“Is the House Next Door a Brothel?”

[Brian]

On fourth floors of the 15-story building, until recently, there were six rooms which were used for different purposes than other rooms in the same building. These rooms, which were made to look like ordinary homes, were used for prostitution. They are called “office brothels.”


Their interior decorations are exactly same as those of normal studio apartments. Because they look the same, people did not know sex was sold in them, and the customers do not worry about suspicious stares.


The rooms were equipped with everything from beds to computers to TVs to audios to gas ranges. There were confectionary and instant noodle bags to give them the look of ordinary households where young tenants live.


On July 4, the Suseo Police requested an arrest warrant for a Mr. Hwang (27) suspected of running a prostitution ring since this past January on more than 1,900 occasions, raking in 250 million won. His accomplice, a Mr. Park (32), prostitute Miss Oh (22), and customer Mr. Jung (26) were booked without physical detention as well.


According to the police, for the sake of maximum security, Hwang ran his business on a 100 percent reservation-basis. And customers, who came to the brothel via internet ads he posted, were told to come to his office, which was made to look like a high-end optician’s. Only when they were identified as paying customers was the green light to the rooms given.


Police said that Hwang prepared uniforms for students, sailors, nurses, and flight attendants plus racing girl outfits. He ordered his prostitutes to wear them if customers wanted.


A police officer said, “When I first came there for the investigation, I did not think the sex trade was happening there because it looked exactly like an ordinary apartment. The only thing that caught my eye was a bunch of toothbrushes and towels, which later prompted me to suspect the place was an “office brothel.”


Police thinks there are some 10 “office brothels” in business in the Gangnam area and have decided to crack down.

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=040000&biid=2007070502268

Nice take by the Marmot's Hole:

Raises the question, why weren’t the uniforms of students, sailors, nurses, flight attendants, and racing girls in the closet enough to tip of the police? It took toothbrushes and towels?

http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/07/05/the-hercule-poirot-of-korea/

I lived sort of near Seolleung Station last year, and it's definitely an interesting neighborhood.  The strip from Gangnam-Yeoksam-Seolleung-Samseong Stations is a financial center in Seoul, and you have lots of modern, fancy officebuildings and miniskyscrapers.  But if you walk a block or two behind these buildings you have rows and rows of love motels, massage parlors, hofs, and, apparently, office brothels. 

[Samuel]

That is so funny--they go to the entire trouble of making it look legit, but forget to hide the many toothbrushes sitting around. Ha ha ha. Dumb asses!

[Arsalan]

Why am I not surprised?  Last week I went to a coffee shop (actually a couple of different ones) with a friend, and was seen by teachers.  Afterwards, I was told not to enter those places, as they are of ill repute...  I didn't notice anything there, but one of the coffee shops was the only thing open until 5am, and the coffee was actually brewed!  Kind of disappointing to find that out, I can't get myself to go in there now.

[AlexMokpo]

Hahaha, yeah, speaking of those DaBangs, I was in a love motel in Gwangju one time, and there were some matches.  Being the clepto that I am, i took them with me when I left.  They were advertising a DaBang, but I din't really think anything of it.  I left them on my kitchen table.
Then one day some students come over and see it and burst out laughing.  "What's so funny?"  And they explain that it's a coffee shop where you can order coffee delivered 24/7 (just as the matchbox says) and it will be delivered by a beautiful girl.  You can then arrange some post-coffee activities with said girl for a negotiable price.

[Virginia]

Thanks for sending me the link, Alex.

My oppistel IS home to several, um, professional ladies.

There are 2 vans (not unlike the TKD vans that drive kids around) with somethingsomething Da Bang stencilled on them that drop off and pick up women, as well as numerous taxis. [sidenote: I live in the ass end of nowhere, but all the taxi drivers know exactly where my little oppistel is].

I'd just assumed the women were living there, but never thought that the operation might be working out of there.

hmmmm

[Arsalan]

Hmmm....

Now that I think more of it, I remember a couple of women that wore skimpy skirts and kept comming in for packages or something, and heading back out.  I can't believe I can be so naive about things.

If that's the case with this place, then one of my pizza delivery guys likely thinks my friend and I are johns; he walked in, and had an amazed look on his face upon seeing me.   I saw him once more two nights ago as I walked back home from a new teacher's housewarming, and he freaked out a little when I waved my hand to say hello, as if I were to hit him! LOL.  I still don't know what to think of that.