Texas County Declares War on Korean Brothels

[uledy.livejournal.com]

Harris County in Houston, Texas [southwest USA] has declared war on Korean brothels, seeking to stamp out prostitution and other illegal activity. The county on Wednesday submitted a petition to a local court seeking to close down three massage parlors and one night club run by Koreans.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Harris County wrote in the petition that the proprietors "use young women, mostly from Korea, to perform services." County officials are seeking a court order to shut them down for one year.

It is rare for a U.S. county to single out a particular establishment for closure, but there had been constant complaints from local residents. "According to a news release from Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan's office, hundreds of calls for service have been made to law enforcement agencies since 2009 resulting in 57 investigations," the paper said. A police raid on the massage parlors resulted in the arrests of seven sex workers, six of them Korean.

City officials in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New Jersey, which have large Korean populations, are also having a hard time trying to deal with Korean brothels. The situation is the same in Australia, Japan and other countries.

Late last year, the Washington Post said there were more than 80 Asian women in the northern Virginia region engaged in prostitution, most of them Korean. It said they come to the U.S. in search of a new life, but most of them cannot escape the shackles of prostitution.

Source: Chosun Ilbo
oh. policies involving prostitution in the us seriously need to be re-examined...

Comments

[ideservestars.livejournal.com]

do you live in nova?!

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

lol@ overseas activities

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

XD came here to say this

[asiapopsecret.livejournal.com]

only here to say: nishikido~! Didnt know NEWS/Kanjani fans existed in Omona tbh. :D

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Eighters are everywhere
EVERYWHERE

[hisjulliet.livejournal.com]

mte lol

[kanot.livejournal.com]

lol this.

[johnnyquest89.livejournal.com]

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lol

[amenooto.livejournal.com]

same or are being exploited. don't think this is like the bunny ranch.

[yumcheesy.livejournal.com]

agreed- I hope authorities help them and don't just blindly arrest victims :-(

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I highly suspect this as well. Or they got involved in it out of desperation. ugh.

[inuvampy.livejournal.com]

One of my friends was telling me how her Dad went to one of these places because he was actually looking to get his wife a massage, since she liked the one she was going to but this place was closer to their house. When the ladies were trying to take him to one of the rooms he realised what was going on and tried to leave but, according to her, they chased him out the door to try and bring him back.

I dunno I havn't seen any myself since I don't go to massage parlors, but I could understand the complaint when people are actually looking for one and stumble into a prostitute house.

[beauty0fparting.livejournal.com]

Holy. That's the county I used to live in. Exploiting these women is just plain wrong.

[originaru.livejournal.com]

oh. policies involving prostitution in the us seriously need to be re-examined...

Yeah, less banning and more regulation. A lot more regulation. That being said, if those women were forced into sex work then I hope they get as much help as they need. ):

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

iawtc

[k0dama.livejournal.com]

Prostitution is a huge problem in Korea too. There's also women/kids who are kidnapped right off the streets, shipped out to some island/other countries), and forced to become slaves. Maybe some international police cooperation could be useful to cut off / hinder the suppliers.

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

jesus christ. is this a problem in other asian countries? I know Thailand has a thriving sex business but last I checked it was much more regulated. I'm surprised its such a huge problem in korea when its supposed to be illegal.

[relmneiko.livejournal.com]

From what I've heard South Korea has a very contradictory attitude towards prostitution... officially it's illegal and immoral and all that, but under the sheets a huge segment of the male population are johns, and it's common for older men to take their younger coworkers out and coerce them into activity with prostitutes during after-hours outings... not to mention the gigantic amount of prostitution going on around American military bases that both the Koreans and the Americans like to ignore. I wish I could remember the name of the documentary I saw a while back... it was about prostitutes around military bases, many of whom marry American soldiers and go to the States (because they feel a Korean guy would never marry them now) only to get abused there too by their new husbands, be socially isolated in general, etc... It's such a tragic mess.

[shy-mizuno.livejournal.com]

ugh...texas, why???

Why can't you just say 'We want to eliminate prostitution' why did you have to single them out and start a problem??

[taylorniw.livejournal.com]

ohey that's my county

[krobwell.livejournal.com]

lol i'm not the only one!

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

City officials in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New Jersey

Only two of those places are cities. :| So where is this occurring in NJ?

[relmneiko.livejournal.com]

Yeah this is a clear case of addressing the symptom and not the cause. Arresting women who are most likely victims themselves? Come on. Start arresting some pimps and johns and human traffickers instead. :/

[luvey.livejournal.com]

i won't even get started about massage parlours as a legit massage therapist. the government should just take a nod from nevada, make prostitution legal with all the legal bits - taxes, sales taxes the johns have to pay, sex health continuing education, health department regulations, and licensing fees. with consistent check points, it may be a little more challenging for sex traffickers.

sadly, we live in a society that condemns the practice, condemns the women, but lets it slide in most cases since high powered men tend to be the buyers. if legalized, there is the chance more women would become empowered.