US Military Rule Established Foundations of South Korea's Camptown Prostitution System 1945-1948

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: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20459155
Accessed: 04-09-2018 16:34 UTC
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The Construction of
Military Prostitution in
South Korea during the

U.S. Military Rule,
1945-1948
Na Young Lee
S I N C E S E P T E M B E R I 9 4 5 when 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 in Korean so
ciety. With the formal independence of South Korea, the number of U.S.
personnel was reduced to 22,823 in 1948, and the withdrawal of occupation
forces began on June 30, 1949.1 Soon, however, the Korean War turned the
peninsula back into a zone of protracted military confrontation. Ac
cording to a Korean nongovernmental organization (NGO), 101 military
facilities, including fifty camps, 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, the United States had at least 35,000 troops
in South Korea in the early 2000s.
Small villages that depend entirely on the U.S. military economy have
developed around the main U.S. bases. These "camptowns" (in Korean,
gqjlchon'), with their commercial districts filled with clubs, bars, brothels,
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
Feminist Studies 33, :no. 3 (Fall 2007). C 2007 by Feminist Studies, Inc.
453
454 Na Young Lee
prostitution is concentrated in fo
Pyeongtaek, Paju, and Uijeongbu. M
the total population of the province
The number of so-called entertainme
required to enter and work in the
the 1960s and remained around 20,000
approximately one sex worker for eve
Despite the official illegality of d
government tacitly condones and a
U.S. military bases. As Katharine M
tion has actually served the economic
national security. The presence of U
South Korea's GNP, playing an especia
and prostitution and related busin
camptowns' economy.5 The Korean
spaces as open only to U.S. military
two largest gijichon, Dongducheon
Special Tourism Districts in 1997.6 W
industry of these areas must be regi
inations for sexually transmitted
monly call these sex workers derogat
whore) and yanggongju (Western p
these women as pariahs, dirty trash,
personally for their situation, differ
as chaste daughters and faithful wiv
Korean national pride. The Korean
ized the gilichon as buffer zones tha
Korean society and prohibit ordina
Korean women, from interacting
economic benefits that the U.S. milit
foreign soldiers provide.
The presence of prostitutes around
lation of sex workers who serve so
European, U.S., and Asian military
imperial occupation or colonial
Na Younfg Lee 455
Thistlethwaite indicate that the sex trade

ubiquitous; indeed, camp followers
European armies since at least the sev
tained a system of regulated prostitution
Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai,
abolished in 1.886, and women serving
undergo regular examinations designed t
II, the large-scale sale of women's sexual
public outrage in Okinawa, the Philippin
Feminist scholarship has analyzed no
prostitution by states, occupying armies
connections among militarism, sexuality
interlocking forces that construct and m
However, the process through which
came entrenched in South Korea rem
consider both the asymmetrical. powe
between Koreans and foreign occupier
that were constructed between the U.S.
which must be understood within the co
and society.
Korean feminist NGOs have had significant success in bringing mili
tary prostitution into Korean public consciousness, while challenging
patriarchal assumptions and shifting attention from the personal charac
teristics of sex workers to structural, systemic, and social problems."' For
them, all forms of prostitution are inherently coercive and abusive and
constitute violence against women, and the suggestion is that prostitution
has been introduced or at least greatly fomented in Korea through colo
nialist or imperialist interventions by other countries. In contrast, I argue
that their view of the responsibility of the United States for erecting the
system is exaggerated; it not only underestimates the active roles played
by local Koreans but also bypasses the historical roots of military prostitu
tion on the peninsula. Furthermore, domestic prostitution as well as
camptown prostitution has been an integral part of international tourism,
which caters to the sexual desires of foreigners. Heart-wrenching descrip
tions focused on victimized women often eclipse more comprehensive
456 Na Young Lee
understanding of the historical construction
the shifts in its form that have occurred over
Although the Korean system has parallel
colonialism, and military occupation, t
Korea's system of combining criminalized an
put in place sheds significant new light on t
shaped this system and on the shifting st
military regimes. In tracing the developmen
and regulated prostitution I argue that it
system erected by the Japanese military
policy took over the foundation laid by t
system to achieve the dual goals of satisfyin
controlling STDs during the period of U.
(1945-1948). Korea's elite leaders also figur
accepting the link between military cam
camptown prostitution as natural, I show
health officials interacted with Korean leade
system, one in which prostitution was tolera
but prohibited elsewhere. To reconstruct the
utilize primary sources including the mi
meetings of the U.S. military government
Army Forces in Korea, and newspaper
research at the U.S. National Archives II, the
Washington, D.C., the Korean Library of Con
Library at the University of Maryland. In pa
committee meetings held by the U.S. militar
from the files on "venereal diseases" at th
excellent information regarding the emergen
well as U.S. military policies to control prost
LICENSED PROSTITUTION UNDER JAPA

Key elements of the system of camptown pro
World War II can be traced to Korea's long hi
A substantial foreign military presence comb
prostitution in Korea produced a system of m
Na Young Lee 457
visible even before the Japanese occ

(918-1392) on the peninsula came un
state was forced to round up young
(literally, tribute women) to Mongo
The Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910) con
women to China's Ming Dynasty (13
Chosun Dynasty, kisaeng (female ente
were trained as registered entertainer
ruling stratum including landowners,
kisaeng ranked low in the social hierar
the period when. women's virginity
because they occasionally bartered sex
professional kisaeng, like a Japanese g
literature and enjoyed a certain resp
plishments. These entertainers were n
easily purchased in return for money
tion of prostitutes, but rather as a sym
As Japan transplanted its modern, c
tion to Korea, however, the kisaeng's
society were dra.matically changed, an
institution of prostitution. The sin
distinguishes this form of prostitution
rial Japan that, through its state-regu
systematically, strategically, and co
using ever-increasing numbers of the
This commercial system had its ro
Japanese colonialism on the peninsu
women by the foreign military.
In 1904, the Japanese embassy on
Kyungsung Consulate Order No. 3, w
tence of prostitutes, identifying them
return for selling sex to anybody w
mately authorized "pleasure quarter
region where the Japanese came to be
Japan's 1910 annexation of Korea mar
458 Na Young Lee
zation of licensed prostitution. Befor

tution were issued by the councils
resided; after annexation, the provi
took over the responsibility. The ch
designate as well as control the rest
.required to live and work.
In March 1916, the colonial gove
Houses of Assignation and Prosti
Administration Division Ordinan
Regulations; Restaurant and Bar Con
Shakufu (chakbu), and Geisha House
tions consolidated the licensed pros
granting licenses to operate related b
lations to control prostitutes.
The most prominent characteristics
registration system and compulsory
Japan, the government had carried o
nations for STDs in Nagasaki's red-lig
sian. Navy in the late-nineteenth ce
examinations were instituted in the o
colonies including Korea under "civ
cies. After the annexation of Korea
ordered prostitutes in Seoul to hav
patched public medical doctors to 186
a result, 27,539 Korean women were f
1911 and 50,904 in 1915.1' To avoid th
many women stopped working tempo
and others overdosed on opium.4 So
Suwon called for strikes, demandin
conducted twice a week, because this i
Another feature of the licensed pro
ment of so-called pleasure quarters w
and where their lives and bodies we
state surveillance. The extensive pleas
Pusan and seonhwa-dong in Incheon, r
Na Young Lee 459
even today. Kisaeng tried to form self-gover

deteriorating conditions in the pleasure qua
improve their working conditions continue
According to Yu HaeJeong, during the 1930
to amend the harsh regulations in response
to improve their working conditions; a fre
into effect in 1935.16 Some prostitutes eve
social movements to abolish the sex trade. H

protests nor the Korean antiprostitution
broader nationalist struggle during that pe
resistance, which was nurtured by their lo
fade by the late 1930s as licensed prostitutio
Korea along with the establishment of Japan
From the onset of Japan's imperial end
ment maintained red-light districts solely f
and in its colonies. But it was not until 1937
and army began to construct full-scale mili
stations."t7 Some military brothels were bui
applied for permission to do so; others wer
redesignated for military use. Yoshimi Yosh
brothels for the exclusive use of the Japan
occupied territories was easily accepted in a
phere already accustomed to licensed pr
frequent rapes that were hindering militar
outbreak of full-scale hostilities in its coloni
massacre in 1937, the Japanese military c
military brothels essential to maintaining d
soldiers to follow orders unconditionally
commander of Japanese troops dispatched
to build military brothels in Nanjing, and t
ordered military police to build brothels
Military Affairs, a subgroup of the Ministr
1938 to the commanders of troops in nor
people to mobilize women for military brot
in Manchuria planned special training sessio
460 Na Young Lee
Russia, the army requested 20

Korean colonial government, a
purpose. The targeted mobi
women" was originally design
because Korean young women
and therefore uninfected. Based
tution and the widespread netw
colonial rule, Japan could qui
though the majority was rec
women who worked in cafes
solicited to serve Japanese sol
200,000 young Korean women
throughout Asia and the South
experiencing daily sexual abuse,
and hard labor, most of these
retreating Japanese troops durin
The Japanese authorities sough
own country in the face of th
1945, just three days after the J
to surrender, the government
tion of brothels for the use of
Bureau instructed regional gov
censed prostitutes, waitresses
nales was that they would se
chastity. Responding to the ord
creation and Amusement Asso
foreign soldiers, Komachien,
August 27, 1945, one day bef
Japan. 19
The instrumentalization of wvomen's sexuality for the use of the mili
tary originating during Japanese colonial rule system laid the basis for U.S.
policy. As licensed prostitution was widely deployed in conjunction with
Korean women's enforced sexual labor for Japanese soldiers, the domestic
institution of kisaeng was transformed into commercial prostitution and
sexual slavery. The red-light district with congregated brothels accompa
Na Young Lee 46I
nied by a government-regulated syst

facilitated the control of prostitut
vicinity of military camps served th
The foundational elements of gijichon
by the Japanese and made available to
THE U.S. MILITARY GOVERNME

REGULATION OF PROSTITUTES
Korea regained its independence in
Japan at the end of World War II.
Japanese surrender, issued by Gener
included the provision that the Un
peninsula south of the thirty-eighth
cialist Republics would occupy the re
once the occupation was completed
Army Military Government was es
and U.S. troops were stationed thro
official declaration, the "provisional
forces ... rules, leads, and controls Ko
of establishing a democratic governm
in the southern part of the peninsula
as an occupation force whose sole m
defend the sovereignty of South Kor
the establishment of an independent
Upon arrival in Korea, the U.S. ar
that "the Orient was ridden with exo
"an absence of any conception of clea
health of U.S. soldiers was in jeopard
intitiated a policy for its occupation
"combat against diseases," includ
diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria,
nance signed by the Military Govern
was to establish the Bureau of Pub
powers and then, over several week
sibility for this department fell u
462 Na Young Lee
Company, who had extensive combat e

of the problems posed by rampant
ducted a survey of provincial publi
estimated what health measures were
Officially, U.S. Department of Defen
areas under its control. The May Act,
before the Japanese attack on Pearl H
war, made it unlawful, within "reason
establishments, to engage in prostitut
procure or solicit for the purpose of
tion was intended to protect the "eff
Army and Navy." STDs had long bee
ers; given that sexual relations with f
inevitable part of the modern militar
Brant defines as the belief that "me
dictating that "whoever engages in pr
tion" was to be fined up to $1,000 or
Act was viewed as an indication of
commitment to repression of prostitu
Beneath the broad concerns about
Koreans lay the crux of the issue fo
from communicable diseases. Becau
conditions accompanied with lack of f
tute or her clients" was common amo
the "unclean non-American" prostit
sake of U.S. soldiers' health and welfa
The military government set up se
tutes and control STDs. The U.S. occ
the Corps Surgeon in Seoul on Sept
established dispensaries and started
Medical inspectors examined bars a
tions, and "venereal disease control
licensed prostitues in the pleasure
design and implement more effective
established VD Control Councils in
Na Younq Lee 463
chaplains corps, the special. se

ment and recreation programs
the :medical department. Thei
examined the STD rates amon
each unit and made recommen
Based upon those recommendat
dangerous women who dissem
to regular examinations. The m
tions among kwonbeon (kisaeng)
Health and Welfare. According t
examination was conducted in
STD checks were imperative b
cated that over 60 percent of pr
these measures more effective,
trol Section under the Departme
1947 and introduced periodic e
taining girls," including kisaeng,
"certificates of health" to those
including both regularly sched
checks in the "pleasure quarters
unions called for strikes. Howe
waged systematically, because fa
nation resulted in their loss of l
Women found to be infected w
noninfectious. Many were sen
others were locked up in a wom
considered cured were urged
number of patients treated in t
cially opened in December 1947,
191 patients were treated in the
by the end of February 1948 to b
1947 and July 1948, a total of 1
the percentage reported to be in
The VD Council recommende
as near as possible to unit area
464 Na Younq Lee
returning from more distant c

where procurers, pimps and
system put in place by the imp
easily confined to small areas
Military Police detachments.
houses of prostitution once
hold "VD among the occupyin
government condoned the club
use of U.S. soldiers, despite the
of pimp activity."30
In its initial phrase, then, t
policy of controlling prostituti
ous mechanisms, including V
odic STD examinations, issuan
operation of enlisted men's c
government tolerated and regu
However, the policy could n
Korea's elite leaders' implicit
after independence, Korean pol
Seoul and Incheon, where about
troops. Although the system
lines of the RAA in Japan was
officially sponsored project of
establishments" catering sole
cabarets, dance halls, and luxur
bars, 12 cafes, and 14 cabarets
end of the year when 81 bars.
for soldiers were recorded.31
Significantly, Korea's elite
government to undertake com
aimed at prostitutes. When S
kisaeng in 1946, the director o
insisted that "all people enga
have the examination to eradica
STDs. This rationale was supp
Na Young Lee 465
under the stated justification of erad

beong)" that could threaten Korea's
competitively and continuously rep
"for the sake of the Democratic Natio
"social disease" that might affect "
Because prostitution was depicted in t
and a cradle of demoralization," el
necessary to nation-building.32 Howe
tion and the demarcation between he
prostitutes to be both controllable
soldiers. Rather than a public health
ests, these practices facilitated the m
women's bodies for foreign soldiers.
THE ABOLITION OF LICENSED P

NAME OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
Many Korean women considered sta
legacy of feudal, premodern, and col
nated in order to realize democracy,
en's rights. The first acts of resist
colonial Korea had occurred in the
Christian women. In 1923, the a
Christian Temperance Union emerged
Licensed Prostitution (SALP) was estab
role in forming these groups. The
some specifically for youth, and collec
the Government General. In 1925, be
in Wando-gun Province staged a dem
tion. Ever since, abolition of prosti
issues of concern for various women'
Outlawing rather than licensing pro
the U.S. goal of turning Korea into
though some European countries st
policy criminalized sex work. In keep
the military government prom
466 Na Young Lee
Prohibition of Trafficking of Women and
Trafficking," on May 17, 1946, which foll
the Rules Regulating Licensed Prostitute
even though these measures prohibit
contracting of women for sale, they
Women's organizations, including both
considered this step inadequate, arguing th
vestige of Japanese imperialism and an o
August 10, 1946, Korean women formed
Women's Organizations (Buneodanclie-chongg
active campaign for the abolition of licens
idea that prostitution was inimical to n
human rights. Consistent protests waged b
of Legalized Prostitution ((Amonchangje Py

Malbong, and by the Union of Chosen W
maeng), a social-democratic group comm
part of the liberation of women, brough
U.S. military government.35
In response to this resistance and petitio
by various women's groups and the pre
clared through the South Korean Interi
the basic direction for a new prostitution
South Korean Interim Government, the
tion Law, was passed by the SKILA with
Lerch on November 11, 1947, and took effe
In practice, the new policy abolished onl
ing "private" prostitution (sachatig) to s

newspaper, Puin Ilbo, claimed that the n
increased from 2,000 to 50,000 in the first
tion.36 According to articles appearing in th
these prostitutes were either war refugee
en suffering from serious economic di
"respectable families" trying to support th
fact, a vast influx of population combined
ment and severe poverty led many wom
Na Younq Lee 467
South :Korea's population, estim

by 21 percent during the fol
workers had returned from J
another 1.8 million had migr
were inhospitable to newcom
Seoul received upwards of one-
the labor force of 10 million w
The Women's Bureau, which
1946, under the Department o
Japanese colonial governmen
supposed to take charge of th
November 1947, the director
provinces, with the exceptio
Committees on Policies for
(Gongchangje Pyeji Daechaek Wiw
government to deal with the
benefits for women leaving
prostitution" throughout the
lems inherent in prostitution.
ties. Committees made up of
headed by governors were "d
Several conferences followed i
representatives, and U.S. adv
prostitution and definite plans
for example, focused on the "r
ing health treatment by the N
benefits provided by the Welf
would be processed by police
In principle, the national pol
prostitution "food and other
returning home ... [for] those
getting there," and welfare as
ished women. Policymakers ass
special rehabilitation program
women as former prostitute
468 Na Young Lee
adjustment to normal life if they rec

citizen needing assistance." Therefo
national funds will be available to the p
That decision was the kiss of death
housing, limited financial support,
employment, many of the former l
throughout the country to become
U.S. government document, "the gr
women if they are forced to leave thei
part of larger existing housing problem
of the success or failure of Public A
Prostitution Law. There are no low
homes for transients and no accom
February 1948, 1,400 of the approxi
South Korea, including approximatel
the remaining 800 scattered througho
alternative employment arranged by w
few could find other jobs.41
Although prostitution continued a
tary government was able to make us
its moral superiority to Japan. Public
"to eradicate evil customs of Japan
States represented itself as a "benign"
regime and as a symbol of liberal de
principle of "equality between men
message that the United States would
in violation of women's rights. The
for prosecuting both prostitutes and
of up to two years imprisonment and/
mately $50) on all persons involved
for punishing third parties such as pr
punishing both parties did not apply
was reported, only prostitutes were to
In sum, the state-regulated prostitu
name of U.S.-style liberal democracy
Na Young9 Lee 469
emancipatory rhetoric promoting "gender eq
the United States was interested neither in th
tion nor in the protection of prostitutes' h
genuine concern was to reduce STD rates by reg
tively disguising its engagement with and comp
of military prostitution. The U.S. policy i
sustained by contradictory impulses. The stat
had been inherited from Japan was abolished, bu
U.S. soldiers from STDs, a new system that p
successfully created.
CONTINUITIES IN PRACTICE AFTER ABO

After the enactment of Public Act No. 7, the
ostensibly attempted to suppress prostitution
policy. Former prostitutes became subject
strongly encouraged to return "home" or confin
be "cured."44 However, abolishing prostitution
abolishing the licensing of prostitution. Because
the women returning from overseas, the lack o
ties, and the lack of welfare assistance, the K
efforts of the Korean women's movement-to ab
of prostitutes led only to the "privatization" of
this privatization, it became hard for the U.S. m
control prostitutes. Regulatory measures such
and enforced confinement within designated
on prostitutes who were scattered throughou
losing control over prostitutes escalated with
among U.S. soldiers.
By September 1948, soaring STD rates conne
prostitutes and pimps embarrassed unit comm
the attention of President Harry S. Truman. It w
in 1948 averaged 100 per 1000 soldiers. Among Ko
survey conducted by the Korean National Hospit
Public Health and Welfare in Korea, two-thir
servants, dancers, and other types of prostitute
4 70 Na Young Lee
with STDs. Many militarv officers complained
Act No. 7 outlawing legalized prostitution
control the activities of prostitutes, pointing
reason for the dispersion of prostitutes over t
that prostitution should be handled by segreg
inspection.45 The disparity between actual U

stated policy prohibiting prostitution is appar
military surgeon:
On 14 February 1948, Public Act No. 7 was placed

Korean Government. This law prohibited legalize
formerly were confined to small areas which cou
by Military Police detachments. Outlawing of th
in a widespread scattering. Formerly the profe
representative, the panderer, displayed little int
ever, with the moving into widespread areas t
tered on obtaining the American dollar and g
practice, the Military police utilized vice squads w
tary and native personnel. Prostitutes and pan
were brought before the Provost Court and give
dure succeeded in markedly curtailing their activ
On that day the new Korean Government was
thereafter assumed full jurisdiction over Kor
authority of the Army Provost Court removed,
fied their activities, a factor which contributed gr
venereal disease rates occurring since that time.A*
A special meeting was held at the Bando

1948, to discuss the reasons for rising STD rat
control measures. Because the issue of STDs
in relation to the problem of prostitution, an
military authorities to mount attacks on p
cordingly, the Provost Marshal of the U.S. mil
squads" in Seoul and Pusan to arrest acti
Arrested women, who were assumed to carr
nals, were subject to mandatory STD exams
tion if found infected. According to the
Na Youngq Lee 471
meeting, 191 former licensed prostitutes were
service at Sunwha Hospital in Seoul and detained
they were completely cleared of STD infection.4
Koreans were tried in the U.S. military court
onment under the U.S. military government. Ho
cers were convinced that once their authority
removed and full jurisdiction handed over to Ko
tion of the Korean government in August 19
could not be effectively checked and, as a res
increased attention the U.S. military authorities
related to the Korean government's stubbornl
because Korean courts were not willing to pun
Public Act No. 7.48
Searching for some other form of control, th
rated the campaign against STDs among soldi
battle against STDs was a matter of military eff
morality, the military took preventive measu
laxis, both condoms to prevent infection and te
soldiers who contracted STDs.49 This policy, wh
during World War I, was based upon an imp
expression of male soldiers' sexual drives was ine
its ill effects was a more effective approach tha
order to carry out this campaign, the U.S. milit
education programs. All commissioned and no
were expected to take three one-hour courses
soldiers under their command.50 The program
Christian morality, personal. hygiene, and h
family values. As in other sex education materia
II, STDs were viewed as a consequence of laziness
not only jeopardized the soldier's health but a
others and thus a matter of military discipline.
i"enemy" that would decrease "combat po
defeated." The detailed guidelines distributed by
Korea (USAFIK) in 1949 were filled with milit
472 Na Youniq Lee
"when we come into grips with th

the forces of evil."'51
The inculcation of the "virtue" of
STD rates and ultimately to ens
well-being." Soldiers were reassur
virile manhood. One of the instr
quarters of the U.S. military in Sou
"illicit sexual intercourse does not
fair play and sportsmanship" and t
self-discipline is "for the strong, m
values were frequently emphasi
"temptation" by "the enemy." On
way of leaving scars on a man's sou
tions to commit adultery and forn
with wife and children or future w
surrenders to his desires and app
men." In the education program, f
"purity" of women-the mothers, s
diers to return home-and ultima
family was equated with endangeri
tion of the soldier, the gendered
feature of the lecture: "During suc
ration of a noble mother, reverenc
to resist temptation and make th
highest good and welfare should al
you-make the right choice for A
the "foreign" women who seduced
military effort.
Military authorities suggested th
to keep soldiers busy and deflect th
tion. Most U.S. soldiers stationed
ried, and those with wives and chil
them unlike soldiers in other bases
had long been an accepted form
inevitable, concern about young
Na Youngq Lee 473
feminine companionship" increased as STD
thought that language barriers, which bloc
mingling of young persons of opposite sexes,"
Recreational activities ranging from athletic
sightseeing tours were strongly encouraged, as
services.55 However, facilities for these "whole
inadequate because of "the normal delays in gett
vice flourished because of "the inability of the A
cooperation from the [Korean] civilian police."

rigorous schedule of physical training rathe
some" recreational activities to restrain their "r
For more effective preventive measures
Council meetings, prophylaxis was provided
many health officials expressed concern that t
would encourage soldiers to be promiscuous
obtain prophylactic kits before they were grant
units. Soldiers who returned late and intoxi
prophylactic treatment.57 In addition, week
made mandatory for soldiers. Those who con
Some were sent to the Rehabilitation Train
cording to the USAFIK Rehabilitation Center, o
147 infected soldiers out of 22,823 had been as
cent of whom were infected with gonorrhea a
The USAFIK Indoctrination Team also con
checks to enforce Public Act No. 7.58
Despite the United States' stated policy an
proliferation of prostitution, the military's st
unclear, and in practice it was contradictory
ation centers sponsored by the U.S. military
After the abolition of licensed brothels and
service clubs and dance halls became "legitim
and common sites for contact between soldiers
around the service club in Incheon, in particul
for contact between U.S. soldiers and Korean
that "the chances of not contracting a venerea
474 Na Young Lee
were very slight," the U.S. military

tions of prostitutes near bases.59 W
were identified as potential STD dis
as evil "temptresses" and "carriers
enemy-even though they were citizen
CONCLUSION
The system of camptown prostitution prevailing today was constructed
under U.S. Army Military Government rule between 1945 and 1948.
Despite formal prohibitions against traffic in women and licensed prosti
tution, the U.S. military government continued to regulate prostitutes
and control the spread of STDs among its troops by utilizing the infra
structure initially created by the Japanese, but now shifting public brothels
to camptowns near bases and delegating responsibility for the medical
surveillance of prostitutes to local authorities.
The practice and policies of military prostitution in South Korea were
erected and deployed through the two pha.ses of colonization. The foun
dations of the two major elements of gijichon-red-light districts as
commercialized spaces centered on brothels and a government
controlled registration system with compulsory STD examinations-were
established by the Japanese with their system of licensed prostitution.
Military prostitution for U.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
concentration of g1jichon prostitution in camptowns near bases. Because
Korean prostitutes were seen as conduits of STDs, concerns about the
health of U.S. soldiers led to the continued exercise of military control
over prostitutes. The continuity between Japanese policy and U.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
ing was put into place with the assistarnce of Korea's elite leaders: tolerat
ing prostitution in very visible camptowns, while outlawing it elsewhere
in Korean society. Ostensibly, "licenses" for "prostitutes" ceased with the
nationwide abolition of legal prostitution, but only to be replaced by the
Na Youi gLee 475
registration of "entertainment workers" w
required to undergo regular health exam
free of STDs. It is ironic that the shift from
regulated brothels to camptown prostituti
to the local Korean authorities, was adop
ishing prostitution. In fact it amounted to
personnel from STDs while ensuring the
Since then, the legal prohibition of pros
governments has coexisted with regulat
serving U.S. military bases.
Since the mid-1990s, foreign women hav
the (qijichon. According to research conduc
90 percent of gijichon prostitutes are now
same year, a member of the Korean Nati
Filipinas number 730 (81 percent), Russians
(9.8 percent) among 900 licensed g'ijich
Gyeonggi province.62 The women employ
tary camptowns are supposed to receive
including an HIV test every three months,
health records that confirm that they h
there.63 It is the women, not the U.S.
demonstrate that they are free of commun
are still treated as sources of crime and da
ing and control for the sake of U.S. soldier
Current U.S. policy concerning STDs an
tially resembles past policies.
Feminist scholars often emphasize con
prohibit prostitution on the one hand, a
nalize and regulate it on the other, but thi
of policies tha.t deal with sexuality may be
concerns policymakers bring to bear in spe
U.S. military bases' primary aim was to pro
Korean policymakers were divided between
prostitution and those who drew on th
interaction between soldiers and local w
476 Na Youngq Lee
Korean society in general by limiting prosti
directly around the bases and to women who hav
employment there so that they will not easily,
into Korean society more broadly.
During the fifty years that U.S. bases have ex
camptowns created by these interacting polic
borderland culture around the edges of U.S. mili
ent set of policies-specifically, policies allowing
families to live near them in South Korea as t
and elsewhere-have produced a different resu
duced South Korea's camptowns reflect comp
dictory motives on the part of different
understanding of the interaction between mil
efforts to regulate sexuality. A. more precise th
that reflects the complications that arise out
dynamics that are in play in systems of prostitu
complex feminist theory of prostitution and mi
as feminist theories of gender, sexuality, and
how and which complex power dynamics and
sexuality have been mediated in constructing
may shift its positionality toward a better place
ent way, and eventually deconstruct it.
Notes
1. Bruce Cumings, Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modem History (New York: Norton,
89, 212.
2. National Campaign for Eradication of Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea, "The U.S.
Occupation in Korea," http://wwTw.usacrime.or.kr/, 2005.
3. I use the terms "camptown prostitution" and "military prostitution" interchange
ably with "gijichon prostitution." Spellings for all Korean words are in the newly
approved Korean government system.
4. Saeumto (an influential Korean feminist NGO working on behalf of military prosti
tutes), Research on Conditions of Prostitution in Gyeonggi Province 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 Younq Lee 477
South Korea," Peace and Freedom 5

(1988): 107-12, 108; and Katharine Moo
Relations (New York: Columbia Unive
5. Moon, Sex among Allies, 44.
6. Sallie Yea, "Labour of Love: Fi
Relationship with GIs in U.S. Militar
national Forum, no. 28 (2005): 460.
7. Rita N. Brock and Susan B. Thistlethw
and the United States (Minneapolis,
Gaydos, Thomas C. Quinn, and Jo
mitted Diseases for the Military: Wh
(2000): 719-22.
8. Fujime Yuki, "The Licensed Prostitution System and the Prostitution Abolition
Movement in Modern Japan," Positions 5 (Spring 1997): 135; Philippa Levine, Prostitution,
Race, and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire (New York: Routledge, 2003),
1. See also Judith Walkowitz, Prostitution and Victorian Society: Women, Class, and the State
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980).
9. Saundra Sturdevant and Brenda Stoltzfus, eds., Let the Good Times Roll: Prostitution and the
U.S. Military in Asia (New York: New Press, 1992); Brock and Thistlethwaite, Casting
Stones.
10. See especially, Brock and Thistlethwaite, Casting Stones; Gwyn Kirk and Margo
Okazawa-Rey, "Demilitarizing Security: Women Oppose LJ.S. Militarism in East
Asia," in Frontline Feminisms: 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 Legacy of U.S. Militarism in South Korea," Asian 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 the Good Times Roll; Kathryn Farr, Sex Trafficking: The Global Market in Women
and Children (New York: Worth, 2005); Walkowitz, Prostitution and 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);
Cynthia Enloe, Maneuvers: International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2000); and Moon, Sex among Allies.
11. Several nongovernmental organizations have written excellent reports on this topic.
See Durebang, "Great Army, Great Father: Militarized Prostitution in South Korea;
Life in GI Town" (Widaehan Kundae, Widaehan Abeoji: Hangukeseoui Migukkundaewa Maechun),
(unpub. manu., 1995), and Stories of Durebang: 15th Anniversary Celebration Resource Materials
(Durebang Iyaki) (Seoul, Durebang: 2001); Hansori, "Project of Networking for
Supporting Victims of Prostitutes" (Songmaemae P'ihaeyosongul Wihan Chonkukyonkaemang
Guchuksaop), assisted by the Ministry of Gender Equality, 2003; Saeumto, "Educational
Material for Volunteers in Saewoomtuh and Activists in the U.S. Military
Camptowns" (unpub. manu., 2001); Saeumto, "Research on Conditions of
Prostitution in Gyeonggi Province for Alternative Policy" (Gyeonggi-jiyok Maechun
478 Na Young Lee
Yeoseongae Daehan Siltae fosa); Sacumto, "Lives in Gij
Korea" (unpub. manu., 1999); and Sacumto, "Condit
Military Camptowns" (unpub. manu., 1996). Also Mi
Korean Women's Movement against Prostitution, 1970
Undongsa)" in History of Korean Women's Human Right
Line (Seoul: Hanwul, 1999), 239-99; and Won Mih
Beyond Prohibition of Prostitution" (Yeoseongjui Seongje
journal of Feminist Theories and Practices, no. 10 (2004): 34-55.
12. Kumari Jayawardena, Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World (London: Zed Books,
1986), 214.
13. Yongae Yamashida, "The Colonial Occupation and Deployment of Licensed Pros
titution" (Ssingminji Jibaewui Kongchang faedoui Jon'gae), Society and History, no. 51 (1997): 162.
14. Yuki, "The Licensed Prostitution System," 148.
15. Donga Ilbo, 26 Feb. 1925, 22 Mar. 1925, 2 May 1929.
16. Yu Haejeong, "Gender Policy under the Japanese Occupation" (Iljae Singminjihaui
Yeoseong Jeongchaek) (Seoul: Hanguk Yeoseong Yeonguso, 1999), 298. In 1937, a petition
demanding that the Japanese colonial government allow7 a dance hall in Seoul City
was brought by kisaengs and caf? madams: Samcheoli Magazine, 1937, quoted in Jinsong
Kim, Allow the Dance Hall in Seoul: The Construction of Modernity (Seoulae Danceholeul Heohara)
(Seoul: Hyeonsil Munhwa Yeongu, 1999), 215-21.
17. My description of "comfort women" draws from these scholarly accounts: Youn-ok
Son, "Japanese Colonial Rule and State-Managed Prostitution: Korea's Licensed Pros
titutes" (171-219); and Chin Sung Chung, "The Origin and Development of the Mil
itary Sexual Slavery Problem in Imperial Japan" (222-23), both in Positions 5 (Spring
1997); Yoshimi Yoshiaki, Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military during World
War II (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), 205; and Margaret Stetz and
Bonnie B.C. Oh, eds., Legacies of the Comfort Women of World War II (New York: East Gate,
2001).
18. Yoshiaki, Comfort Women, 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 types of houses of prostitution: see Yoshiaki, Comfort Women, 180-81. The
Japanese government invested 100 million yen in its establishment and mobilized
local authorities to be involved. See Yuki at http://nessaranga.najun.net/bbs/view.
php?id=femin&page= l&snl =&d.
20. Jeon, "U.S. Korean Policy and the Moderates during the U.S. Military Government
Era," 81.
21. E. Grant Meade, American Military Government in Korea (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1951), 218-19. According to a U.S. report, "despite Japan's endeavor
to improve Koreans' general health with strict quarantine regulations . . . the stan
dard of sanitation for the Korean population remained extremely low," "Public
Health Problems of South Korea 1950, 9-12," Report, U.S. Armed Forces in South
Na Young Lee 479
Korea, Box 726.1 (Venereal Diseases), National Arc
Subsequent references to this collection will be abbr
22. Hwang Jeongmi, "The Construction of the Gover
1946-1960: Focusing on the Women's Bureau" (Haeh
seonggwa Yeoseong, 1946-1960: Bunyeogukeul Jungsimeuro), Hankuk-hakho no. 109 (2002): 167.
23. Ordinance No. 18, issued on 27 Oct. 1945, added welfare functions and changed the
name of the bureau to the Bureau of Public Health and Welfare, and Ordinance No.
25, dated 7 Nov. 1945, established a Department of Public Health and Welfare in each
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, American Military Government in Korea, 219-20.
25. Allan M. Brant, No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United 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. Joseph H. McNinch, "Venereal Disease Problems, U.S. Army Forces, Far East,
1950-1953," presented 27 Apr. 1954 to the Course on Recent Advances in Medicine
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, 1 May 1946; Donga Ilbo, 24 July 1946, 10 Dec. 1946.
29. Donga Ilbo, 24 July 1946, 10 Dec. 1946, 11 and 24 Sept. 1947; Chosun Ilbo, 12 Oct. 1947;
Headquarters LISA Military Government in Korea (hereafter LISAMGIK) APO 235
Unit 2, USAMGIK Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council, 27 July 1948;
"South Korean Interim Government Activities: Prepared by National Economic
Board," 27 1947,175, USAFIK, 726.1; and 29 Feb. 1948,191, USAFIK, 726.1.
30. Joseph T. Cap?es, Lt. Col. MC Surgeon, "Factors Influencing Rates, VD Rates 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
(Major General, U.S. Army Commanding),"Letter to Lieutenant General R. Hodge,
12 Apr. 1948 (hereafter Ward, "Letter to Lieutenant General R. Hodge"); Head
quarters 6th Infantry Division APO 6, USAMGIK, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD
Control Council," 11 May 1948; Headquarters XXIV Corps APO 235, USAMGIK,
"Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council," 12 May 1948; 6th Infantry Division
APO 6, USAMGIK, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council," 12 May 1948;
all in USAFIK, 726.1. Also Meade, American Military Government in Korea, 220?21.
31. Imha Yi, "U.S. Occupation in East Asia and Sexuality" (Mikun-ui Tongassia Judunkwa
Ssaekssuoliti), in East Asia, Modernity, and Discovery of Women, ed. Park Ui-Kyong (Seoul:
Chong-oram, 2004), 267, 273, 277.
32. Donga Ilbo, 24 July 1946, 10 Dec. 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 iNa Younq Lee
State-Managed Prostitution," 196.

34. "Code of the U.S. Military Governmen
Beopjecheo [legislative office], 1952), 26.
35. Yi Baeyong, "Changes in Women's L
Military Government in South Korea, 19
Byeonmowa Yeoseonguisik, 1945-1948) (Seo
36. Puin Ilbo, 19 Nov. 1948.
37. Chosun Ilbo, 12 Apr. 1947, 19 July 1947.
38. See U.S. Library of Congress http:/
field(DOCID+kr0024.
39. "Minutes of the Meetings of VD Contr
40. Ibid., 29 Feb. 1948,191.
41. Ibid., 28 Jan. 1948, 201-2; Headqua
Meetings of VD Control Council," 2 July
42. "Code of the U.S. Military Governm
Pak, Prostitution in Korea (Hangukui Maec
43. Chosun Ilbo, 22 May 1948, 14 June 1948.
44. "Minutes of the Meetings of VD Contr
45. Sixth Infantry Division, "Minutes o
1948, USAFIK, 726.1; Oseong Sin, "Study
Korean War, 1945-1959" ("Hangukcheonjaen
thesis, Seoul National University of K
"Minutes of the Meetings of VD Contr
Ward, "Letter to Lieutenant General R
46. Joseph T. Cap?es, "Factors Influencing
1948 and January 1947."
47. Headquarters USAFIK APO 235, "Min
26 Feb. 1949, USAFIK, 726.1.
48. Ward, "Letter to Lieutenant General
11 May 1948; TFYSG, 11 May 1948; and U
726.1.
49. For more information on the U.S. military policy regarding STDs during two wars,
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,"
in Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council, August 1948-September 1949, 26
Feb. 1949, 2-3, USAFIK, 726.1.
52. Global Security, "Crime Prevention," 2006, at www.globalsecurity.org/military/
library/policy7army/fm/19-10/Ch6.htm#slp3; Headquarters USAFIK, APO 235,
Instructor's Lecture, "The Eternal Fight," 26 Feb. 1949, 4-5.
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 Young Lee 481
55. Headquarters XXIV Corps APO 235, "Minutes
Council," 27 Sept. 1948; XXIV Corps APO 235, "M
Control Council," 1 Oct. 1948; all in USAFIK, 726.1.
56. Cap?es, "Report of Venereal Disease Rates during
January 1949," and Surgeon, "Venereal Disease Report
726.1.
57. See "Venereal Disease Reports" released from Headquarters USAFIK APO 235, 29
Aug. 1946; WDAO-C, 31 Jan. 1947; Korea Base Command APO 901, 23 Dec. 1947; 80th
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 Chaplain Headquarters Special Troops XXIV 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," 14 Aug. 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.
59. 61st Ordinance Group APO 901, "Minutes of the Meetings of VD Control Council,"
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, 22 May 1948,14 June 1948.
61. Durebang, Educational Resource Material for Uprooting Prostitution in Northern
Gyeonggi Province (Seongmaemae Mokjeokui Insinmaemae Geunjeoleul Wihan Jaryojip) (2004), 53.
62. Ilyosisa, 24 Oct. 2004.
63. Korea Church Women United Counseling Center for Migrant Women Workers, A
Fieldwork Report on Trafficked Women in Korea (Hankukui Inssinmaemae
Heonhwang) (Seoul, 1999); Saeumto, Research on Conditions of Prostitution in
Gyeonggi Province for Alternative Policy (Gyeonggi-jiyok Maechun Yeoseongae
Daehan Siltae Josa) (sponsored by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, 2001), 133;
and Stars and Stripes, 28 Nov. 2004.

US Military Rule Established Foundations of South Korea's Camptown Prostitution System 1945-1948

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US Military Rule Established Foundations of South Korea's Camptown Prostitution System 1945-1948

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

South Korea during the

S I N C E S E P T E M B E R I 9 4 5 when the 24th Army Corps, consisting of some

Thistlethwaite indicate that the sex trade

LICENSED PROSTITUTION UNDER JAPA

visible even before the Japanese occ

zation of licensed prostitution. Befor

even today. Kisaeng tried to form self-gover

social movements to abolish the sex trade. H

Russia, the army requested 20

nied by a government-regulated syst

THE U.S. MILITARY GOVERNME

Company, who had extensive combat e

chaplains corps, the special. se

returning from more distant c

under the stated justification of erad

THE ABOLITION OF LICENSED P

of Legalized Prostitution ((Amonchangje Py

ing "private" prostitution (sachatig) to s

South :Korea's population, estim

adjustment to normal life if they rec

CONTINUITIES IN PRACTICE AFTER ABO

inspection.45 The disparity between actual U

On 14 February 1948, Public Act No. 7 was placed

A special meeting was held at the Bando

"when we come into grips with th

cooperation from the [Korean] civilian police."

were very slight," the U.S. military

South Korea," Peace and Freedom 5

State-Managed Prostitution," 196.

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