United States military and prostitution in South Korea

United States military and prostitution in South Korea
Uniform Code of Military Justice warning poster against prostitution and human trafficking posted by USFK.
Korean name
Hangul양공주[1]
Hanja洋公主
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationYanggongju
McCune–ReischauerYanggongju
Alternative Korean name
Hangul미군 위안부[2][3]
Hanja美軍慰安婦
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationMigun wianbu
McCune–ReischauerMigun wianbu

During and following the Korean War, the United States military used regulated prostitution services in South Korean military camptowns. Despite prostitution being illegal since 1948, women in South Korea were the fundamental source of sexual services for the US military and a component of Korean-American relations.[4] The women in South Korea who served as prostitutes are known as kijichon (기지촌) women, also called as "Korean Military Comfort Women", and were visited by the US military, Korean soldiers, and Korean civilians. The prostitutes were from Korea, Philippines,[5] China, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States[6][7][8] (specifically Russia, Kazakhstan[7][9][10][8] and Ukraine).[11]

  1. ^ Rhee, Young-hoon (2009-06-01). "그날 나는 왜 그렇게 말하였던가". New Daily. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 박정희 정부, 미군 위안부·기지촌 여성' 직접 관리 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 경향신문20131106 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Lee 2011.
  5. ^ Okubo & Shelley 2011, p. 167.
  6. ^ Chow, Segal & Lin 2011, p. 87.
  7. ^ a b Hughes 2010, p. 125.
  8. ^ a b Finckenauer 2007.
  9. ^ Renzaho 2016.
  10. ^ Soh 2008.
  11. ^ "The "Natasha" Trade:Transnational Sex Trafficking". National Institute of Justice Journal (246). U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice: 10. January 2001.