Korean Prostitution Chapter 6

Chapter VI Conclusion

Since 1945, both the American and Korean governments have attempted to conceal the actual conditions within the military towns in South Korea. A prostitute must die and a soldier must be caught in the act of committing homicide, in order for these women's existence to be acknowledged. In order to address these injustices we must become aware of the affects of militarism and more specifically, the United States military presence in South Korea. The theoretical framework constructed by Cynthia Enloe, allows analysis to be conducted from an angle which broadens the lens in which international relations are viewed. Enloe proposes that once the reader recognizes the importance of gender and the influence of the international upon the individual, the extent of injustices committed by militaristic powers abroad will become clearly identifiable. Enloe claims that the use of gender permeates not only the relationships between men and women but also international politics.

The U.S. exhibits its patriarchal tendencies through justification of social manipulation of South Korean society. The U.S. policy in Korea, which supposedly promotes 'security', 'morale'. and 'progress', results in the continual violation of the human rights of the women and children in the military towns. According to the American military, 'security' provides justification for U.S. presence in Korea, emphasizing the North Korean threat, soldiers 'morale' must be maintained in order to facilitate a solid defensive force and future 'progress' in East Asia is reliant upon the maintenance of U.S. military forces in South Korea even after reunification. However, to the women living in the military towns this terminology takes on an entirely different meaning; 'security' represents the U.S. militaries tendency to commit crimes and avoid punishment, 'morale' represents the U.S. tendency to degrade Korean women and deliberately demean the Korean people and culture and finally 'progress' represents the future violations of human rights by the U.S. military in Korea. Societal ills such as the spread of STDs, the abandonment of Amerasian children, the physical and sexual abuse of women in the military towns, and the lack of adequate medical facilities, are concealed through the patriarchal facade of this ideological terminology. The U.S. must be held accountable for the crimes committed by GI's in foreign countries and provide policy reforms to facilitate the improvement of conditions in American sponsored military towns throughout Korea.

In addition, the policy of the Korean government and the nationalist social activists who exhibit the tendency to ignore the plight of the women and children caused by the U.S. military in Korea, must be reevaluated. As with the U.S., the Korean government and nationalist social movements redefined the realities of the military town, especially concerning gender and the role of women in society. As a result the plight of the women and children in the military towns was ignored by these domestic agents.

In the last two years, four women have been killed in the military towns. These incidents show the potential danger of an unrestricted U.S. military presence in Korea. In fact, the American military acts have the potential to spread beyond the bars and prostitutes of the military towns and affect the rest of Korean society. For instance, on April 3rd of 1997, Joe Joong-pil (������), a twenty-three year old student who attended Hongik University (ȫ�ʹ��б�) was killed in an Itaewon Burger King, the only two suspects, the son of an American military officer (Arthur John Patterson) and his friend (Edward Kun Lee) were never indicted.1) In addition, on April 28th 2000 an American employed by the U.S. Army was accused and indicted for molesting a large number of elementary school students next to the U.S. military base in the Taegu (�뱸) area. This disturbing trend of American military culture to propagate violence must be thoroughly examined and reformed.

American prejudices, superiority complexes and ignorance all contribute to the conflicts within Korea and throughout the world. With the improvements in technology, transportation, and information technology, the opportunity and necessity for individuals to interact with diverse nationalities have greatly increased. In addition, decisions concerning international policy, more than ever, have an immense effect upon individuals throughout the world. Accordingly, the individual relationships, which have evolved from the ties between Korea and the American military, must also be analyzed in order to create a knowledge base, which will reflect the realities of life in the military towns. In other words, we must recognize the extent of the U.S. military's human rights abuses upon individuals in Korea.