Sex workers in Seoul's last red-light district fret over future

Area to undergo redevelopment, but move won't stamp out prostitution, say experts

- Chang May Choon

SEOUL Located a stone's throw away from the flashy Times Square mall are two rows of glass doors with faded red shades.

All is quiet in the day, with curtains drawn and nary a soul out in the street.

But when night falls, red lights turn on and skimpily dressed women open curtains to beckon the men and cars passing by.

When a deal is struck - the going rate is 100,000 won (S$104) for 15 minutes the woman and her client disappear behind drawn curtains while her pimp stands guard opposite her so-called "glass house".

Welcome to Capital Alley, the little-known last surviving red-light district in Seoul that is set to be demolished in 2025, when the area undergoes redevelopment.

The Sunday Times spotted 13 working girls there on a Wednesday evening in June.

"Everyone here is worried about our future," said the only one willing to speak briefly to ST.

Clad in a short dress accentuating her long legs and with heavy make-up over her doe eyes and pouty lips, she reminds one of South Korean actress Yoo In-na.

"If red-light districts keep getting removed, the people working there will have no choice but to retreat into the dark (to continue working)," she added. "We don't even earn a lot of money from this; why do people hate us?"

Prostitution is illegal but tolerated in South Korea. The country passed an anti-prostitution law in 1961, then enacted a Bill in 2004 to ban commercial sex acts and protect victims.

In the years that followed, the local authorities moved to clamp down on prostitution and eradicate brothels, including 156 in the once-thriving Cheongnyangni 588 in north-eastern Seoul.

As at 2021, however, there were still 15 red-light districts in the country down from 35 two decades ago, according to government data.

Records showed there were about 900 women working in these areas, although actual numbers were believed to be higher.