‘Coffee Ladies’ Turn Hiking Trails into Red Light District

[strawberry-efeu.livejournal.com]

Stanley Park

Elderly hikers are the latest target for prostitutes in South Korea, according to a new report from MBN. Older women are seeking out men who frequent mountain hiking trails and offering them a euphemistic “cup of coffee”, leading to the nickname “coffee ladies”. While hiking has long been associated with adultery between hiking couples, Koreans were taken aback and pitied the older women for trying to make money through prostitution. Online comment focused on the lack of a social safety net for senior citizens in poverty.

‘Coffee ladies’ go to the mountains..a new wave of prostitution

You might have already heard of the ‘Bacchus Ladies’ who offer bottles of Bacchus to older men in places like Tapgol Park and then solicit them for prostitution.

Now, a similar phenomenon is appearing on mountain trails, as ‘Coffee Ladies’ sell coffee to hikers and solicit them for prostitution.

Kim Keun Hee reports on location at one of the hiking spots frequented by such women.

This is Gwanaksan, a busy location for hiking in the middle of Seoul.

One woman in her sixties wearing a red hat mingles with the crowd of hikers and looks around carefully.



A few minutes later, the woman meets a man and they disappear together.

A hiker described the situation: “What’s that? They just ‘enjoy’ each other for a little while and then leave. They have a drink and leave. How old are the women? must be 60 or 70.”

The women, who have earned the nickname ‘coffee ladies’, typically look for older hikers who have come to the mountain alone. They offer the men a cup of coffee and then suggest prostitution.

In this way, prostitution is being carried out in the open, with little attempt to disguise what is going on.

Audio from an interaction between one of the women and an older man:
Woman: “How about we go somewhere and have a glass of beer or something. Just have a good time talking together over a drink. Maybe go to a motel.”
Man: “And do what there?”
Woman: “What do you expect me to say. We could touch each other.”

Sex, sold for ₩20-30,000.

Another hiker described what was going on: “They have a drink and then go off to sleep somewhere. They see the hikers and assume that they must be pretty well off and so think they can make some money…”

It seems that most of the women are senior citizens who have been hit hard by the economic downturn and have turned to this line of work in order to make a living.

“What with all of the young women coming over from China to work these days, the restaurants don’t hire older women.”

The local government and the police sometimes crackdown in the area but there is no serious effort to eliminate prostitution.

As illegal prostitution for older hikers continues to grow, the mountains are turning into prime locations for solicitation and voices of concern have emerged.

Comments from Chosun Ilbo:

798****:
A woman in her sixties who is selling coffee and soliciting men for prostitution won’t be able to find a job working at some company. Prostitution for them is a last resort, a way to survive. Arresting and punishing them won’t make society any better. These are symptoms of a larger problem that should be solved with expanded welfare supports for senior citizens.

jhs6****:
Catch gangsters and spies. Leave these people alone. It is a necessary evil in this world.

lsw****
What a pitiful life, to survive by selling your body…In their teens, they just start to find out what they are capable of!…twenties, they start working at room salons, karaoke bars, or after hours massage parlors!…thirties they head to work as helpers in noraebang…forties to fifties, they work at ticket tea rooms in the countryside or inns…then in their fifties and sixties it’s work as a coffee lady!…it’s basic supply and demand.



bek****:
let them ‘enjoy’ and leave them alone! You might as well try to stop them by castration!

l****:
just leave them alone…

palk****:
It looks like nothing is sacred anymore. As time goes on and the elderly population increases, there will have to be a policy to deal with it. Rather than just increasing welfare benefits, we need a plan to create jobs for these people.

tick****:
Well, it’s good that people are still active in the twilight of their years, does the government really have to interfere with this. Call the Minister of Gender Equality and Families.

kj****:
so sad…

ck****:
Damn! the world is crazy these days~

l****:
What do you mean, ‘crackdown’? Give them something to live on~! a crackdown on prostitution?? how about the high class room salons or massage parlors? are you kidding? stop with this double standard

sang****:
If they make ₩20,000 each time, two times means they can buy a sack of barley. It is amazing to see how some people still work so hard to pay off their family’s debt, even as they become older. The old women of Korea, who worked so hard to help our nation recover throughout history, are still trying to earn money. You have the utmost respect of your country.

source: koreabang, MBN, Chosun Ilbo

read the first paragraph for a tl;dr
I agree with some of the netizen comments, this is happening because of larger social issues that should be dealt with instead of penalizing people who are just trying to make a living.

Comments

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

“What do you expect me to say. We could touch each other.” why did I even laugh at that?

Anyways, this looks like a serious problem. for these women who are probably mothers who won't find jobs due their ages they are probably desperate for some money and this is the only thing they can think of. There should be something that helped these woman after retirement and that didn't made them desperate.

[oppameansit.livejournal.com]

that last netizen's comment was kind of sweet? in a weird way?

[erbalurbal.livejournal.com]

wow I can't even imagine how desperate you have to be to turn to prostitution at that age. The government really needs to look into providing more benefits for their seniors.

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

Damn! This is so sad. Those poor women. :(

[anathema-switch.livejournal.com]

This is really sad. More social security should be provided, at least for this generation of elderly. I can't imagine many of them have much to live off of unless they are upper class / chaebol.

As a side note Gwanaksan is literally, literally right next to Seoul National University. I think I've walked near this place (I googled and there's two other entrances)but obviously never realized what was going on.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to imagine my great aunts or gradmothers doing this and it's just breaking my heart right now. The government needs to step up and organize a decent welfare system for the elderly.
Also given the emphasis on filial loyalty in korea, I imagine these women with children have kids who cant afford to provide for them. at least, I hope thats the case.

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

Atleast the Netizens didn't fall for the tone of the article. These women are desperate in a state that has no interest in old age unless you're in power. While the MP's have passed bills doubling their Pensions, those who built Korea are left to fend for themselves.

[soft-daisy.livejournal.com]

Not to undermine the issue, but...they would blame it on China wouldn't they smh

[rylee900.livejournal.com]

mte, but it's a running theme everywhere, to blame the foreigners for 'taking our jobs'

[cuizy.livejournal.com]

That was what I was thinking too.... Good thing the netizens didn't take the bait

[aleksu7.livejournal.com]

Same happens here in spain, elderly prostitution has increased a lot these years. It's really really sad...

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

there needs to be a social safety network for the elderly

[rylee900.livejournal.com]

This is sad. I can't imagine doing that at that age.

[very-pinku.livejournal.com]

This is really sad. There's so much ageism and discrimination that makes it harder for older people to keep jobs and maintain jobs. I hope the government provides the older generations proper pensions and support systems. It's sad to see people selling themselves in this manner...

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Would You Like a Cup of Tea Coffee?

[candycrush808.livejournal.com]

They don't have any family to help them? They should be living a life of leisure in retirement, not this. (╯︵╰,)

[aiedailglow.livejournal.com]

this :(

[martha-sal.livejournal.com]

Does anybody know what kind of retirement plans they have over there? Where I'm from it's the young kids that pay for the retirement plans of the elderly and so on and so on... It's not a bad idea but I'm not really sure how it works.

It's unfortunate to see anybody having to resort to prostitution as a way to survive...

[cuizy.livejournal.com]

Wow.... But would older guys be interested in these old ladies? Anyways the whole issue is very sad and.... Yeah....

[xblackchristmas.livejournal.com]

ew, disturbing enough it's like imagining your grandma going off to do this. why don't their family members do anything? ;-;

[aiedailglow.livejournal.com]

This is really sad :(

[oncloud999.livejournal.com]

that's pretty sad...

[kicking-tenshi.livejournal.com]

It's a sad situation but the netizen comments give me hope.

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

Wait.

Is this where GTA got the "hot coffee" euphemism from?