Japanesetroopsdispatchedto centralChinawas directed
to build military brothels inNanjing, and the chief of the Tenth Troop
orderedmilitarypolice tobuildbrothelsinHuzhou. The Departmentof
a subgroupof theMinistryof theArmy,sentordersin
MilitaryAffairs,
1938 to the commanders of troops in north and central China to select
people tomobilizewomen for
militarybrothels.
When theJapanese
Army
inManchuria planned special training sessions to prepare forwar against

460 Na YoungLee
Russia, the army requested 20,000 women for army brothels from the
and 8,000were actuallymobilized forthat
Korean colonialgovernment,
purpose. The targeted mobilization of Korean women as "comfort
designedtoprotectJapanesesoldiersfromSTDs
women" was originally
becauseKoreanyoungwomenwere believedtobe sexuallyinexperienced
and therefore Basedupon thestate-regulated
uninfected. systemofprosti
tution and the widespread network of trafficinwomen in Korea under
colonial rule,Japancould quicklymobilizemany Koreanwomen. Even
though the majority was recruited from the rural lower class, many
women who worked in cafes or in Japanese-style bars were likely also
solicitedto serveJapanesesoldiers.
DuringWorldWar II,approximately
200,000youngKoreanwomen were draftedas prostitutes and stationed
throughout Asia and the South Pacific to service Japanese soldiers. After
experiencing daily sexual abuse, repeated rapes, severe physical violence,
and hard labor, most of these women were murdered or left to die by
retreating Japanese troops during the lastmonth of thewar.
The Japanese authorities sought to implement a similar policy in their
own country in the face of the impending U.S. invasion. On August 18,
1945, just three days after the Japanese government announced itsdecision
to surrender, the government ordered, on itsown initiative, the construc
tion of brothels for the use of the victorious troops. The chief of the Police
Bureau instructed regional governors to recruit geisha, licensed and unli
censed prostitutes, waitresses, and barmaids. One of the strongest ratio
nales was that they would serve to protect other Japanese women's
chastity.Responding to the order, thewomen were organized into the Re
creation and Amusement Association (RAA), and the firstbrothel for
foreign soldiers, Komachien, opened in the Tokyo-Yokohama area on
August 27, 1945, one day before the Allied Forces moved in to occupy
Japan. 19
The instrumentalization of wvomen's sexuality for the use of themili
taryoriginating during Japanese colonial rule system laid the basis forU.S.
policy.As licensedprostitution
was widelydeployedinconjunction
with
Korean women's enforced sexual labor for Japanese soldiers, the domestic
was transformed into commercial prostitution and
institution of kisaeng
sexual slavery. The red-light districtwith congregated brothels accompa

Na YoungLee 46I
niedbya government-regulated systemofcompulsory STD examinations

while theirconcentrationin the
facilitatedthecontrolofprostitutes,
vicinityofmilitarycampsservedthe interests
of theoccupationforces.
The foundational elementsofgijichon
prostitution,
then,were established
by the Japanese and made available to the victorious U.S. military.
THE U.S. MILITARY GOVERNMENT' S

REGULATION OF PROSTITUTES
Korea regained its independence inAugust 1945, following the defeat of
Japan at the end ofWorld War II. General Order Number One for the
surrender,
Japanese issuedbyGeneralDouglasMacArthuron .August 15,
includedtheprovisionthattheUnited Stateswould occupy theKorean
peninsula south of the thirty-eighthparallel and the Union of Soviet So
cialistRepublicswould occupy theregionto thenorth. InJanuary1946,
once the occupation was completed and its authority stabilized, the U.S.
ArmyMilitaryGovernmentwas establishedto command thecountry,
and U.S. troops were stationed throughout the South. According to the
official governmentestablished
declaration,the"provisional by theU.S.
forces ... rules, leads, and controls Korea ... during the transitional period
of establishing a democratic government."20 As the only lawful authority
in thesouthern
partof thepeninsula,themilitarygovernment
functioned
as an occupation forcewhose sole mission was supposedly to protect and
defend the sovereignty of South Korea and tomaintain civil order until
the establishment of an independent South Korean government.
Upon arrival in Korea, the U.S. armed forceswere firmly convinced
that "the Orient was ridden with exotic and terrible diseases" because of
"an absence of any conception of cleanliness and sanitation" and that the
health of U.S. soldiers was in jeopardy.21Thus, themilitary government
intitiated a policy for itsoccupation forces based upon a determination to
"combat against diseases," including STDs and other communicable
diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, and leprosy.22The very firstordi
nance signed by theMilitary Governor of Korea, on September 24, 1945,
was to establish the Bureau of Public Health and Welfare with broad
powers and then, over several weeks, provincial level offices.23Respon
sibility for this department fell upon the medical officer of the 33rd

462 Na YoungLee
Company, who had extensive combat experience and was especially aware
of the problems posed by rampant STDs tomilitary readiness. He con
ducted a survey of provincial public health and welfare conditions and
estimated what health measures were needed.24
U.S.DepartmentofDefensepolicyprohibits
Officially, in
prostitution
areas under itscontrol. The May Act, enacted by Congress in 1941.,shortly
before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor drew theUnited States into the
war, made it unlawful, within "reasonable" distances ofmilitary and naval
establishments, to engage in prostitution, to aid or abet prostitution, or to
The policyofprohibi
procureor solicitforthepurposeofprostitution.
tion was intended to protect the "efficiency, health, and welfare of the
Army and Navy." STDs had long been amajor challenge tomilitary lead
ers; given that sexual relations with foreignwomen were regarded as an
inevitable part of themodern military experience, based upon what Allan
Brant defines as the belief that "men required sex to be soldiers."25 By
dictating that "whoever engages in prostitution or aids or abets prostitu
tion" was to be fined up to $1,000 or imprisoned up to a year,26 theMay
Act was viewed as an indication of the seriousness of the government's
commitment
to repression
ofprostitution.
Beneath the broad concerns about public health and sanitation for
Koreans lay the crux of the issue forU.S. forces: to protect U.S. soldiers
from communicable diseases. Because the concern over "poor living
conditions accompanied with lack of facilities for cleanliness of the prosti
tute or her clients" was common among military authorities, control over
the "unclean non-American" prostitutes was deemed imperative for the
sake of U.S. soldiers' health and welfare.27
The military government set up several programs to regulate prosti
tutes and control STDs. The U.S. occupation forces opened the Office of
the Corps Surgeon in Seoul on September I11,1945, and subsequently
establisheddispensariesand startedreconnaissanceforhospital sites.
Medical inspectors examined bars and restaurants for sanitary condi
tions,and "venerealdiseasecontrolofficers"
inspectedthestill-existing
licensedprostituesin thepleasure quartersand brothels.In order to
design and implement more effective strategies, themilitary government
establishedVD Control Councils involvingcommandingofficers,the

Na YounqLee 463
chaplainscorps,the special.servicesdivision(whichprovidedentertain
ment and recreation programsand facilities), theprovostmarshal, and
the :medicaldepartment. Theirmeetings,held once amonth, carefully
examined theSTD ratesamong soldiersbased upon the reportsfrom
eachunitandmade recommendations foran STD controlpolicy.
Basedupon thoserecommendations, allprostitutes,understoodtobe
dangerous women who disseminatedSTDs, became increasingly subject
to regularexaminations. The militarygovernment beganSTD examina
tionsamong kwonbeon under
(kisaeng) the direction of itsBureau ofPublic
Health andWelfare.Accordingto severalnewspapers,thefirst collective
examination was conductedin March 1946.The authoritiesinsistedthat
STD checkswere imperative because a previousexaminationhad indi
cated thatover60percentofprostitutes were infected?-8Seekingtomake
thesemeasuresmore effective, theU.S. militaryestablishedtheVD Con
trolSectionunder theDepartmentofPublicHealth andWelfareinMay
1947and introduced periodicexaminations and treatment forall "enter
taining dancers,"bargirls,"andwaitresses,issuing
girls,"includingkisaeng,
ofhealth"to thosewho complied.These intrusive
"certificates measures,
both regularly
including scheduledexaminations and unannouncedspot
checksin the"pleasurequarters,"provokedresistance, and some kisaeng
unionscalled forstrikes.However,thewomen's resistance could not be
waged systematically,becausefailuretocomplywith thephysicalexami
nation resulted in their loss of licenses.
Women foundto be infected
were forcibly isolatedand treated
until
Many were sent toNational VenerealDisease Centers;
noninfectious.
others were locked up in awomen's jail.Upon release, syphilispatients not
consideredcuredwere urged to continue treatment.
The increasing
number of patients treated in theNational VD Center in Seoul, which offi
cially opened inDecember 1947, is a good index of the situation. A total of
191patients were treated in the first
month, but the patient load increased
by the end of February 1948 to between 200 to 300 each week. Between May
1947 and July 1948, a total of 14,889 prostitutes were examined, and again
the percentage reported to be infectedwith STDs was 60 percent.29
The VD Council recommendedthat"enlistedserviceclubsbe placed
as near as possible to unit areas or within unit areas," because soldiers

464 Na YounqLee
returningfrom more distantclubswere "exposedtostreetsand buildings

where procurers,pimps and prostitutesare located."Thanks to the
system put inplaceby theimperial
Japanesegovernment, prostitutes
were
easilyconfinedto small areas,"whichcould be guardedsuccessfullyby
MilitaryPolice detachments."U.S. soldierswere allowed to frequent
houses ofprostitutiononceweekly inspectionshad begun inorder to
hold "VD among the occupying troops to a minimum," and themilitary
government condonedtheclubsrunbyKoreanhostessesfortheexclusive
were "center[s]
despitethewell-knownfactthatthey
use ofU.S. soldiers,
ofpimpactivity."30
In its initial phrase, then, the U.S. military government adopted a
policyofcontrolling
prostitution it.Throughvari
insteadof suppressing
ous mechanisms, including VD Councils, the VD Control Section, peri
odic STD examinations, issuance of certificates to prostitutes, and the
operation of enlisted men's clubs inside military bases, the military
governmenttolerated and regulated
prostitution.
However, thepolicy could not be successfullyenforcedwithout
Korea's elite leaders'implicitendorsementand directassistance.Right
afterindependence, Koreanpoliticiansdesignatedtwodancehalls inboth
Seoul and Incheon, where about 250 prostitutes congregated, to serve U.S.
troops.Although thesystematic
organizationofprostitutesalong the
lines of the RAA in Japan was not continued in Korea, at least not as an
sponsoredprojectof thestate,thenumberof "entertainment
officially
establishments"cateringsolely to LJ.S.soldiers,includingbars,caf6s,
cabarets, dance halls, and luxurious restaurants, rapidly increased. The 59
bars, 12 cafes, and 14 cabarets recorded inMay 1946 almost doubled by the
end of the year when 81 bars. 29 cafes, and 29 cabarets, and 5 dance halls
were recorded.31
forsoldiers
Significantly, Korea's elite leaders encouraged the U.S. military
government to undertake compulsory STD examinations and treatments
aimed at prostitutes. When STD examinations were enforced among
kisaengin 1946, the director of the Bureau of Public Health and Welfare
insisted that "all people engaged in the entertainment industry should
have theexaminationtoeradicatetheHwaryubeong,"
a derogatorytermfor
STDs. This rationale was supported by Korean mainstream newspapers

Na YoungLee 465
under thestatedjustification
oferadicatingthe"nationaldisease(gunqmin
beong)" that could threaten Korea's future as a nation. The newspapers
competitively
and continuouslyreportedthatSTDs shouldbe eliminated
"for the sake of the DemocraticNation," highlighting the danger of the
"social disease" thatmight affect "the health and welfare of citizens."
Because prostitution was depicted in themedia as the "origin of all crimes
and a cradleof demoralization,"eliminatingprostitutionalso seemed
necessarytonation-building.32
However,thepathologization ofprostitu
tion and the demarcation between healthy citizens and prostitutes enabled
prostitutesto be both controllableand continuouslyaccessibletoU.S.
soldiers. Rather than a public health measure on behalf of Korean inter
ests,thesepracticesfacilitated ofKorean
themilitaryinstrumentalization
women'sbodiesforforeign soldiers.
THE ABOLITION OF LICENSED PROSTITUTION IN THE

NAME OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
Many Korean women considered state-regulated prostitution a baneful
legacy of feudal, premodern, and colonial patriarchy that should be elimi
natedinorderto realizedemocracy,
civilization, andwom
independence,
en's rights. The first acts of resistance against licensed prostitution in
colonial Korea had occurred in the mid-1920s under the leadership of
Christian women. In 1923, the antiprostitution Korean Women's
Christian Temperance Union emerged, and in 1924, the Society toAbolish
(SALP)was established.
LicensedProstitution Methodistsplayeda central
role in formingthesegroups.The SALP sponsoredlectures,including
some specifically foryouth, and collected 12,000 signatures on a petition to
theGovernment General. In 1925, between fiveand six hundred women
inWando-gun Province staged a demonstration against licensed prostitu
tion. Ever since, abolition of prostitution has remained one of themain
issues of concern forvarious women's organizations inKorea.33
Outlawing rather than licensing prostitution would seem to have fit
the U.S. goal of turning Korea into a modern democratic country. Al
thoughsomeEuropeancountriesstilllicensedprostitutes,
U.S. domestic
policy criminalized sex work. In keeping with this view of prostitution,
the military government promulgated Regulation No. 70, "The

466 Na YoungLee
Prohibition
ofTrafficking
ofWomen andGirls or ofContractsforSuch
onMay 17,1946,
Trafficking," which followeditsFebruary1946repealof
theRules RegulatingLicensedProstitutesof 1900in Japan.34
However,
even though these measures prohibited the sale of women and the
contractingofwomen for sale, theydid not outlaw prostitution.
Women's organizations, including both left- and right-wing groups,
wa.s a
consideredthisstepinadequate,arguingthatlicensedprostitution
vestigeof Japaneseimperialism
and an obstacletodemocraticorder.On
August 10,1946,Koreanwomen formedtheUnitedReliefAssociationof
and led an
Women's Organizations(Buneodanclie-chonggyeolsok-gujeyeonmaeng)
active campaign for the abolition of licensed prostitution based upon. the
idea that prostitution was inimical to national health and contravened
human rights. waged by theAssociationforAbolition
Consistentprotests
ofLegalizedProstitution((Amonchangje (AA.LP),ledbyKim
PyejiYeonmaeng)
Malbong, and by the Union of Chosen Women (Chosonpunvo-ch'ongdotig
maeng), a social-democratic group committed to ending prostitution as
part of the liberation of women, brought strong social pressure on the
U.S.militarygovernment.35
In response to this resistance and petitions for amendment of the law
by various women's groups and the press, themilitary government de
clared through the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly (SKILA)
the basic direction for a new prostitution policy. Public Act No. 7 of the
South Korean Interim Government, theAbolishment of Public Prostitu
tion Law, was passed by the SKILA with the approval of General Arch
Lerch on November 11, 1947, and took effecton February 14, 1948.
Inpractice,thenewpolicyabolishedonly licensedprostitution,
leav
ing "private" prostitution (sachatig) to spread all over the country. One
newspaper, Puin Ilbo, claimed that the number of clianggi(prostitutes)
increased from 2,000 to 50,000 in the firstnine months after official aboli
tion.36
According to articles appearing in the newspaper ChosunIlbo,most of
these prostitutes were either war refugees returning from abroad or wom
en sufferingfromserious economic distress,includingdaughtersof
"respectable families" trying to support their parents and children.37 In
fact, a vast influx of population combined with high rates of unemploy
ment and severe poverty led many women to depend on prostitution.

Na YounqLee 467
South :Korea's population, estimated at just over 16million in 1.945,grew

by 21percentduring thefollowingyear.By 1950, more than 1million
workershad returned fromJapanand 120,000 fromChina and Manchuria;
another 1.8million hadmigratedfromthenorth.Because ruralareas
were inhospitabletonewcomers, most refugeessettledin urban areas;
Seoul receivedupwardsofone-thirdof thetotal.By 1947onlyabouthalf
thelaborforceof 10millionwas gainfully
employed.38
TheWomen's Bureau,which had been established on September14,
1946,under theDepartmentofPublicHealth andWelfaretocontinuethe
Japanesecolonialgovernment'spolicyof controllingprostitution, was
supposed to take chargeof thepost-abolitionmeasures. October
Iln and
November1947,thedirectorof the Women's Bureau visitedall southern
with theexceptionofKangwon-doandCheju-do, to setup
provinces,
Committees on Policies for theAbolition of Licensed Prostitution
Daechaek
Pyeji
(Gongchangje Because itwas difficult
Wiwonhoe). forthecentral
government to deal with the issue, due to lack of funding forwelfare
benefitsforwomen leavingprostitutionand the "scatterednature of
throughoutthecountry,thebureauconcludedthatprob
prostitution"
lemsinherentinprostitution.shouldbe addressedbyprovincialauthori
ties.Committeesmade up of representatives fromthecommunityand
headedbygovernors were "delegatedresponsibilityfortheproblem."39
SeveralconferencesfollowedinJanuary1948, with legislators,
newspaper
and U.S. advisorsdiscussingtheabolitionof legalized
representatives,
prostitution plansof action tobe taken.The plan forSeoul,
and definite
forexample,focusedon the"rehabilitation"
of former includ
prostitutes,
inghealthtreatment by theNationalVenerealDiseaseClinic andwelfare
benefits provided by theWelfare Department of the City of Seoul, which
would beprocessedbypolicewomen.
Inprinciple,thenationalpolicywas supposedtooffer
women leaving
prostitution"foodand otheressentialswhere necessary,""assistancein
returning home ... [for]thosewho live at some distance with no means of
getting there," and welfare assistance on the same basis as other impover
ished women. Policymakers assumed that "it is inadvisable to establish a
programwhichwillmaintain the identity
specialrehabilitation of these
women as formerprostitutes.Theywill have greateropportunityfor

468 Na YoungLee
adjustment to normal life if they receive the same treatment as any other
citizenneedingassistance."Therefore,"no specialappropriationfrom
national fundswill be available to the provinces for thisprogram."401
That decision was the kiss of death. Because of a lack of income and
housing, limitedfinancialsupport,and the shortageof alternative
employment, many of theformerlicensedprostitutessimplyscattered
throughoutthecountrytobecome privateprostitutes. According to a
U.S. government document, "the greatest need is a place to keep these
women if they are forced to leave theirpresent residences. However, this is
part of larger existing housing problems, the solution ofwhich will be part
of the success or failure of Public Act No. 7 Abolishment of the Public
Prostitution Law. There are no low-cost homes forworking girls, no
homes for transients and no accommodations for girl students." By
February1948,1,400of theapproximately
2,000licensedprostitutesin
South Korea, including approximately 1,000 in Seoul, 200 at Incheon, and
the remaining 800 scattered throughout the country, were to be placed in
alternative employment arranged by welfare agencies, which meant that
fewcould findotherjobs.41
Althoughprostitution continuedand even expanded,theU.S. mili
tarygovernment was able tomake use of the abolition policy to advertise
itsmoral superiority to Japan. Public Act No. 7 included this justification:
"to eradicate evil customs of Japan's colonial government." The United
States represented itself as a "benign" liberator from the previous "evil"
regime and as a symbol of liberal democracy to promote the democratic
principle of "equality between men and women," conveying the implicit
message that theUnited States would not tolerate any dehumanizing acts
in violation of women's rights.The law appeared to provide a legal basis
bothprostitutes
forprosecuting and theirclients,imposing
punishment
of up to two years imprisonment and/or finesof up to 50,000 won(approxi
mately $50) on all persons involved in prostitution, and had a provision
for punishing third parties such as procurers.42However, the principle of
punishing both parties did not apply to U.S soldiers. When prostitution
was reported, only prostitutes were to be arrested byU.S. military police.43
In sum, the state-regulated prostitution system was abolished in the
name of U.S.-style liberal democracy, but in spite of the glib facade of

Na Young9
Lee 469
emancipatoryrhetoricpromoting"genderequality"and "civilization,"
neitherin theeliminationofprostitu
theUnited Stateswas interested
tionnor in theprotectionof prostitutes'human rights.Instead, its
genuineconcernwas to reduceSTD ratesby regulating effec
prostitutes,
disguisingitsengagement
tively with and complicityin thecontinuation
ofmilitary prostitution.The U.S. policy inKorea was shaped and
sustainedby contradictoryimpulses.The state-regulatorysystemthat
had been inheritedfromJapan
was abolished,but, in theefforttoprotect
U.S. soldiers from STDs, a new system that paralleled the old one was
created.
successfully
CONTINUITIES IN PRACTICE AFTER ABOLITION

AftertheenactmentofPublicAct No. 7, theU.S. militarygovernment
ostensiblyattemptedto suppressprostitutioninaccordancewith this
policy.Formerprostitutesbecame subject to "clearance" andwere
strongly encouragedto return"home"or confinedas diseasedobjectsto
be "cured."44However,abolishingprostitutionturnedout to bemerely
abolishingthelicensing Becauseof theextremepovertyof
ofprostitution.
thewomen returning fromoverseas,thelackofemployment opportuni
ties,and the lackofwelfareassistance,theKorean policy-includingthe
effortsof theKoreanwomen'smovement-toabolishtheofficiallicensing
ofprostitutesledonly to the"privatization"
ofprostitution.Facedwith
thisprivatization,itbecamehard fortheU.S. militaryto systematically
controlprostitutes. measuressuch as compulsory
Regulatory STD exams
and enforcedconfinement withindesignatedareascould not be imposed
on prostituteswho were scatteredthroughoutthecountry.The fearof
losingcontroloverprostitutesescalatedwith a sharpriseinSTD rates
amongU.S. soldiers.
By September1948,soaringSTD ratesconnectedwith visiblyactive
prostitutesand pimpsembarrassed unitcommandersand evenattracted
the attention of President Harry S. Truman. Itwas reported that STD rates
in 1948 averaged 100 per 1000 soldiers.Among Koreans, according to a 1948
survey conducted by theKorean National Hospital and theDepartment of
PublicHealth andWelfare inKorea, two-thirdsof kisaeng,
waitresses,
servants, dancers, and other types of prostitutes turned out to be infected

470 Na YoungLee
with STDs. Many militarv officers complained that enforcement of Public

Act No. 7 outlawing legalizedprostitutionhad limitedtheirabilityto
control the activities of prostitutes, pointing to the legislation as themain
reason for the dispersion of prostitutes over thewhole area. Some argued
that prostitution should be handled by segregation and continued medical
inspection.45 betweenactualU.S. militarypracticeand its
The disparity
stated policy prohibiting prostitution is apparent in another report from a
militarysurgeon:
On 14February 1948,PublicAct No. 7was placed into effectby the Interim

Korean Government. This law prohibited legalizedprostitution.Prostitutes
were confined to small areaswhich could be guarded successfully
formerly
byMilitary Police detachments.Outlawing of theiractivitiessoon resulted
in a widespread scattering.Formerly the professional prostitute and her
representative,the panderer, displayed little interest inAmericans. How
ever,with themoving intowidespread areas theiractivitiesbecame cen
tered on obtaining theAmerican dollar and goods. To counteract this
practice, theMilitary police utilized vice squadswho sought offendingmili
taryand native personnel. Prostitutes and panderers when apprehended
were brought before theProvostCourt and given jail sentences.This proce
dure succeeded inmarkedly curtailing theiractivitiesuntilAugust 15, 1948.
On that day the new Korean Government was inaugurated and shortly
thereafter assumed full jurisdiction over Korean Nationals. With the
authorityof theArmy ProvostCourt removed, the illicitoperators intensi
fiedtheiractivities,a factorwhich contributedgreatly to themarked rise in
venereal disease ratesoccurring since that time.A*
A special meeting was held at the Bando Hotel in Seoul on May 7,

1948, to discuss the reasons for rising STD rates and coordinate plans for
control measures. Because the issue of STDs had always been formulated
in relation to the problem of prostitution, anxiety about controlling it led
military authorities tomount attacks on prostitutes themselves. Ac
cordingly, the Provost Marshal of the U.S. military police organized "vice
squads" in Seoul and Pusan to arrest active prostitutes and pimps.
Arrested women, who were assumed to carry STDs and treated as crimi
nals, were subject tomandatory STD exams and treatment under deten
tion if found infected. According to the minutes of a VD Council

Na Youngq
Lee 471
were treatedin theoutpatient

meeting, 191formerlicensedprostitutes
service at Sunwha Hospital in Seoul and detained at thewomen's jail until
theywere completely clearedofSTD infection.47
Koreanswere triedin theU.S.militarycourtand sentencedto impris
onmentunder theU.S.militarygovernment. However,U.S.militaryoffi
cerswere convincedthatonce theirauthorityto tryKoreans had been
removedand fulljurisdictionhandedover toKoreanswith theinaugura
tionof theKorean governmentinAugust 1948,prostitutes'activities
could not be effectively
checkedand, as a result,
would intensify.The
increasedattentiontheU.S. militaryauthorities
gave toprostitution
was
relatedto theKorean government'sstubbornly uncooperativeattitude,
becauseKorean courtswere notwilling topunishor detainviolatorsof
PublicActNo. 7.48
Searchingforsomeotherformofcontrol,theUJ.S. militaryreinvigo
ratedthecampaignagainstSTDs among soldiers.Proclaimingthatthe
battle against STDs was a matter ofmilitary efficiency as well as personal
morality,themilitarytookpreventive measures byprovidingprophy
laxis,both condoms topreventinfectionand testingand treatmentfor
soldiers
who contractedSTDs.49 whichwas initially
This policy, developed
during World War I,was based upon an implicit recognition that the
expression ofmale soldiers'sexualdriveswas inevitable
and thatlimiting
itsilleffects
was amore effectiveapproachthanmoral condemnation.In
order to carryout thiscampaign,theU.S. militarystrengthened itssex
educationprograms.All commissionedand non-commissioned officers
were expectedto takethreeone-hourcoursesto learnhow to instruct
soldiersunder theircommand.50 The programindoctrinated soldiersin
Christianmorality,personal.hygiene,and heterosexual,patriarchal
family values. As in other sex education materials used during World War
II,STDswere viewedas a consequenceof lazinessand irresponsibility
that
morework on
not only jeopardizedthesoldier'shealthbut also imposed
others and thus amatter ofmilitary discipline. STDs were described as an
i"enemy" that would decrease "combat power" and that must "be
defeated." by theU.S. ArmedForcesin
The detailedguidelinesdistributed
Korea (USAFIK) in 1949were filled
withmilitarymetaphors forSTDs:

472 Na Youniq
Lee
"when we come into gripswith the enemy, let us annihilate and destroy
theforces
ofevil."'51
The inculcation of the "virtue" of abstinence was expected to decrease
STD rates and ultimately to ensure soldiers' "strength, readiness, and
well-being."Soldierswere reassuredthatabstinence
was compatible
with
virile manhood. One of the instructors' manuals, released by the head
quarters of theU.S. military in South Korea in February 1949, asserted that
"illicitsexualintercourse
doesnot conformto thenobleArmytradition
of
fairplay and sportsmanship" and that a "clean and honest life"guided by
is "forthestrong,
self-discipline mature, and courageousman."52Family
valueswere frequentlyemphasized in order toprotect soldiersfrom
"temptation" by "the enemy." One lecture advised: "the use of sex has a
way of leaving scars on aman's soul. By staying clean, fightingoff tempta
tions to commit adultery and fornication, a man can livewith himself,
with wife and children or futurewife and children more happily than ifhe
surrenders to his desires and appetites which trouble all of us who are
men." In the education program, familywas identifiedwith protecting the
"purity" ofwomen-the mothers, sisters, and sweethearts waiting for sol
diers to return home-and ultimately with the nation-state. Endangering
familywas equated with endangering society and nation. This identifica
tion of the soldier, the gendered family, and the nation is a prominent
feature of the lecture: "During such periods of storm and stress, the inspi
ration of a noble mother, reverence and respect forwomanhood, help us
to resist temptation and make the right choice. Family, country, their
highest good and welfare should always come first.America has a stake in
you-make the right choice forAmerica."53 According to this narrative,
the"foreign"womenwho seducedU.S. fightingmen wvere subvertingthe
militaryeffort.
Militaryauthorities of recreational
suggestedtheintroduction facilities
to keep soldiers busy and deflect their attention from the "evil" of prostitu
tion.Most U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea were young and unmar
ried, and thosewith wives and children could not bring their familieswith
them unlike soldiers in other bases such as Germanv. Although brothels
had long been an accepted form of entertainment and vice was seen as
inevitable, concern about young soldiers' "lack ofmoral and wholesome

Na Youngq
Lee 473
femininecompanionship" increasedas STD rates rose.The military

thoughtthat languagebarriers, which blocked "themore wholesome
minglingofyoungpersonsof oppositesexes,"exacerbatedtheproblem.54
rangingfromathleticcompetitions
Recreationalactivities andmovies to
tours
sightseeing were strongly encouraged,aswas attendanceat religious
However, facilities
services.55 forthese"wholesome"activitiesremained
inadequatebecauseof"thenormaldelaysingettinglogistic support,"
while
viceflourished
becauseof "theinability of theArmytoobtainthenecessary
cooperationfromthe[Korean] civilianpolice."Soldiershad toundertakea
rigorousscheduleofphysicaltrainingratherthanengagingin "whole
some"recreational torestrain
activities their"rampant promiscuity."'
Formore effectivepreventivemeasures guided byVD Control
Council meetings,prophylaxis was providedto soldiers.Even though
many healthofficialsexpressed concernthatthedistribution ofcondoms
would encouragesoldiersto be promiscuous,soldiers were requiredto
obtainprophylactickitsbeforethey weregrantedpassestogo out of their
units.Soldierswho returnedlateand intoxicated were forcedto take
prophylactictreatment.57 In addition,weeklySTD examinations were
made mandatory for soldiers. Those who contracted STDs were treated.
Some were sent to the Rehabilitation Training Center in Jinhae. Ac
cording to the USAFIK Rehabilitation Center, on April 30, 1948, a total of
147infected
soldiersout of22,823had been assignedto thecenter,79per
centofwhomwere infected withgonorrheaand 14percent with syphilis.
The USAFIK IndoctrinationTeam also conducted periodic random
checks to enforce Public Act No. 7.58
Despite theUnited States' statedpolicyand effortstopreventthe
themilitary'sstancetowardSTDs remained
ofprostitution,
proliferation
unclear, and in practice itwas contradictory. Entertainment and recre
ation centers sponsored by the U.S. military still existed near its bases.
Aftertheabolitionof licensedbrothelsand otherestablishments,
these
service clubs and dance halls became "legitimate" recreational facilities
and common sites for contact between soldiers and prostitutes. The area
around the service club in Incheon, in particular, became a notorious site
forcontactbetweenU.S. soldiersandKorean pimps.Based on thebelief
that "the chances of not contracting a venereal disease from a prostitute

474 Na YoungLee
were very slight," the U.S. military continued to conduct SITD examina
tionsofprostitutesnear bases.59
Women who engaged inprostitution
were identified or seducersand imagined
as potentialSTD disseminators
as evil "temptresses" and "carriers of venereal diseases" who aided the
enemy-even though theywere citizens of a supposed ally."'
CONCLUSION
The systemof camptownprostitution
prevailingtodaywas constructed
under U.S. Army Military Government rule between 1945 and 1948.
Despite formalprohibitions inwomen and licensedprosti
againsttraffic
tution, the U.S. military government continued to regulate prostitutes
and control the spread of STDs among its troops by utilizing the infra
structureinitially
createdby theJapanese,butnow shifting
publicbrothels
to camptownsnear bases and delegatingresponsibility forthemedical
ofprostitutes
surveillance to localauthorities.
The practice and policies ofmilitary prostitution in South Korea were
erected and deployed through the two pha.ses of colonization. The foun
dations of the twomajor elements of gijichon-red-light
districtsas
commercialized spaces centered on brothels and a government
controlled registration system with compulsory STD examinations-were
with theirsystemof licensedprostitution.
establishedby the Japanese
Military prostitution forU.S. forces in Korea began as soon as Korea was
liberated,when the United States took over the remains of Japan's colo
nial infrastructure and adopted policies to control STDs that tolerated the
prostitutionin camptownsnear bases.Because
of g1jichon
concentration
Korean prostitutes were seen as conduits of STDs, concerns about the
health of U.S. soldiers led to the continued exercise ofmilitary control
overprostitutes.
The continuity
betweenJapanese
policyandU.S. practice
calls into question the U.S. claim of being "liberators" rather than occu
piers and as being essentially different from Japanese imperialists.After the
official abolition of prostitution, another form of control similar to licens
ingwas put into place with the assistarnceof Korea's elite leaders: tolerat
inveryvisiblecamptowns,
ingprostitution while outlawingitelsewhere
in Korean society. Ostensibly, "licenses" for "prostitutes" ceased with the
nationwide abolition of legal prostitution, but only to be replaced by the

Na YouigLee 475
registration of "entertainment workers"withincamptowns who are still

requiredtoundergoregularhealthexaminationsassuringthattheyare
freeofSTDs. It is ironicthattheshiftfrom.licensedprostitution in state
regulatedbrothelsto camptownprostitution, inwhich regulationis left
to the localKorean authorities, was adoptedunder thepretenseof abol
ishing prostitution. In factitamountedto a policyofsafeguarding
military
personnelfromSTDs while ensuringtheiraccess to themarket in sex.
Since then,the legalprohibition ofprostitution by theU.S. andKorean
governmentshas coexistedwith regulatedprostitutionin camptowns
serving U.S.militarybases.
Since themid-1990s,foreign women have replaced Koreanwomen in
the(qijichon.
Accordingto researchconductedin 2004by a feminist NGO,
90 percentof gijichon prostitutesare now Russians and Filipinas.61
That
sameyear,amember of theKoreanNationalAssemblyconfirmedthat
Filipinasnumber730 (81percent),Russians81 (9percent),andKoreans88
(9.8 percent) among 900 licensedg'ijichon entertainmentworkers in
Gyeonggiprovince.62 The women employedinclubsor barsinU.S. mili
tarycamptownsare supposed to receiveregularhealth examinations,
includinganHIV testeverythree months,at designatedclinics.Without
health recordsthatconfirmthattheyhave done so, theycannotwork
there.63It is thewomen, not theU.S. soldiers,who are required to
demonstratethattheyare freeofcommunicablediseases. Women's bodies
are stilltreatedas sourcesofcrimeand dangerand subjectedtomonitor
ingand controlforthesakeofU.S. soldiers'healthandmilitarysecurity.
CurrentU.S. policyconcerningSTDs and prostitutioninKorea essen
tiallyresembles pastpolicies.
Feministscholarsoftenemphasizeconflictsbetweenpolicies that
prohibit prostitution on the one hand, and policies that seek to decrimi
nalize and regulate it on the other, but this case suggests that the variety
may be complicatedby thedifferent
of policiestha.tdealwith sexuality
concernspolicymakers bringtobear in specific
situations.
Although the
U.S. military bases' primary aim was to protect soldiers from STDs, South
Koreanpolicymakers
were dividedbetweenthosewho soughttoprohibit
prostitution and those who drew on the Japanese model of regulated
betweensoldiersand localwomen, hoping toprotectSouth
interaction

476 Na Youngq
Lee
Korean societyingeneral by limitingprostitutionto restrictedareas

directly around the bases and towomen who have been marked by their
employment there so that theywill not easily, ifever, be integrated back
intoKorean society
more broadly.
During the fiftyyears thatU.S. bases have existed in South Korea, the
camptownscreatedby theseinteracting policieshave createda strange
borderlandculturearound theedgesofU.S.militarybases. Would a differ
ent setofpolicies-specifically,
policiesallowingU.S. soldierstobringtheir
families to live near them in South Korea as they do on bases in Europe
and elsewhere-have produced a different result? The policies that pro
duced South Korea's camptowns reflect complex and sometimes contra
dictory motives on the part of different actors, complicating our
understandingof the interaction
betweenmilitaryoccupationand state
to regulatesexuality.
efforts A.more precisetheoretical
conceptualization
that reflects the complications that arise out of the competing power
dynamics that are in play in systems of prostitution will help shape amore
complexfeminist theory ofprostitution aswell
andmilitaryprostitution,
as feministtheoriesof gender,sexuality,and nation.By understanding
how and which complex power dynamics and ideologies of gender and
sexuality have been mediated in constructing military prostitution, we
may shift itspositionality toward a better place, reconstitute it in a differ
ent way, and eventually deconstruct it.
Notes
1. Bruce Cumings, Korea's Place in theSun: A Modem History (New York: Norton, 1997), 185
89, 212.
2. National for Eradication of Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea, "The U.S.
Campaign
in Korea," 2005.
Occupation http://wwTw.usacrime.or.kr/,
3. I use the terms "camptown prostitution" and "military prostitution"
interchange
ably with "gijichon prostitution." for all Korean words are in the newly
Spellings
Korean government system.
approved
4. on behalf of
Saeumto (an influential Korean feminist NGO working military prosti
Research onConditions of Prostitutionin Province
tutes), Gyeonggi for Alternative Policy (Gyeonggi
jiyok Maechun Yosongae Daehan Siltae josa) (sponsored by the Gyeonggi Provincial
Government, 2001), 63; Gwyn Kirk, "Speaking Out about Militarized Prostitution in

Na YounqLee 477
South Korea," Peace and Freedom 55 (Winter 1995): 12;Mai Magazine no. 26
(Seoul),
(1988): 107-12, 108; and Katharine Moon, Sex amongAllies: ProstitutioninU.S.-Korea
Military
Relations (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 7.
5. Moon, Sex amongAllies, 44.
6. Sallie Yea, "Labour of Love: Filipina Entertainers' Narratives of Romance and
with GIs in U.S. Military Towns in Korea," Women's Studies Inter
Relationship Camp
nationalForum, no. 28 (2005): 460.
7. Rita N. Brock and Susan B. Thistlethwaite, Casting Stones: Prostitutionand Liberation inAsia
and theUnited States (Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg Fortress, 1996), 6; Charlotte A.
Thomas C. Quinn, and Joel C. Gaydos, "The of Sexually Trans
Gaydos, Challenge
mitted Diseases for theMilitary: What Has Clinical no. 30
Changed?" InfectiousDiseases,
(2000):719-22.
8. Fujime Yuki, "The Licensed Prostitution System and the Prostitution Abolition
Movement inModern
Japan," Positions5 (Spring 1997): 135; Philippa Levine, Prostitution,
Race, and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in theBritishEmpire (New York: Routledge, 2003),
1. See also Judith Walkowitz, Prostitutionand Victorian Society: Women, Class, and theState
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980).

9. Saundra Sturdevant and Brenda Stoltzfus, eds., Let theGood Times Roll: Prostitutionand the
inAsia
U.S. Military (New York: New Press, 1992); Brock and Thistlethwaite,
Casting
Stones.
10. See Brock and Thistlethwaite,
Casting Stones; Gwyn Kirk and Margo
especially,
Women LJ.S. Militarism in East
Okazawa-Rey, "Demilitarizing Security: Oppose
Asia," in FrontlineFeminisms:Women, War, and Resistance, ed. Marguerite R. Waller and
Jennifer Rycenga (New York: Garland, 2000), 159-72; Margo Okazawa-Rey, "Amera
sian Children of GI Town: A in South Korea," Asian
Legacy of U.S. Militarism Journal of
Women's Studies,no. 3 (1997): 71-102; Saundra Sturdevant, "Who Benefits? U.S.
Military,
Prostitution, and Base Conversion," in Frontline Feminisms, 141-58; Sturdevant and
Stoltzfus, Let theGood Times Roll; Kathryn Farr, Sex Trafficking:The Global Market inWomen
and Children (New York: Worth, 2005); Walkowitz, Prostitutionand Victorian Society; Yuki,
"The Licensed Prostitution System"; Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches, and Bases: Making
Feminist Sense of International Politics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990);
Maneuvers:
Cynthia Enloe, International Politics ofMilitarizing Women's Lives (Berkeley:
Sex amongAllies.
University of California Press, 2000); and Moon,
11. Several nongovernmental on this
organizations have written excellent reports topic.
See Durebang, "Great Army, Great Father: Militarized Prostitution in South Korea;
Life inGI Town" (Widaehan Kundae, Widaehan Abeoji: HangukeseouiMigukkundaewa Maechun),
(unpub. manu., 1995), and Stories ofDurebang: 15thAnniversaryCelebrationResourceMaterials

(Durebang Iyaki) (Seoul, Durebang: 2001); Hansori, "Project of Networking for
Victims of Prostitutes" (Songmaemae P'ihaeyosongulWihan Chonkukyonkaemang
Supporting
Guchuksaop), assisted by theMinistry of Gender Equality, 2003; Saeumto, "Educational
Material for Volunteers in Saewoomtuh and Activists in the U.S.
Military
manu., "Research on Conditions of
Camptowns" (unpub. 2001); Saeumto,
Prostitution in Province for Alternative
Gyeonggi Policy" (Gyeonggi-jiyokMaechun

478 Na YoungLee
Yeoseongae Daehan Siltae fosa); Sacumto, "Lives in Gijichon: U.S Military Camptowns in
Korea" (unpub. manu., 1999); and Sacumto, "Conditions Prostitutes in U.S.
Facing
Military Camptowns" (unpub. manu., 1996). Also Min Gyeongja, "The History of the
Korean Women's Movement against Prostitution, 1970-1998 (HankukMaechun Yeoseong
in History ofKorean Women's Human RightsMovements, ed. Korean Women Hot
Undongsa)"
"Feminist Sexual Politics:
Line (Seoul: Hanwul, 1999), 239-99; and Won Mihye,
Prohibition of Prostitution"
Beyond (Yeoseongjui Seongjeongchihak:Geunjeoleul Neomeo),
no. 10
journal ofFeministTheories and Practices, (2004): 34-55.
12. Kumari Jayawardena, Feminism andNationalism in theThird World (London: Zed Books,
214.
1986),
13. Yongae Yamashida, "The Colonial and Deployment of Licensed Pros
Occupation
titution" andHistory, no. 51 (1997): 162.
(SsingminjiJibaewui Kongchang faedoui Jon'gae),Society
14. Yuki, "The Licensed Prostitution System," 148.
15. Donga Ilbo, 26 Feb. 1925, 22Mar. 1925, 2May 1929.
16. Yu Haejeong, "Gender Policy under the Japanese Occupation" (Iljae Singminjihaui
a
YeoseongJeongchaek) (Seoul: Hanguk Yeoseong Yeonguso, 1999), 298. In 1937, petition
that the colonial allow7 a dance hall in Seoul
demanding Japanese government City
was in Jinsong
brought by kisaengsand caf? madams: SamcheoliMagazine, 1937, quoted
Kim, Allow theDance Hall inSeoul: The ConstructionofModernity (Seoulae Danceholeul Heohara)
(Seoul: Hyeonsil Munhwa Yeongu, 1999), 215-21.

17. of "comfort women" draws from these scholarly accounts: Youn-ok
My description
"Japanese Colonial Rule and State-Managed
Son, Prostitution: Korea's Licensed Pros
titutes" (171-219); and Chin Sung Chung, "The
Origin and Development of the Mil
Sexual Problem in both in Positions 5 (Spring
itary Slavery Imperial Japan" (222-23),
Women: Sexual in the
1997); Yoshimi Yoshiaki, Comfort Slavery JapaneseMilitary duringWorld
War II (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), 205; and Margaret Stetz and
Bonnie B.C. Oh, eds., Legacies of theComfortWomen ofWorld War II (New York: East Gate,
2001).
18. Yoshiaki, ComfortWomen, 205.
19. The RAA was composed of eight organizations, including the Tokyo Restaurant
Association, the Federation of Tokyo Assignation House Operators' Association, and
the Tokyo House of Assignation [Brothel] Association, formed by those who owned
various see Yoshiaki,
types of houses of prostitution: ComfortWomen, 180-81. The
Japanese government invested 100million yen in its establishment and mobilized
local authorities to be involved. See Yuki at
http://nessaranga.najun.net/bbs/view.
l&snl =&d.
php?id=femin&page=
20. Jeon, "U.S. Korean Policy and the Moderates the U.S. Military Government
during
Era," 81.
21. E. Grant Meade, American Military Government in Korea
(New York: Columbia
218-19. to a U.S. report,
University Press, 1951), According "despite Japan's endeavor
to . . . the stan
improve Koreans' general health with strict quarantine regulations
dard of sanitation for the Korean remained extremely low," "Public
population
Health Problems of South Korea 1950, 9-12," Report, U.S. Armed Forces in South

Na YoungLee 479
Korea,Box 726.1 (Venereal Diseases), National Archives II,

College Park, Maryland.
references to this collection will be abbreviated as USAFIK, 726.1.
Subsequent
22. of the Government and Women
Hwang Jeongmi, "The Construction after Liberation,
1946-1960: Focusing on the Women's Bureau" (Haehang Hu Choji Gukakigu-ui Hyeong
Hankuk-hakhono. 109
seonggwaYeoseong, 1946-1960: BunyeogukeulJungsimeuro), 167.
(2002):
23. Ordinance No. 18, issued on 27 Oct. 1945, added welfare functions and the
changed
name of the bureau to the Bureau of Public Health and Welfare, and Ordinance No.
25, dated 7 Nov. 1945, established a of Public Health and Welfare in each
Department
province. Ordinance No. 114, on 23 Oct. 1946, changed the "bureau" into a "depart
ment" Public Health Problems of South Korea 1950,12-13, USAFIK, 726.1.
24. Meade, AmericanMilitary GovernmentinKorea, 219-20.
25. Allan M. Brant, No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in theUnited States since
1880 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), 166, 54.
26. Title 18,Crimes and Criminal Procedure, at
www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/
policy/army/fm/19-10/Ch6.htm#slp3.
27. Col. H. McNinch, "Venereal Disease Problems, U.S. Army Forces, Far East,
Joseph
1950-1953," presented 27 Apr. 1954 to the Course on Recent Advances inMedicine
and Surgery, Army Medical Service Graduate School, Walter Reed Army Medical
Center, Washington, D.C, 145, available at
http://history.amedd.army.mil/books
docs/korea/recad2/ch4-2.htm.
28. Chosun Ilbo, 1May 1946; Donga Ilbo, 24 July 1946, 10Dec. 1946.
29. Donga Ilbo, 24 July 1946, 10 Dec. 1946, 11 and 24 Sept. 1947; Chosun Ilbo, 12 Oct. 1947;
LISA Government in Korea (hereafter LISAMGIK) APO 235
Headquarters Military
Unit 2, USAMGIK Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council, 27 July 1948;
Korean Activities: Prepared
"South Interim Government by National Economic
Board," 27 1947,175, USAFIK, 726.1; and 29 Feb. 1948,191, USAFIK, 726.1.

30. Lt. Col. MC Surgeon, "Factors Influencing Rates, VD Rates
Joseph T. Cap?es, during
the Last Six Months of 1948 and January 1947," 2 Feb. 1949 (hereafter Joseph T. Cap?es,
"Report of Venereal Disease"); Surgeon, "Venereal Disease Reports"; Orlando Ward

to Lieutenant General R.
(Major General, U.S. Army Commanding),"Letter Hodge,
12 Apr. 1948 (hereafter Ward, "Letter to Lieutenant General R. Hodge"); Head
quarters 6th Division APO 6, USAMGIK, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD

Infantry
Control Council," 11May 1948; Headquarters XXIV Corps APO 235, USAMGIK,
"Minutes of theMeetings of VD Control Council," 12May 1948; 6th Infantry Division
APO 6, USAMGIK, "Minutes of theMeetings of VD Control Council," 12May 1948;
all inUSAFIK, 726.1. Also Meade, AmericanMilitary GovernmentinKorea, 220?21.
31. Imha Yi, "U.S. Occupation in East Asia and Sexuality"
(Mikun-ui Tongassia Judunkwa
in East and Discovery
Ssaekssuoliti), Asia, Modernity, ofWomen, ed. Park Ui-Kyong (Seoul:
277.
Chong-oram, 2004), 267, 273,
32. Donga Ilbo, 24 July 1946, 10Dec. 1947, 11 Sept. 1947, 24 Sept. 1947; Chosun Ilbo, 19 July
1947,12 Oct. 1947.
33. See Soh, "Women's Sexual Labor and State in Korean History," 173; Yu, "Gender
Policy under the Japanese Occupation," 297-98; and Son, "Japanese Colonial Rule and

480 iNaYounqLee
Prostitution," 196.
State-Managed
34. "Code of the U.S. Military Government in South Korea" (Mi Gunryung
Beopjip) (Seoul:
26.
Beopjecheo [legislative office], 1952),
35. Yi Baeyong, "Changes inWomen's Lives and Gender Consciousness under the U.S.
Military Government in South Korea, 1945-1948" (Migunjeonggi Yeoseong Saenghwalui
ByeonmowaYeoseonguisik, 1945-1948) (Seoul: Yeoksa-hakbo, 1996), 150; 240-45; 251.

36. Puin Ilbo, 19Nov. 1948.
37. Chosun Ilbo, 12Apr. 1947, 19 July 1947.
38. See U.S. Library of Congress
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@
field(DOCID+kr0024.
39. "Minutes of theMeetings of VD Control Council," 28 Jan. 1948, 201-2, USAFIK, 726.1.
40. Ibid., 29 Feb. 1948,191.
41. Ibid., 28 Jan. 1948, 201-2; Headquarters XXIV Corps APO 235, "Minutes of the
of VD Control Council," 2 1948,USAFIK, 726.1.
Meetings July
42. "Code of the U.S. Military Government," (legislative office), 1952, 179. Jong-Seong
Pak, ProstitutioninKorea (HangukuiMaechun) (Seoul: Ingansarang Press, 1994), 66-67, 84-86.
43. Chosun Ilbo, 22May 1948, 14 June 1948.
44. "Minutes of theMeetings of VD Control Council," 29 Feb. 1948,191, USAFIK, 726.1.
45. Sixth Infantry Division, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council," 5 Oct.
1948, USAFIK, 726.1; Oseong Sin, "Study of Public Health and Medical Care after the
Korean War, 1945-1959" ("Hangukcheonjaeng jeonhuuiBogeonuiryoeGwanhan Yeonku") (M.A.
thesis, Seoul National University of Korea, 1989), 57; Headquarters Special Troops
"Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council," 22 Jan. 1949, USAFIK, 726.1; and
Ward, "Letter to Lieutenant General R. Hodge."
Joseph T. Cap?es, "Factors Influencing Rates, VD Rates during the Last Six Months
46. of
1948 and January 1947."
47. Headquarters USAFIK APO 235, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council,"
26 Feb. 1949,USAFIK, 726.1.
48. Ward, "Letter to Lieutenant General R. Hodge"; Headquarters XXIV Corps, APO 235,
11May 1948; TFYSG, 11May 1948; and UASFIK APO 235, 1Aug. 1948; all in USAFIK,
726.1.
49. For more information on the U.S. military STDs two wars,
policy regarding during
see Brant, No
Magic Bullet.
50. Headquarters USAFIK APO 235, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council,"
26 Feb. 1949,USAFIK, 726.1.
51. Headquarters USAFIK APO 235, No. 726.1, Instructor's Lecture, "The Eternal Fight,"
inMinutes of theMeetings of VD Control Council, 26
August 1948-September 1949,
Feb. 1949, 2-3, USAFIK, 726.1.
52. Global Security, "Crime 2006, at www.globalsecurity.org/military/
Prevention,"
Headquarters USAFIK, APO 235,

library/policy7army/fm/19-10/Ch6.htm#slp3;
Instructor's Lecture, "The Eternal 26 Feb. 1949, 4-5.
Fight,"
53. Instructor's Lecture, "The Eternal Fight," 2-3.
54. McNinch, "Venereal Disease Problems, U.S. Army Forces, Far East, 1950-1953," 145,
USAFIK, 726.1.

Na YoungLee 481
XXIV of VD Control
55. Headquarters Corps APO 235, "Minutes of the Meetings
Council," 27 Sept. 1948; XXIV Corps APO 235, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD
Control Council," 1Oct. 1948; all inUSAFIK, 726.1.
56. Cap?es, "Report of Venereal Disease Rates during the Last Six Months of 1948 and
January 1949," and Surgeon, "Venereal Disease Reports," 2 Feb. 1949; both inUSAFIK,
726.1.
57. See "Venereal Disease Reports" released from Headquarters USAFIK APO 235, 29
31 Jan. 1947; Korea Base Command APO 901, 23 Dec. 1947; 80th
Aug. 1946;WDAO-C,
Medical Group APO 235, 20 Apr. 1948; Korea Base Command APO 901, 1 June 1948;
USAFIK APO 235, 7 June 1948; 790th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion
APO 6,25 Sept. 1948; Office of the XXIV
Chaplain Headquarters Special Troops Corps
APO 235, 25 Oct. 1948; and General Headquarters Far East Command APO 500, 8 Apr.
1949; all in USAFIK, 726.1.

58. USAFIK APO 235, "Venereal Disease
Reports," 14Aug. 1948; USAFIK APO 235, Head
quarters Special Troops, "Venereal Disease Reports," 22 Jan. 1949; and Surgeon, "VD
Rates during the Last Six Months of 1948 and January 1949," 2 Feb. 1949; all in
USAFIK, 726.1.
of VD Control Council,"
59. 61st Ordinance Group APO 901, "Minutes of the Meetings
28 Sept. 1948; and Headquarters USAFIK APO 235, Lecture "Treatment of Venereal
Diseases and Its Limitations," in Venereal Disease Control, 26 Feb. 1949, 1-2; both in
USAFIK, 726.1.
60. Chosun Ilbo, 22May 1948,14 June 1948.
61. Durebang, Educational Resource Material for Uprooting Prostitution in Northern
Province Insinmaemae Wihan 53.
Gyeonggi Mokjeokui
(Seongmaemae Geunjeoleul Jaryojip)(2004),
62. 2004.
Ilyosisa,24 Oct.
63. Korea Church Women United Counseling Center for Migrant Women Workers, A
Fieldwork on Trafficked Women in Korea Inssinmaemae
Report (Hankukui
Saeumto, Research on Conditions of Prostitution in
Heonhwang) (Seoul, 1999);
Province for Alternative Policy (Gyeonggi-jiyok Maechun Yeoseongae
Gyeonggi
Daehan Siltae Josa) (sponsored by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, 2001), 133;
and Stars and Stripes,28 Nov. 2004.


Military Prostitution in South Korea

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Military Prostitution in South Korea

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

The Construction of Military Prostitution in South Korea during the U.S.

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

S IN C E S E PT EM B E R I 9 4 5when the 24th Army Corps, consisting of some

FeministStudies33, :no. 3 (Fall 2007). C 2007 by Feminist Studies, Inc.

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

prostitutionisconcentratedin four largecamptowns:Dongducheon,

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

Thistlethwaite indicatethatthesex tradein thevicinity ofmilitarybasesis

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

LICENSED PROSTITUTION UNDER JAPANESE COLONIAL RULE

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

visibleevenbeforetheJapanese occupation. When theGoryeo Dynasty

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

niedbya government-regulated systemofcompulsory STD examinations

THE U.S. MILITARY GOVERNMENT' S

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

returningfrom more distantclubswere "exposedtostreetsand buildings

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

THE ABOLITION OF LICENSED PROSTITUTION IN THE

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

South :Korea's population, estimated at just over 16million in 1.945,grew

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

CONTINUITIES IN PRACTICE AFTER ABOLITION

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

with STDs. Many militarv officers complained that enforcement of Public

On 14February 1948,PublicAct No. 7was placed into effectby the Interim

A special meeting was held at the Bando Hotel in Seoul on May 7,

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

were treatedin theoutpatient

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

femininecompanionship" increasedas STD rates rose.The military

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

registration of "entertainment workers"withincamptowns who are still

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

Korean societyingeneral by limitingprostitutionto restrictedareas

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980).

(unpub. manu., 1995), and Stories ofDurebang: 15thAnniversaryCelebrationResourceMaterials

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

(Seoul: Hyeonsil Munhwa Yeongu, 1999), 215-21.

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

Korea,Box 726.1 (Venereal Diseases), National Archives II,

Board," 27 1947,175, USAFIK, 726.1; and 29 Feb. 1948,191, USAFIK, 726.1.

"Report of Venereal Disease"); Surgeon, "Venereal Disease Reports"; Orlando Ward

quarters 6th Division APO 6, USAMGIK, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

Military Government in South Korea, 1945-1948" (Migunjeonggi Yeoseong Saenghwalui

ByeonmowaYeoseonguisik, 1945-1948) (Seoul: Yeoksa-hakbo, 1996), 150; 240-45; 251.

Headquarters USAFIK, APO 235,

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

1949; all in USAFIK, 726.1.

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:18:17 PM

Você também pode gostar