Sex workers in Miari Texas end weekly rallies after reaching relocation support agreement
An alley is deserted prior to demolition in northeastern Seoul's Miari Texas red-light district, Feb. 12. Courtesy of Anastasia Traynin
The Miari Texas Sex Worker Relocation Committee held its 69th and final regular weekly rally on March 5 in front of Seongbuk District Office, after achieving a hard-fought relocation support agreement with the redevelopment association for the Sinwolgok District 1 urban renewal project in northeastern Seoul.
Miari Texas is the name given to Seoul’s last remaining large-scale red-light district, which operated for nearly seven decades in the Hawolgok-dong neighborhood near Gireum Station on Seoul Metro Line 4. Now that it faces redevelopment, its evicted residents face the challenge of relocating elsewhere.
Committee members, activists and citizen supporters had staged weekly rallies since November 2023 in front of the district office, demanding relocation compensation and defending their right to a livelihood. Ultimately, the agreement had to be made with the redevelopment association, as only landlords and brothel owners were legally eligible for government support.
People take down a tent in front of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, March 5. Courtesy of Miari Texas Sex Worker Relocation Committee
For the workers and residents of Miari Texas, largely middle-aged and elderly women, their most desperate need is stable housing, which has been a focus of their call for “realistic relocation support.” Though the relocation support amount was not formally disclosed, the committee and redevelopment association had reportedly settled on 30 million won ($20,000) per brothel business, with additional compensation of 100 percent to 300 percent.
Since last October, district officials have offered alternative job training and emergency housing subsidies to women, provided they register as “victims of the sex trade” and pledge not to resume sex work, a pattern of conditional support that has been applied in other red-light districts such as Yongjugol in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. It is not clear how many women accepted these conditions.
People march through an alley at Miari Texas red-light district in northeastern Seoul, Nov. 20, 2025. Courtesy of Anastasia Traynin
Since September 2024, the regular protests included a memorial for a single mother who was a sex worker in the area, who was driven to suicide after loan sharks exposed her identity at her child’s kindergarten. In the wake of another incident in April 2025, in which two sex workers were evicted during demolition of their residences, the committee intensified its presence in front of the district office with a 24-hour sit-in vigil.
At a rally last summer, one of the women recently evicted from her residence gave a speech highlighting the purpose of their struggle. “We have not only done business here,” she said. “We are the people who have built this street, this alleyway, this neighborhood together. But now, in the name of redevelopment, we are being pushed out of here without a trace, as though we never existed! We demand countermeasures for our livelihood. If this city is really for its people, don’t the ones who have worked on this street at least deserve some respect and gratitude through compensation?”
Over the course of 2025, many of the Miari Texas residents, including individual workers and shop owners residing in the district, experienced court-ordered evictions before formal demolition began in November. The relocation committee filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea over alleged human rights violations.
A storefront is covered in graffiti in northeastern Seoul's Miari Texas red-light district, Nov. 20, 2025. The messages read "Empty house" and "No parking." Courtesy of Anastasia Traynin
Of the 115 brothels that resisted eviction, the last remaining business will shut its doors by March 13. Sinwolgok District 1 is set to become a residential complex with 46-story apartment buildings of 2,201 housing units and a 170-room officetel.
At the final rally, Seongbuk District head Lee Seung-ro came out to address the attendees. “I believe we have reached this final stage through mutual compromise and common ground,” he said. “The district will continue to take follow-up measures.”
Two women sit on mats as part of a protest in front of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, March 5. Courtesy of Miari Texas Sex Worker Relocation Committee
Kang Hyun-joon, a representative of the Hanteo National Union sex workers’ organization, said that though the committee could not force the redevelopment association to provide financial assistance, they had decided to end the weekly rallies after seeing that their push for relocation support was taken seriously.
Following the rally, participants removed the tent, signs and banners from in front of the district office. While the future of the former Miari Texas residents remains uncertain, they had final remarks for those who had attended the regular Thursday rallies and provided other support for more than two years.
“Thank you so much for fighting with us until now," they said in a written statement. "We were able to make it this far with the support of so many people.”
Redevelopment is expected to proceed following the agreement.
"Now the last remaining part (of the redevelopment process) is almost finished being negotiated," an official of the redevelopment association told The Korea Times.
Anastasia Traynin is a writer, editor, translator and teacher based in Seoul.
Korea Times intern Kim Young-moo helped with this article.