SEOUL – The women are sex workers from Miari Texas, a red-light district in Hawolgok-dong, Seongbuk-gu. Having been forcibly evicted on April 17 from their homes, where they also worked, the two were now living in the tent — both as a form of protest and because they had nowhere else to go.

The demolition of their homes marked the first of several rounds of evictions expected in the coming weeks, as about 20 other sex workers are still refusing to vacate despite a court order. This is part of a large-scale redevelopment project, led by Lotte Engineering & Construction, that aims to transform the area — historically associated with the sex industry — into a modern high-rise hub. Ten high-rise residential-commercial complexes are to be built here, featuring 2,244 residential units and 498 “officetel” units, which can function both as offices and homes.

‘Inhumane eviction’ vs. ‘rightful enforcement’

“They took everything, even the medicine I depend on for my chronic illness. They could’ve at least let us walk out with some dignity,” Kim, one of the two displaced women in the tent, told The Korea Herald.

“I know how we’re seen by society. Still, we should’ve been given time to get ready. We’re not just objects to be cleared out. We’re human beings.”

Officials descended on the women’s homes early Thursday morning while they were still in their pajamas. Kim described the demolition as “abrupt” and “inhumane.”

Now demanding that the authorities provide them with a place to live, Kim has taken up residence outside the district office, surviving on instant noodles and bottled water provided by civic groups, including the Korean Women’s Association United.

“People keep telling us to find new jobs, but how can we do that without a safe place to stay? You can’t prepare for a new life while sleeping on the street,” she said.

“The room I had in Miari Texas was no more than three pyeong (9.9 square meters). I lived, worked and slept in that same space for years. We’re not asking for luxury. We just need basic support.”

Until the authorities help them relocate, the women, along with about 20 other sex workers whose homes in the Miari Texas area have not yet been demolished, plan to remain in the tent and hold weekly rallies every Thursday.

Placards calling for housing support for sex workers from Miari Texas are displayed outside the Seongbuk District Office on Monday. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD

The Seongbuk District Office, however, offered a different account of what happened.

According to officials, demolition of the area began in December, and the district had repeatedly urged the women to leave voluntarily. However, they resisted, demanding alternative housing options and continuing to call for support from the local government.

This led to months of delays in the project, and Thursday’s eviction became inevitable after a court issued an eviction order.

“The area could no longer be neglected due to persistent issues with unauthorized use and waste disposal,” an official explained.

In local redevelopment projects, residents are typically asked to vacate the area. If they refuse, the district or city government may seek an eviction order from the court, which paves the way for a forced eviction and demolition.

The district official stressed that Thursday’s eviction order included support measures for the evictees. They were provided with clothing and temporary shelter. To carry out the eviction of the two women, more than 100 people, including two human rights lawyers, were deployed to the scene, the official emphasized.

As for the women’s claims of unfair treatment during the demolition process, the district official said, “No injuries or arrests have been reported despite tensions between the sex workers and the demolition crew.”

Regarding the evictees’ demand for relocation support, the official explained that authorities have no choice but to adhere to legal principles, as the sex workers — who were neither registered as residents nor owners of the places they lived in — failed to meet the requirements for such assistance.

In typical urban redevelopment projects, evictees are provided with relocation assistance, but this applies only to those who can prove legal residence, such as with registered residency, a lease contract with a landlord, or similar documentation — conditions the two women did not meet.

The women expressed outrage, calling these legal requirements an unfair blind spot in the law.

“Landlords, including those who operated brothels, will profit from the redevelopment, but we, who lived in small rooms and struggled to get by, are kicked out with nothing,” Kim said.

In South Korea, where sex work is illegal, many sex workers avoid registering their residence in the district where they actually live and work in order to prevent their identities from being exposed to the police. Instead, they often report their addresses as those of relatives or acquaintances in other regions.

Also, the glass-walled rooms commonly found in brothels are not recognized as legal housing, which means sex workers rarely have formal rental agreements.

Mixed reactions from neighbors

Residents of Hawolgok-dong, who have lived near the brothel zone for years, expressed mixed reactions to the sex workers’ demonstration in interviews with The Korea Herald.

Some sympathized with the women, emphasizing the need to protect their basic human rights.

“From the outside, it might look like an illegal group, but when you actually talk to a few of them, you realize they’ve been through things they can’t even speak of,” said Woo, a woman in her 60s who has run a small diner in the neighborhood for 17 years.

“No matter what they do for a living, they still deserve a place to stay. That’s just basic human dignity.”

A woman surnamed Ha in her late 20s said the government is partly to blame for the current situation.

“In the past, sex work was something the government once turned a blind eye to when it brought in foreign currency. These women have lived outside the system for a long time. Helping them move on, starting with housing, is something we all share responsibility for,” she said.

Others, however, called for a fair and impartial implementation of the rules.

“Public support should go to residents who’ve been paying rent in the redevelopment zone, not to those engaged in illegal work who don’t pay taxes. I don’t want my taxes being used for them,” said Yang Dae-seok, a 77-year-old man who has lived in the neighborhood for over 30 years.

Another resident criticized the protest itself.

“Redevelopment is supposed to revitalize the neighborhood, but this kind of demonstration only hurts the area’s image,” said Ryu Myung-ho, a 41-year-old man who runs an auto parts store near Gireum Station.

Fading red lights

A yellow sign at the entrance of Miari Texas warns that minors are prohibited from entering. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD

Miari Texas emerged in the late 1960s as displaced sex workers gathered there after red-light zones near Seoul Station and Jongno 3-ga were demolished due to urban redevelopment projects.

The term “Texas” was widely used at the time as a nickname for red-light districts in Korea, inspired by Western films that portrayed the vast American state of Texas as untamed and lawless.

The red-light zone enjoyed its heyday from the ’80s through the early 2000s, when it housed as many as 360 brothels and up to 3,000 sex workers, according to data from the Korean Women Workers Association. More than 10 red-light districts were known to operate across Seoul.

However, the passage of a special law on prostitution in 2004, followed by large-scale crackdowns, marked the beginning of the decline of the local sex industry.

Miari Texas has been the last remaining brothel cluster in Seoul, as all other former red-light zones in the capital, including the once-notorious Cheongnyangni 588 in Dongdaemun-gu, have been demolished and redeveloped into apartment complexes or commercial spaces under the city’s urban renewal initiatives.

When The Korea Herald visited the area on Monday afternoon, the alley just past a yellow sign that reads “Minors are not allowed” resembled a ghost town.

The narrow path was lined with rows of brothels, many of them dilapidated and worn down. On the walls of some, the word “gong-ga”— meaning “vacant” in Korean — was scrawled in red spray paint.

The walls of a shuttered brothel in Miari Texas are marked with the Korean word “gong-ga,” meaning “vacant,” in red spray paint. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD

Trash and abandoned belongings litter an alleyway in Miari Texas. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD

Most of the food stalls that once sold udon, ramyeon and other snacks in front of the entrances of the brothels had already shut down, leaving the alleys strewn with piles of discarded goods and trash.

Heaps of rotting trash from recent demolitions lay untouched, with the sour smell of decay drifting through the air.

Kim, the evictee, feared that older sex workers would be hit harder by the upcoming evictions.

“They’re in weaker health than we are, and it’s much harder for them to find new work if they’re suddenly left out on the streets. Everyone is living in fear, not knowing when the demolition crews will show up,” she said.

Asia News Network/The Korea Herald