American troops contributed nearly 25 percent of South Korea’s gross national
product, and the sex industry accounted for over half of the local economies
surrounding military bases


As of 2000, it was estimated that up to
twenty percent of Korean women between the ages of 15 and 29 had been
involved with jobs that served sexual purposes.


After having my body ravaged by
several customers in a row I just get too tired to move my limbs. At times like
that, I need a shot of heroin. […] I can’t help but take the drug in order to keep
myself in working condition’”.74 These young women, who were often coerced or
kidnapped by pimps, primarily served lower class men who could not afford sex
tours or expensive call girls. The average street prostitute charged approximately
50,000-100,000 won, or the equivalent of the cost of “a few beers”