A photo published in the original report of a sauna spa was meant to show where runaways often stay. The children in the photo were not runaways involved in prostitution. Al Jazeera apologises for using this image. Seoul, South Korea — Problems with parents, domestic abuse and academic pressure are driving South Korean children to life on the streets with many teenagers turning to prostitution to survive, a report by the Seoul city government says. An estimated , youths run away from home each year, according to the report released by the municipal government in late September, citing South Korean police.
A survey of female teen runaways by the municipal government found half had been led into the sex industry. This reporter spent several weeks talking to runaway girls. All were between age 12 and 18, and their names have been changed to protect their identities. School was also a factor with South Korean students have ranked in the top 10 among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries annually since , he notes.
From schoolgirl to working girl. She left for a few days, sleeping on subway trains. Yu-ja was 14 the second time she fled home. The United Voice for Eradication of Prostitution is a non-governmental organisation that counsels teenage prostitutes, educates them on the pitfalls of selling sex, and administers rehabilitation programmes.
At least a dozen prostitution websites operate online, she adds. The websites are also difficult to police. After authorities shut them down, many operators simply change names and reemerge. The money she earned from her first customer enabled Yu-ja to pay for three weeks of lodging at a jjimjilbang , or public bathhouse. There, he beat her regularly for refusing to take part in track and field activities in high school, so she could get into college despite poor grades.
Yu-ja now lives with Hyun-ju, a year-old runaway prostitute who was sexually abused when she was in third grade by an uncle who lived at her home. Yu-ja came to the interview with Mi-kyung, a year-old runaway from the southern port city of Busan whom she also resides with. Mi-kyung says the reason she first fled home was that, like Yu-ja, she wanted to avoid schoolwork and be with friends. Showing up with hair and lips coloured bright red, Mi-kyung insisted she had never sold sex despite living on the streets for years.
