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| Gettyimagesbank |
By Ko Dong-hwan
As people are discouraged from large gatherings in person due to new norms of social distancing to prevent the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the public have turned to all manner of online services, even for purchasing sexual services. Prostitution remains a ubiquitous yet illegal service in Korea and online brokers sell services that on the surface appear to be pairing golfing companions but in fact connect golf-playing buyers of sex with stick-swinging prostitutes.
The practice is difficult for police to monitor because the brokers connecting clients and prostitutes avoid using direct language that implies the actual activity when communicating with involved parties online ― rather using jargon or language better understood in a colloquial sense ― for what is put up as setting up a friendly round of golf with a player partner.
According to a screenshot of a mobile text message sent by one of the brokers in response to a service inquiry, the broker used Koreanized English vocabulary: "after" and "handi." The former refers to the sex service provided by the prostitute after the pair ends golf play, while the latter ― an abbreviation of "handicap" ― refers to the fee for service.
"Paying for sex service and brokers receiving middleman's fees is a typical scenario," said a lawyer cited by Yonhap News Agency. "To root out this crime, the key is to prove that such 'golf meetings' are actually not for golf but for something else."
Women, usually in their 40s, are enlisted via online broker postings on social networking sites with hook lines that advertise opportunities to play golf for free. Applicants are then advised of the opportunity to make earnings through engaging in additional sex services.
Male clients, also usually in their 40s, seek golf partnering services through blogs such as those run by Naver Band, where a number of such services are accessible. The members of such blogs range in number from dozens to hundreds, according to Yonhap.
Blogs feature the prostitutes' profile ― age, possible location and date for game play. After a client makes contact with the broker via the blog indicating which woman he wants to "play golf with," he personally receives a broker's text message that details his pick's photo, physical traits and the menu of services available including prices ― from a casual round with no "after" to one followed by an "after." The client can choose the duration of service ― one day, two days or longer.
The broker's text message showed that the "handi" starts from 300,000 won ($265) to 500,000 won depending on a prostitute's "quality." The broker also demanded the client pay a "matching fee" that ranged from 50,000 won for a round of golf only to 100,000 for two days including "after" and 200,000 won for longer periods.
Korean court records show that online prostitution and brokerage are prosecutable as they violate the same Korean laws that ban such acts offline.
