Korean life ugly for 'intergirls'

"I will remember Korea as a country of sex slavery," said a Filipina last month at the Incheon airport as she prepared to leave Korea.

She came to Korea in December last year to pursue her "Korean dream." While working in the Philippines earning $3 a day she learned from an emigration broker that she could earn $600 a month in Korea. She said she jumped at the chance and came to Korea to work as a nightclub dancer.

After signing an contract with her Korean employer that was unfair, she said, she complained that she was essentially a slave, being sold from club to club. The club owners forced her into prostitution; she tried to flee several times but was caught by her employers. Through all that, she said, she was never paid her salary. She recently reported to the Korean immigration office that she was an illegal resident. The office helped her to receive 2.5 million won (about $2,000) from the club and deported her.

Since the Korean government eased standards for entering Korea on an E-6 entertainment visa in 1998, the number of so-called "intergirls," foreign women who work at Korean entertainment spots, mostly as prostitutes, has jumped.

Intergirls suffer from a wide variety of human rights abuses, but critics say the Korean government has not taken the problem seriously. But since the Philippine Embassy last October said it would file a lawsuit against the Korean government on behalf of Filipinas forced into prostitution in Korea, the government has begun to take steps to protect the human rights of the women. The National Police Agency recently cracked down on nightclubs where foreign women work and arrested 33 employers who were charged with crimes ranging from human trafficking to assault to illegal confinement of their workers. Despite the crackdown, foreign workers' advocacy groups say they receive thousands of calls each month from intergirls asking for help.

Another Filipina got pregnant after sleeping with a customer of the night club she worked at. She said the club owner forced her to abort the baby, despite her protests that as a Catholic she could not allow the child to be aborted. Just a week after the abortion, she said she was forced into prostitution again. As her health grew worse because she had not had sufficient time to recover from the surgery, she said, the owner kicked her out of the club.

Most women abused by Korean club owners never report their cases to Korean authorities because they know they will be deported if they do. They say they have to keep working to pay off the debts they owe to their employers or brokers.

Koh Hyeon-woong, head of the International Migration Organization's Korean office said, "Other countries have had an influx of intergirls, too, but the human rights abuses there have not been as serious as here."

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E-mail from an intergirl who left Korea

I would like to take this opportunity to write to tell the Korean people and to all the Filipino women who work as entertainers or prostitutes in your country.

Anyway, the main reason why we decided to work in Korea is because we wanted to help our parents for the financial stability of our family, and of course for our own futures. But we failed. Our life there in your country is not always fair. There were difficult times and good times -- or at least times that seem to be good because they are less difficult than what we've been through here. But as of now I and my other friends have no jobs. We all want to apply again in another country, but there is a fear in our hearts.

Our recruiter in the Philippines introduced us to a Korean who introduced us to our company manager. They made many promises to us before we went to work there. They promised not to force us to bar fine (leave the bar with customers who pay), saying the Korean government does not allow this kind of thing. They promised us $480 a month. But none of those promises were kept.

In my case, one of the friends of my boss wanted me to go out with him, but I refused. For that, they locked me in a room for three days. I was so afraid. I wanted to die. I wanted to run away, but how? I had nowhere to run. Almost everyday, we cried because of our job. We really hated it. Although we looked so happy, deep inside we were dying.

Please, stop prostitution now. I know there are still Filipinas suffering as we did.

Please, inspect all the clubs in Korea.

by Special Reporting Team