What the ... false hooker advertising?

According to a the title of an article in the Korea Times, Worst in the Nation, 'Korean entertainers on Chinese selling sex list' . (Yes, that is badly worded but it IS in the Korea Times so what else can you expect? Proper proof reading?) It should have read "Korean entertainers appear in Chinese ads for prostitutes". The gyst of the article is

China’s leading media websites published photos of alleged Korean entertainers selling sex, spurring criticism from Koreans and other foreigners.

Sorry but I have to digress for a minute. "Other foreigners" are complaining about this? About Korean stars appearing on ads for hookers in China? Really Korea Times? That is pretty weak even for the Korea Times.

The article ends by saying

But it is doubtful that Korean female entertainers are really engaging in prostitution, as it has not been confirmed where the photos came from and who really are pictured, according to Onbao.com.

Which would mean that the sites are probably using photos of stars from elsewhere, look alikes, or just blurry photos that can't really be identified as anyone in particular. It reminds me of something I saw, no exaggeration, all the time in Korea. Cards advertising for hookers on cars and the ground. Just ask Stig how often he had to clear them off his car windows.

You can see a couple of those types of cards in the picture above. They are the smaller ones on the bottom left. You could see the pictures used in some bigger ads too. Most of the pictures on these ads/cards weren't of Korean women. They often used pictures of Japanese AV stars as well as Chinese stars. I saw more than a few ads using Shu Qi.

A few times students brought the cards to class. They said they were collecting them. :)

BodyWorlds

Korean Adventure (September 6, 2002 Chautauqua)

On August 2nd, I made a trip to Seoul. My main object was to do some shopping for books. Reading material (in English) is a little hard to come by, and I was gratified to find not one, but two bookstores that sold second-hand English language books. Both were in Itaewon, a district of Seoul that caters to international travellers, as well as soldiers from the adjacent American base.

The "69" Building in Seoul.

I bought 5 hardcovers and 7 paperbacks, which should keep me busy until next week. I was on my way to dinner when Whoops! Hey, there's a woman on my arm! How did that happen? Of course, I had seen her, eating noodles at a street kiosk. She must've thought I looked like a good mark, and she wanted to show me a place where the beer is cheap. I knew, however, that the drinks I would have to buy her would not be cheap, so I disentangled myself and went on my way. There is a "Hooker Hill" nearby, where the soldiers seem to go for that kind of "entertainment."

Seoul Tower. There is a smaller replica in Daegu. My first roommate went on and on about how much smaller it was, and then he would talk about how Texas had built a replica of the Washington Monument, except one foot taller. I think he had some sort of fixation with long, hard objects.

The other object of my visit to Seoul was to see the "Body World" exhibit at the Science Museum. This exhibit originated in Germany, and has begun its world tour here in the Far East. It features real bodies that have been donated to science and then specially treated with plastic so that they can be dissected, examined, and posed for research purposes. Somewhere along the line, it was decided to share them with the world.

The lineup for Bodyworlds...

There are bodies without skin, and some without muscles. There are some with only the organs, and some with just the blood vessels. The variety is almost endless, and they all offer a close up look at the inner workings of the body with real-life examples. There has been some controversy in Europe about this exhibit, and debate about whether someone's remains should be viewed in this manner.

... went down the block.

I myself was fascinated, but I did get some funny looks from some people when I tried to explain what I was going to see. It was quite a sight to see a person's muscles posed next to his bones, and to try and see in the mind how they would fit together. A few of the exhibits showed lungs that had come from smokers. The damage should be seen by all who smoke, and contemplate smoking.
Some of the bodies had been frozen, and then sliced thinly, both lengthwise and through the middle. The hanging pieces reminded me of what you might see in a slaughterhouse, except that these are people. I got a different perspective than I was used to, and it made me appreciate some things just a little bit more.

I was able to take one picture before being wrestled to the ground and beaten senseless. The figure in the foreground is of a chess player. The other figures are just garden variety gawkers. It's eerie how lifelike they are, isn't it?

The last part of the exhibit showed examples of the growth of the fetus. All stages of development were on display, from the almost microscopic one month fetus, to a fully developed nine month baby. There was even a fetus shown inside its mother's womb, inside the mother's body. A truly unique sight. I am not sure when this exhibit will be in North America, but I think everyone should be prepared to think about going to see it if it does.
An amusing aspect of my visit to the museum was that I felt sometimes that I was on display just as much as the bodies. It is a little funny to see some Koreans' reaction to the sight of a foreigner, especially the kids. Jaws dropping to the floor, eyes bugging out of the head, it just goes on and on. Sigh. Sometimes it’s tough to be a star. One thing that bothers me is being labelled "mi gook" (American). I always try to correct this misconception by saying "Anni-yo! Cho Canada saram!" (No! I am Canadian!). Koreans are impressed when you try to use their language, and are ready with pointers to help your pronunciation and comprehension improve.
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On my first trip to Itaewon, I was not too impressed after all I heard, and I didn't go back unless absolutely necessary. I had a hard time finding bookstores those first few years. My first roommate knew where they were, but he couldn't give you directions out of a paper bag.
You can see I was getting a bit tired of constantly being stared at when I was out in public. Even in Seoul. And it just went on all the time I was in Korea. You'd have thought they'd get used to foreigners at some point...

Who's the moron?

Wow First we get to see Bobby get his panties in a bunch over Banksy and now Brian in Jeollonamdo is getting a little bent out of shape over reality. His latest post has him calling anyone who thinks a love hotel is a brothel a moron. ( Oh and Bobby did post about this too, but without any of his Blansky bile.) While I agree most love hotels aren't brothels ... in my experience many of them are.

I went to the blog that offended Blian's sensibilities so much. I was expecting it to REALLY rip into Korea and Love Hotels. It didn't. While it did call them brothels and reprinted comments by people about finding used condoms or rooms that had been rented out for an hour or so it also contained comments talking about how nice the room was and the amenities that came with it. Hardly a blistering piece of blogging.

One cunning stunt who posted in the comment section was fun to read. He is either Korean or a Korean apologist. Why? Well, he droned on about Love Hotels being cultural. He threw out the old "The people writing these articles know nothing about Asian culture." Then he went on about how they are used to take girlfriends to, which is true, but he completely ignored their other use. He even threw in a Japan comparison while ignoring that other aspect of Korean culture, men using hookers of all sorts.

Now a hotel that supplies a room with dildo machines, condoms, sex toys, and/or porn doesn't make it a brothel. Nor does renting rooms out by the hour. There are "No-Tell" Motels all over the world. Love hotels do make a cheaper alternative to regular hotels and are usually well kitted out. Huge beds, TV's, some have whirlpool bath tubs. Most of the ones I have stayed at have been very clean and modern. Better than higher priced main stream hotels.

However, I would class many of the love hotels I have stayed at or seen as brothels of a sort. Why? You can order a woman, and I don't mean with an ad for a coffee girl although you will see them around too. Many of the love hotels I have stayed at have a menu by the phone. You could order food, drink, or a woman. Prices were shown for the food and drink but not for the woman. Several of the hotels had a norae bang (singing room) in the basement, with a lot of "partners" waiting for guys to cum sing or they had their own low end Room Salon. And a Room Salon is a kind of brothel.

The same sort of comments and problems turned up during World Cup 2002. The Korean government actually forced owners to label their hotels "World Inns" to get away from the love hotel image. My biggest problem with Love Hotels during World Cup was the way they doubled or tripled their prices. We ended up paying 70-80,000 won for what would have been a 30,000 won room in Ulsan for the Denmark vs Uruguay match. Bloody gougers!

A hotel with singing room hookers, room salon hookers, or a hooker you can order up to your room over the phone. I have no problem with someone calling a place like that a brothel. Is someone calling a place like that brothel a moron or is the person doing the labeling being an apologist?