Prostitution in North Korea is illegal and is not visible to visitors. Allegedly, the kippumjo provides sexual entertainment to high-ranking officials. Meanwhile, some North Korean women who migrate to China become involved in prostitution.
Video Prostitution in North Korea
Private prostitution
Under Article 261 of the Criminal law, prostitution is punishable by up to two years labour if engaged in "multiple times". According to CIA analyst Helen-Louise Hunter, during the rule of Kim Il-sung, there was no organized prostitution, but some prostitution was still practiced discreetly near railroad stations and restaurants. While defectors currently report widespread prostitution, this is not experienced by visitors to the country.
Maps Prostitution in North Korea
Kippumjo
The kipp?mjo is an alleged collection of groups of approximately 2,000 women and girls that is maintained by the head of state of North Korea for the purpose of providing pleasure, mostly of a sexual nature, and entertainment for high-ranking Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) officials and their families, as well as occasionally distinguished guests. Its prostitutes are known as manjokcho (??? "satisfaction team(s)") and are organised as a part of the kipp?mjo, 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. For a girl selected to serve in the kipp?mjo, 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 kipp?mjo 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 kipp?mjo activities are massaging and half-naked singing and dancing.
Prostitution of North Koreans in China
Some North Korean women who migrate to China become prostitutes, either voluntarily or forcibly. According to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights, when the women are repatriated to North Korea, they are subjected to forced abortion and their mixed race children are subject to infanticide.
See also
- Prostitution in South Korea
- Prostitutes in South Korea for the U.S. military
References
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
- Child exploitation not new to stricken region
- Illegal Prostitution Occurring in Massage Parlors and Bathhouses
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments