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The Legal Formation of the Red-Light Districts and their Locational Characteristics during the Early Colonial Times of Korea

  • Journal of the Association of Korean Geographers
  • Abbr : JAKG
  • 2017, 6(2), pp.195-213
  • DOI : 10.25202/JAKG.6.2.7
  • Publisher : Association of Korean Geographers
  • Research Area : Social Science > Geography
  • Received : July 23, 2017
  • Accepted : August 16, 2017

Jong-Geun Kim 1

1동북아역사재단

Accredited

ABSTRACT

During the colonial times, the red-light districts or Yukaku were located in the colonial cities. The districts were introduced in Colonial Korea by promulgating regulations on prostitution which regarded prostitutes as a major factor of diffusion of venereal diseases and social demoralization in 1916. This author focused on the overlooked spatial dimensions of the regulations by analysing articles on brothel buildings and attached maps on red-light districts, and locations of the red-light districts. As my analysis, the attached maps were functioned as a legal basis in segregating prostitutes. Moreover, it was found that the red-light districts were located backstreets of downtown area or remote secluded areas of city outskirts. Ultimately, the prostitutes and the districts were constructed as Other and Other space not only by public health and moral discourses but also the spatial segregation tactics of the Japanese colonial regime.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.