Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in US-Korea Relations

Citation:

Moon, Katharine H. S. 1997. Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in US-Korea Relations. New York: Columbia University Press.

Author: Katharine H. S. Moon

Abstract:

Drawing on a vast array of data - archival materials, interviews with officials, social workers, and the candid revelations of sex industry workers - Moon explores the way in which the bodies of Korean prostitutes - where, when, and how they worked and lived - were used by the United States and the Korean governments in their security agreements. Weaving together issues of gender, race, sex, the relationship between individuals and the state, and foreign policy, she shows how women such as the Korean prostitutes are marginalized and made invisible in militarily dependent societies both because of the degradation of their work and because of their importance for national security.

Keywords: prostitution, governance, military sexual assault, national security, sex trafficking

Topics: Gender, Women, Governance, Livelihoods, Sexual Livelihoods, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Race, Security, Trafficking, Sex Trafficking Regions: Americas, North America, Asia, East Asia Countries: South Korea, United States of America

Year: 1997