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Japanese Colonial Rule and State-Managed Prostitution: Korea's Licensed Prostitutes

Japanese Colonial Rule and State-Managed Prostitution: Korea's Licensed Prostitutes Not long after Liberation, a Korean scholar reflected upon Japan’s colonial rule of Korea: “Japanese imperial rule left a baneful legacy for the women of this land. This legacy consists of two primary features: one is the licensed prostitution system, and the other, the preservation and prolongation of feudalistic ideas about the subordination of women.”l In this instance, “licensed prostitution” refers to a system of prostitution in which brothels are located in pleasure quarters regulated by the Japanese colonial government. Obviously, for prostitution to be licensed it must be administered by the state in one way or another. We should note, however, that licensed prostitution sometimes takes other forms as well. For instance, in 1882,Gumma Prefecture in Japan used its Public Morals Police to begin the management of prostitution. This prostitution was still considered “private,” but according positions 5:’ 0 1997 by Duke University Press. positions 5:l Spring 1997 to our definition, it more properly should be considered a form of licensed prostitution.2 Still, when the Korean scholar critiqued the “licensed” system, he was no doubt using the term in its most usual sense, that is, to indicate an officially organized and managed system of prostitution. T understand http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png positions asia critique Duke University Press

Japanese Colonial Rule and State-Managed Prostitution: Korea's Licensed Prostitutes

Youn-ok, Song
positions asia critique , Volume 5 (1) – Mar 1, 1997
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Publisher
Duke University Press
Copyright
Copyright 1997 by Duke University Press
ISSN
1067-9847
eISSN
1527-8271
DOI
10.1215/10679847-5-1-171
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Not long after Liberation, a Korean scholar reflected upon Japan’s colonial rule of Korea: “Japanese imperial rule left a baneful legacy for the women of this land. This legacy consists of two primary features: one is the licensed prostitution system, and the other, the preservation and prolongation of feudalistic ideas about the subordination of women.”l In this instance, “licensed prostitution” refers to a system of prostitution in which brothels are located in pleasure quarters regulated by the Japanese colonial government. Obviously, for prostitution to be licensed it must be administered by the state in one way or another. We should note, however, that licensed prostitution sometimes takes other forms as well. For instance, in 1882,Gumma Prefecture in Japan used its Public Morals Police to begin the management of prostitution. This prostitution was still considered “private,” but according positions 5:’ 0 1997 by Duke University Press. positions 5:l Spring 1997 to our definition, it more properly should be considered a form of licensed prostitution.2 Still, when the Korean scholar critiqued the “licensed” system, he was no doubt using the term in its most usual sense, that is, to indicate an officially organized and managed system of prostitution. T understand

Journal

positions asia critique – Duke University Press

Published: Mar 1, 1997

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