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Published: February 9th 2007
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Always Christmas at Woobang...
..someone should really tell Koreans it's bad luck to have decorations in late January.. I've been here nearly 5 months now and hadn't even left Busan, when you figure thats nearly half a year in a foreign country in the same city it kinda looks pretty unadventurous (though if you saw the second hand shops here you may come closer to understanding...bliss).
The Scots (Linsay, Richard and Martin) being made of hardier stuff than me picked up the mantle of the intrepid explorer and headed 1.5 hours north to Daegu taking midget along with them. Now (and I hope no Koreans read this- if you are reading this and you're Korean hopefully I'll have left the country by then...) it strikes me that there really isn't that much to see in Korea. The KOrean war ended less than 60 years ago and many of their cultural treasures were destroyed during the Japanese occupation so there is a distinct lack of landmarks to visit- there's no equivalent to the Eiffel Tower, the Vatican etc tho their shopping centres knock Gatesheads Metro Centre into a cocked hat.
So we went to Daegu really just for a change of scene. We visited what was lorded to us as 'the best museum in Korea'. Apparently it
is nothing compared to Glasgows museum of transport and it certanly didn't have the smell of Yorvik Viking Centre (which smells uncanily like McDonalds BBQ sauce ) Then we went to Woobang Tower Land the theme park which was pretty cool if a little pricey-we only had 2 hours til the park shut and having paid 24,000 won (a small fortune in Korea believe me) we had to get our moneys worth. After 2 hours of rocking, rolling, hanging upside down and fearing for my life on what was supposed to be a ride but more like a form of torture, my stomach was seriously protesting. Good fun tho.
After that, and this is where it gets interesting, we decided to visit the red light district. Sex is a huge taboo in Korea. 40 years ago it was expected that you would be virgins when you married (well the women at least.... )If you did kiss a woman outside of marriage it was expected you would marry her as her dignity and honour was at stake- I mean who would want her if they knew she'd played tonsil tennis with someone else?!.Public displays of affection are frowned on here
and their sex education is virtually non existent. One of my students couldn't even say condom without bursting into laughter. He was 26.
Prostitution is illegal in Korea and yet their sex industry accounts for 4.6% of thier GDP, pretty high considering its against the law. The Lonely Planet guidebook pointed us to the red light district in Daegu saying it was worth a look. I have to admit I was curious, I talk about the topic a lot with my students (remember they're adults not 5 year olds, I've not gone totally insane...) and hear their various perspectives on things so I wanted to see the reality.
When we arrived I was surprised at how organised it was. It was a little like Amsterdam tho where the red light in Amsterdam does have an erotic quality in places this was more sterile. Row upon row of rooms with bored looking girls in sitting on the floor watching TV. The brothel 'madams' were outside drumming up business which involved hauling any passing men inside, I seriously think they would have rugby tackled them, the ajummas here (old married women) are a force to be reckoned with. While we
were there the police actually walked past and didn't blink an eyelid.I could't believe that in superconservative Korea prostitution could be this organised (much more so than in the UK) and yet the law is not enforced.
However although conservative the attitude towards mens sex lives, especially cheating husbands, is that as long as the wife doesn't know, it doesn't happen. If a man works for a big corporation it is common that they often entertain foreign clients, corporate hospitality bills in Korea are huge. Entertaining clients often involves a lot of drinking and a visit to a hostess bar where pretty girls are often requested in advance by the host. Also all men here must do military service as South Korea is still effectively at war with North Korea. It is common place for young men to visit prostitutes during military service, many lose their virginity that way. However the belief that women should be virgins when they marry does persist in some quarters, some even go so far as to have a surgical operation to make it look like they are still virgins on their wedding night. I once asked in calss that if all the men
were having sex, and yet the women were still virgins, who were the men having sex with?! The answer?Prostitutes.And do they use protection I asked my class? The answer? Men don't need to use protection, only girls should worry about not getting pregnant. And what about STI's and AIDS? The answer? Korea doesn't have a problem with that....admittedly at the moment it doesn't but it strikes me as a sexual health time bomb..the lack of information about sexual health and lack of access to contraception (it is considered shameful to buy condoms at a pharmacy which leaves only toilet vending machines) is worrying to say the least.
However things are changing here quickly- I saw an advert for the contraceptive pill on TV yesterday (at least I think it was the contraceptive pill- it looked like a pill pack and there were a lot of happy babyless men and women swanning around) and sex among the younger generation is no longer as taboo. They didn't even wear bikinis a few years ago in Korea but they times, they are a changing...I read before I came that there was no decent sexy underwear to be had n Korea...now underwear shops
are opening at a rate of knots,.
After visiting the ladies of dishonourable persuasion we returned to our sleeping quarters....a love motel. Love motels can be rented out by the hour or by the night. Yes you clever clogs you, it is indeed somewhere people go to, erm, love and they're actually very common in Korea and in Japan. We stepped out of the elevator to find a vending machine that didn't sell hot drinks but wares of a more interesting nature...see pic... Although they obviously have a seedy reputation they are also used as cheap and believe it or not, clean, accomodation. For one room it's only 14 squid and it did seem very clean, not that I was particulary keen on scrutinising the sheets, ignorance is bliss n all that.
I was just happy to be sleeping on a round, faux leather bed with a mirror in the headboard. Upon telling my students about the bed they asked if it rotated I didn't even check, I mean who checks their bed in a hotel to see if it rotates- a rotating, faux leather circular bed? Korea, you have my utmost respect 😊
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Clare
non-member comment
Maybe this posting should be entitled the dark, and oft-visited undercarriage of Korea? Just a suggestion - think of it as constructive editorial input - something to get used to now you're publishing! Congrats, Morton.