|
|
|
|
by Katharine H.S. Moon
During the Korean War, American servicemen stationed in Korea enjoyed easy access to Korean prostitutes. After the war, military prostitution continued t flourish in South Korea ex industry had become an important feature of the U.S. military bases. By the late 1960s the seedy camptowns around the bases had become a source of friction between the United States and the Republic of Korea because of venereal disease, crime, and local antipathy. In 1971, tensions between the Korean and U.S. governments came to a head after sharp reduction in U.S. troops throughout Asia. In a campaign to persuade the United States to maintain its military presence, the Korean government initiated a "Clean-Up Campaign" to stamp out venereal disease and extend control over prostitution; prostitutes were to become, in effect, unofficial ambassadors between the two nations. Katharine Moon examines the role prostitutes played in preserving the strategic relations between Korea and the United States, focusing on policy ad power conflicts, rather than culture, as the cause of institutionalized military prostitution.
Drawing on a vast array of data--archival materials, interviews with officials, social workers, and the candid revelations of sex industry workers--Moon explores the way in which the bodies of Korean prostitutes--where, when and how they worked and lived--were used by the United States and the Korean governments in their security arrangement. Weaving together issues of gender, race, sex, the relationship between individuals and the state, and foreign policy, she shows how women such as the Korean Prostitutes are marginalized and made invisible in militarily dependent societies both because of the degradation of their work and because of their importance for national security.
About the author.
Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S./Korea Relations
Email this citation