Introduction
Sex trade and human trafficking in South Korea have been major issues of concern in the country since 1947 when American forces overpowered the Japanese who were control the Korea. Despite the fact the American personnel provided security for the Koreans, it emerged that they promoted prostitution and related practices that violated human rights. The paper seeks to explore sex trade in South Korea, particularly in and around the United States Military bases. It will identify and explicate examples of interaction among criminal groups and how to explain that behavior including theories related to biological, psychological, and sociological theories.
Body
In spite of the fact that prostitution and human trafficking is illegal in most countries, these practices are taking place and if recent statistics are anything to go by, fighting these crimes would not be easy. In South Korea, prostitution is a full fledged illegal business with billions of dollars changing hands annually (Mendelson, 2006). Although there was a considerable decline in the number of prostitutes nationally, sex trade in and around U.S military bases has been on the increase since 1947. The famous U.S military bases in South Korea include; Camp Casey and Camp Stanley. Cases of prostitution have been witnessed largely around these and other military camps over the past 5 decades (Hughes & Ellerman, 2007). Initially, following agreement between the Korean government and the American military, the prostitutes were registered after undergoing medical checkup in order to ensure that the military personnel were protected from sexually transmitted diseases. The South Korean government initially took the measures in order to keep the American forces within their country and offer security. This was due to the threat posed by North Korean counterparts.
According to reports released in 2003 by the Korean Institute of Criminology and the Korean Feminist Association, hundreds of thousands of women in the country are involved in the sex trade (Kloer, 2009). The reports also pointed out that over 300,000 young men in their 20s participated in the sex industry by visiting prostitutes on a daily basis, with about 20% of them paying for sex at least once every week(Mendelson, 2006). A legislation by the government in 2004 prohibited human (women) trafficking in South Korea, a move that saw victims punished accordingly. During subsequent years, many were arrested and prosecuted in courts. The Ministry of Gender Equality went to the extremes of offering incentives to companies who were able to convince their male employees not participate in prostitution. This was one of the policies developed by the government to tackle the problem of sex trade.
The United States has the largest military presence in other parts of the world, especially in countries that have experienced war or those that are perceived to pose threats to world stability. The primary objective of setting military camps in these regions is to ensure that peace prevails. However, the presence of these bases has been associated with immoral practices like prostitution and human trafficking (Kloer, 2009). American soldiers have been in South Korea for the last 65 years. Just like in other countries where U.S. military have established bases, the camps in South Korea have attracted both forced and voluntary prostitution and many women in the country have fallen victim. Several brothels have been established around these bases. Many concerns have been raised and the Pentagon moved to address this issue by drafting a policy that sought to tackle sex trafficking in U.S military camps. The policy drafted in 2004 targeted the bases where American soldiers, airmen, as well as sailors had pitched camp, especially in South Korea (Mendelson, 2006). The policy outlined measures that would be taken against any military personnel caught going to the brothel or “massage parlor”. The personnel promoting prostitution, according to the policy, should be subject to court martial (Hughes & Ellerman, 2007).
The enforcement of this policy, however, has been questioned since no major sanctions have been given despite the vise being on the rise over the years. It is clear that the policy has not been effective in reducing the rate of prostitution in South Korea, especially around American military bases. The ever increasing levels of prostitution and human trafficking remain a major concern both for the U.S government and the international community (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2009). Attempts to fight this ill practice have in the recent past been intensified by the South Korean government. The most astonishing fact, however, is that the crackdown by the Korean government has not affected the U.S. military camps. This double-standard in implementing government policies has contributed directly to the increase in the number of brothels around the American military bases and thus prostitution and human trafficking in the country (Kloer, 2009). American soldiers are always expected to exercise honor, serve with dignity and strength. The behavior associated with their camps, however, goes contrary to these expectations. This indicates that the military personnel are abusive rather than protective, especially when it comes to women and prostitution.
According to reliable sources, women and young girls in South Korea are forced into sex in the brothels, most of which are located around the U.S. military bases (Hughes & Ellerman, 2007). Due to the damage on reputation this habit had on the American personnel, the Pentagon decided to prohibit any uniformed personnel appearing in the brothels. This measure, however, did not prevent all officers from visiting the brothels and “massage parlors”. Most of these personnel regard the women and young girls as sexual objects and this is the spirit that needs to be dealt with accordingly by enforcing the policy fully. This is because incidents of sexual harassment, assault, as well as rape of female personnel in the military have been reported (Mendelson, 2006). The need to create awareness for the respect of women among U.S male military personnel has never been as urgent as it is now given the increasing sex trafficking around their camps, especially in the Korean republic. Campaigns to inculcate a culture of using masculinity for the protection of women are being directed to the military personnel so as to alleviate this crisis (Hughes & Ellerman, 2007).
Sex trade is considered a criminal activity and should be regarded just the same way human trafficking is. The Korean government is trying its best to stop prostitution but the use of force may prove difficult (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2009). The most important thing for the government and criminologists is to understand the causes of crime. Given the unsuccessful fight of prostitution in and around U.S military bases by the Korean government, the U.S Congress introduced a bill seeking to check sex trade and human trafficking in these specific places (Glick & Miller, 2007). Understanding crime has been a complex and challenging task. Basically all crimes have elements of human behavior and this is the perspective from which the concept of crime should be looked from.
Many theories have been advanced by researchers in this field that can help in understanding why people act and behave the way they do. A crime can be defined as any act or behavior which is out of the normative way of carrying oneself (Glick & Miller, 2007). Questions that may need to be answered in any criminal investigation are; the evidence necessary to support the assertion of a cause of behavior and what the inference from the evidence can be drawn as well as the method of doing so? Sex related crimes like prostitution and sex trafficking should also be analyzed from this perspective.
Understanding why the prostitutes and the men who pay for sex behave the way they do is important in addressing this crisis. There is a strong relationship between criminology, philosophy and legal issues (Kloer, 2009). Philosophy is needed to explain the concept of free will and self determinism as well as the cause and effect of crime. Legal concepts of responsibility and reasonable person are also closely associated with the former. The need to understand how different fields relate and how they can be used to understand crime causation is therefore paramount.
Biological theories in criminology help in understanding physiological, neurological, biochemical and genetic factors that may contribute to the development of criminal behavior (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2009). It has also emerged that there is a strong relationship between an individual’s biology and the surrounding environment like school, family, peer groups and the society at large as advocated by sociological theories of crime. Examples of sociological theories of crime include; social learning, strain and control. Sociologists are, however, not dependent on their own understanding but also rely on the biological and psychological perspectives to explain criminal behavior. Moreover, psychological theories explain criminal behavior in the social environment using the role of family background and influence of individual differences and traits (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2009). This theory examines factors that motivate, influence decision-making, as well as the learning process and how they can used to explain criminal behavior. Prostitution as a behavior can be explained using these theories of understanding behavior in relation to crime. Other theories that can be used to explain criminal behavior are economic and political theories. However, it is also important to understand the role of legal interpretation of criminal behavior which are guided by preset laws and applied by the courts after determining a given allegation of crime.
Conclusion
The research paper has explored the issue of sex trade in South Korea, specifically in and around the U.S Military bases. It has highlighted the trend of prostitution and sex trafficking since 1947 when Korea was freed from the Japanese rule. It is evident from the paper that the fight against prostitution especially around the U.S military camps has not been easy due to a number of factors. Measures that have been taken by both the American as well as the South Korean governments to tackle the crisis have been discussed extensively. The challenges faced by the Korean government, particularly in 1948, in the fight against sex trafficking have been highlighted. The need to understand criminal behavior using biological, sociological, and psychological theories has also been discussed. It can be concluded, therefore, that the fight against prostitution especially in and around U.S. military bases calls for a change in culture and perception of military personnel towards women, concerted efforts from U.S government and strict implementation of set policies by the Korean government.
References
Glick, L. & Miller, J. M. (2007). Criminology (2nd ed). Des Moines, IA: Allyn & Bacon.
Hughes, M. D. & Ellerman, D. P. (2007). Modern-Day violence: The U.S. Military bases and prostitution. SAGES.
Kirk, G. & Okazawa-Rey, M. (2009). Women’s lives: understanding multicultural perspectives. Loose-leaf Law Plc.
Kloer, A. P. (2009). The fight against prostitution: U.S military in South Korea. McGraw-Hill Plc.
Mendelson, S. E. (2006). Bases and brothels: peacekeepers and human trafficking in South Korea (2nd ed). CSIS.