Curtain falling on 'Cheongnyangni 588'
A man talks with a prostitute (unseen) at “Cheongnyangni 588” red-light district in Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Joel Lee
Red-light district to be redeveloped
By Joel Lee
As one strolls down the streets of “Cheongnyangni 588” in northern Seoul, the eerie stillness stirs up the image of a ghost town than that of a zesty red-light district.
A banner hangs on the entrance which welcomes redevelopment plan for the area popularly known as “Cheongnyangni 588” where some long-legged, half-naked sex workers were glancing dispassionately at passers-by.
Covering a large tract southwest of Cheongnyangni station along Wangsan Road, the second largest red-light district in Seoul ― spanning over 60 years ― will go down in history as Dongdaemun District Office passed a redevelopment plan on Dec. 26.
“We expect the redevelopment plan to progress smoothly this year. If all goes well, we estimate the construction work to begin early next year. The only tricky part will be, due to the stakeholders’ conflicting interests, the appraisal and assessment of property values may fall short of everyone’s calculations,” said Im Byung-uk, board member of the redevelopment promotion committee.
In a turf war over the highly-valued Cheongnyangni subway sphere, the “uncomfortable cohabitation” of the red-light district and the neighboring residential area and shopping mall has long been a source of conflict in and around town.
“I think the redevelopment plan of Cheongnyangni area is heading in the right direction. The area has been stigmatized over the years as a red-light district. Once the redevelopment is complete, it can become a new commercial center in northeastern part of Seoul,” said professor Nam Jin of University of Seoul, College of Urban Sciences, in a telephone interview.
About impending issues in the redevelopment process, he added, “the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Dongdaemun District Office must cooperate and make efforts to integrate together the residents’ housing rights, the neighborhood identity, and mom-and-pop shop owners, including those from the surrounding traditional markets.”
The origin of ‘Cheongnyangni 588’ goes back to the 1950-1953 Korean War. As Cheongnyangni Station became a strategic transport-hub passing soldiers to the eastern front of Kangwon province, various sex workers started to concentrate and settle in the area.
“As a product of postwar urbanization in which rural migrants strenuously settled their lives in the capital, the place became interlaced with growth politics of Seoul citizens themselves,” said Professor Oh Yoo-seok of ‘Democracy and Social Movements Institute’ at Sungkonghoe University.
“The state incubated its growth and society exploited its body. At the same time, people turned a blind eye to its victims ― the sex workers. The identity of ‘Cheongnyangni 588’ cannot be judged from outsiders’ moral standpoint.”
The name 588 has two theories for its origin ― one being the address of the district and the other being the number of an intra-city bus.
Following the nation’s economic boom in the 1980s, “Cheongnyangni 588” enjoyed heydays along with two other red-light districts of ‘Cheonho-dong Texas’ and ‘Miari Texas’ (the name “Texas” being euphemism for the wild and lustful American bar).
“Over the last 32 years I have been here, the area hasn’t changed a bit, except further deteriorating. In the old goodie days of the 1980s and ‘90s, even the mongrels roamed the streets nipping 10,000-won bills in their mouths,” said a 48-year-old “business runner,” who declined to be named. “But the 2004 law (Prohibition Law on Sex Trafficking) really hit us hard.”
Another pimp, 60, referred to as “big brother (hyung-nim)” by other colleagues, said, “I have run this business for 30 years. 20 years ago, the ladies used to have a lot of debt, so were forced into business. But nowadays they commute to work in Mercedes or BMWs. They range from university students to single moms, mostly from the countryside. They work 5 days a week, just like government workers. We (business owners) are the ones having a hard time now.”
As a labyrinth of underground economy, the area still remains an asylum to prostitutes, pimps, madams, charwomen, motel owners and pornographic video sellers that precariously manage their lives.
There are now about 60 brothels in business.
“The colleagues working here generally don’t welcome the redevelopment situation. We are doing it for our own survival. I am not particularly worried because I will probably be able to carry on the same work elsewhere,” one sex worker in her 20s said in an extremely rare response to an interview.
Through the scheme to be completed by 2019, the Seoul government expects revitalization of Cheongnyangni area as the commercial and cultural point of northeastern Seoul.
The newly developed area will encompass residence, business, culture, and lodging facilities in two 65-story multipurpose buildings and a high-rise landmark tower.
So what future lies ahead for ‘Cheongnyangni 588’ aside from the gleaming towers and glossy tracts?
“In the 21st century where women are starting to assert their gender rights and identities, the redevelopment agency must make an effort to reproduce the history of the land. We should not shy away from our uncomfortable past,” said prof. Oh of Sungkonghoe University.
“Creating some form of a public sculpture or preserving a model building as a museum may be a good idea, especially for the citizen-centered Mayor Park Won-soon’s administration,” she said.