For the first time in South Korean history, thousands of sex workers and brothel owners from around the country flocked to the nation's capital building demanding their "rights to make a living" on Oct. Donned with sunglasses, baseball caps, and masks to cover their identity more than 3, prostitutes and runners of brothels staged a protest in front of the National Assembly building in Seoul's Yeouido district.
The women came from 12 of the nations major cities and provinces' large-scale red-light districts. The "working girls" from Seoul's Cheongnyangni brothels or " Cheongnyangni " were wearing red baseball caps while some from the red-light district by Yongsan Station put on dark blue ones.
Each color represented each groups of prostitutes from different districts. Please rise," shouted one woman using a microphone. Stand up, please! The protesters started shouting such slogans as "rights for our life" and "recognize our profession. Instead, the women rebelled and demanded to be left alone. Sex trade workers are singing protest songs. Courtesy Ohmynews Civic groups played down the crackdown arguing that the women were put in danger and controlled by brothel owners.
But sex workers flatly denied that. They have been asking the government to allow them to prepare for the women's life outside the sex industry by putting off enforcement of laws until Surrounding the rare demonstrators were a group of detectives in plain clothes who also gathered from police stations in the country.
One special police company of female officers were mobilized for this demonstration. Police also prepared about 60 blankets because there was a "tip" that the demonstrators would stage a "naked" demonstration. It was the first time in South Korean history that sex workers held a protest rally on a national level. The protesters were drumming up the mood at the rally by using traditional musical instruments as gongs and drums. They sang popular protest songs such as "Morning Due" and "Firefly.
