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In Laos, Korea's older predators, solo sex tourists prey on the young and exploited

Published: 05 Nov. 2025, 15:42

In a Telegram chatroom called “Ask Me Anything about Laos,” a person suspected of operating a prostitution business shares photos of Lao women. [TACTEEN]

Locked-up children and teenagers are being exploited by Korean sex tourists in Laos, where older predators spend months at a time cruising the country's bars, karaoke clubs and brothels in search of underage girls, drugs and other vices, activists and Korean expatriates say.

“Don’t talk about drugs. Feel free to talk about sex.”
“Even the cheolchang are advertising these days.”

In Korean slang, cheolchang — literally “jail” — refers to establishments that confine minors and force them into prostitution.

These are some of the posts shared by Korean men on Telegram’s “Laos Nth Room” — the Laotian counterpart to Korea’s infamous “Nth Room” — which has more than 700 members. The original “Nth Room” in Korea was an online network where thousands of men sexually exploited women and produced videos to blackmail them into submission.

Endless photographs of Laotian women were also posted on this Telegram chat room. New arrivals at prostitution venues were put up like attendance lists; some were introduced as “newbies.”

Seok Hee-jin, a visiting researcher at anti-child exploitation civic group Tacteen, said she witnessed tens of thousands of messages get posted after a week of observing the chat room.

A view of a KTV karaoke located in Vang Vieng, Laos [JOONGANG ILBO]

The JoongAng Ilbo reporting team, working with Tacteen, investigated the realities of prostitution involving Korean men in Laos. From 2021 to 2024, with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica), Tacteen researched sexual violence against Laotian women — about which the activists have detailed, on-the-ground knowledge.

The activists have monitored “information-sharing” chat rooms on KakaoTalk and Telegram while tracing the emergence of a Korea-style structure of prostitution. In the chat rooms, information about prostitution, images and videos of Laotian women, and even drug-trade information were circulated secretly.

Naked photos and videos of Laotian women taken without their knowledge were shared frequently. A man who said he runs a local venue in Laos shared a video of a Laotian woman in a restroom and joked, “A dog understands Korean better. If you tell it to sit, it sits.”

More shocking were comments by some Korean men that suggested they sought minors in Laos for prostitution.

“This is what it’s like to be a divorced man.”
“Going to Laos and meeting an 18-year-old is the best.”
“Giving up remarriage.”

“I’m going to arrange an international marriage with my Myanmar girlfriend.”
“She’s 16 now, so I have to wait a bit.”

“Should I try raising a 16-year-old in Laos? Pay for school, care for her. hehe”

A person shares photos of Lao women along with prostitution reviews. [TACTEEN]

There were even posts claiming a 7-year-old could be bought to live in a prostitution venue.

“They even have 7-year-olds,” a user named ‘Bangta’ posted. “A 7‑year‑old is 5 million kip [$230], it’s 10 times the price. Wow. A 10‑year‑old is 600,000 kip, 15 and over is 500,000 kip. That’s the going rate.”

Shin Grina, policy research committee member at the Korea Women's Hotline, said, “Unlike sex buyers from other countries, Korean men show an unusual obsession with the age of sex workers,” adding, “Even those in their 50s and 60s insist on women in their 20s, and many openly say they prefer minors.”

Men in their 50s and 60s 'study' prostitution on YouTube

“Mom, what does ng am lai lai mean?”
“Where did you hear that?”

In May, Shin Yoon-jin, aged 42, was on a plane to Laos with her daughter when she had an unpleasant experience. Having previously worked in Laos, Shin understood Lao.

Her daughter had asked about the phrase ng am, which means “pretty.” Lai lai is an intensifier meaning “very.” Korean men commonly use the phrase when flirting with phu sao, a Lao term for female servers or hostesses in restaurants.

Pointing to a man sitting nearby in golfwear, her daughter said, “That grandpa’s studying.” The man, who appeared to be in his 60s, was watching a YouTube video and memorizing Lao phrases.

“Since Covid-19, Laos has been flooded with prostitution ads promoting 'young girls',” Shin said. “Laos has become a haven for monthlong stays by Korean men in their 50s and 60s. It’s not uncommon for families traveling together to witness these uncomfortable scenes.”

Sex trafficking of minors in Laos has developed into organized crime. According to a 2024 report by the U.S. State Department, of the 168 human trafficking victims identified in Laos in 2023, 149 — or 88.7 percent — were sexually exploited, and 145 of them were girls.

“These are official government figures,” said Tae Yoon-mi, a team leader at Tacteen. “The actual number of child victims is estimated to be several times higher.”

In a Telegram chatroom sharing information about prostitution trips to Laos, a post appears expressing a desire to meet minors. [TACTEEN]

Google and Naver are the pimps

“My first time in Laos’ Thakhek — a 68-year-old man and a 19-year-old virgin.”
“A club where a man in his 70s gets sexually harassed.”

These are the titles of videos from a YouTube channel with more than 70,000 subscribers as of Nov. 4. The YouTuber, who lives in Laos, shares his personal sexual experiences on camera. Other channels also post stories about life in Laos, promote venues and offer reservation services. These channels have tens of thousands to over 100,000 subscribers.

“Search for Laos on YouTube [in Korean], and ‘nightlife’ is the top keyword,” said a Korean man in his 30s working in the Laos tourism industry. “It’s embarrassing, because you get completely different results if you search in English.”

Indeed, many YouTube videos marketed as guides to “Laos nightlife” were openly promoting prostitution. “Because English isn’t widely spoken in Laos, you need to know Lao to make reservations,” said a Korean resident surnamed Park, who has lived in Laos for 11 years. “Many men watch YouTube videos in advance, share information and then arrange prostitution through local Korean brokers.”

On Naver, advertisements disguised as tourism packages were also rampant. One Naver cafe promoting Laos travel included posts with phrases like “one-on-one tour date with a local girl guide.”

“Google, YouTube and Naver do nothing to block ads that promote or broker illegal prostitution,” said Seok, who stressed the need for crackdowns.

A portion of a Telegram conversation in Laos. A person suspected of operating a prostitution business uploads women’s “work schedules” and photos. [TACTEEN]

‘Happy balloons’ on the table

Although drug talk was officially banned in the chat rooms, there were many messages suggesting drug use and sales.

“Three people at the next table just did this — probably double the usual dose.”
“Passed out twice but still went all the way.”

The table was littered with two beer cans and several deflated balloons — so-called “happy balloons” filled with nitrous oxide, a powerful hallucinogen that gives the sensation of floating.

“It was my first trip to Laos last month, so I was cautious about party room balloons,” wrote one user in the chat. “But I want to try one next time.”

Another Korean man asked, “If you buy phu sao 'collagen,' do they take it well?” and added, “I don’t want to take it myself, but I want to give it to her and try [sex] afterward.”

Collagen is a slang term for a synthetic drug — a mix of methamphetamine dissolved in beverages. Typically manufactured near the Laos–Myanmar border, the drug is distributed throughout Southeast Asia via the Golden Triangle. Although low in purity, it is cheaper than meth, cocaine or ketamine.

A message on Telegram in Laos shows evidence of drug use. The balloons, known as “happy balloons,” appear to be filled with a drug with hallucinogenic effects. [TACTEEN]

Rents have increased fivefold since Covid-19

Korean men accounted for 50.4 percent of all international travelers, while women accounted for 49.6 percent, according to data submitted by the Ministry of Justice to liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Min Hyung-bae from 2021 to 2025. But among travelers to Laos, 67.9 percent were men — a stark gender imbalance.

“Search ‘Laos’ on KakaoTalk’s open chat, and you’ll find many rooms recruiting jogak,” said Min at a National Assembly audit on Oct. 14. “Most of these are run by unregistered travel agencies.”

Jogak is a slang term referring to solo travelers grouped together for visits to karaoke bars and prostitution venues — for those who feel uncomfortable going alone.

Laos began gaining popularity among Korean men in their 50s and 60s for monthlong stays after the pandemic. “Before Covid, monthly rent for a decent studio was about $150,” said Park, a Korean resident. “Now it’s gone up to $700 to $800. Do you think they’re just playing golf all month? They have other goals.”

Korea has become a source country for sex buyers and a driver of secondary crimes in Southeast Asia. Yet overseas prostitution and sex crimes receive little regulation or punishment. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has not monitored the issue at all.

“The ministry had no grasp of the situation surrounding overseas sex tourism,” Rep. Min's office said. According to the Korean National Police Agency, only 11 violations of the Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts were recorded in 2023 — and not a single case involved brokering or advertising prostitution in Southeast Asia.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE TAE-YUN, PARK SEONG-HUN [[email protected]]