Sex Trade At Cheongnyangni 588 Is A History, Commercial Complexes And Malls To Be Developed

Prostitution in South Korea is illegal. The South Korean government is bulldozing the famous red-light area in Seoul. As a result of it, the sex workers are claiming that the government is not listening to their voices.

Cheongnyangni 588 was a highly popular red light district in Seoul near Cheongnyangni station. During the 1980s, the sex trading was at the peak at Cheongnyangni 588 and it housed over 200 shops and 500 sex workers. The historians noted this place as the biggest and most popular red light area in Seoul.

Cheongnyangni 588 is today a barren land

However, presently the area is a construction site. Pedestrians are very limited in number passing through the area at night when the temperature falls below -0⁰C. Since the government wants to bring a huge change in the location, all shops and bars have been veiled. Earlier there used to be so many shops and customers but now nothing can be seen there. The area can be said almost barren.

In a conversation with Aljazeera, a sex worker (who did not wish to reveal her identity) said that she continued to look past the windows for any approaching customers. She also shared her disappointment at the massive alteration in the circumstances.

Her conversation with the journalist interrupted when she saw through the window a middle-aged man looking into the shop. While she was excited to see an approaching customer after many days, the man turned back and moved on his way.

"We got locals, we got foreigners, all sorts of people. Now, as you can see, we just sit and wait," the unnamed sex worker said.

South Korean government plans to develop commercial complexes

The removal of brothels commenced during the end of 2016. The majority of the pimps and sex workers have already left Cheongnyangni 588. Most of the 156 brothels have been veiled and the abandoned houses are left shattered. The government plans to erect four 65-story luxury residential-commercial complexes including a 42-story shopping mall in the entire 41,586 square meters of the area by 2020. The destination is just five minutes' walk from Cheongnyangni Station. During the starting of 2017, the developers already received a court order and accordingly, they started demolishing in the neighborhood. Many tenants and sex workers were forced to abandon the place.