Cheongnyangni 588 Seoul biggest red light district

Every countries and major cities has their own red light district. Although Asian people are more shy and closed about sex-things, the red light districts are still the most favourite place for tourist to visit or businessmen to spend their leisure life.

At Seoul, there are so many red light district, some are illegal but popular. The most favourite may be Cheongnyangni 588, Mia-ri, Yeongdeungpo, and Yongsan. The three red-light districts - Miari Texas, Cheongnyangni 588 and Yongsan Station Texas - are all located north of the Han River that flows through the capital from east to west.

Different with Japan prostitution, Korea girls only call out to a Korean man, and ignore westernen guys. Foreing tourist must be carefur to do a transaction with the girls. If found by the police, foreigners will be punished according to the nation’s tough new anti-prostitution laws as well.



Cheongnyangni 588

Cheongnyangni 588 (pronounced 'oh-pal-pal') is a red light district in Seoul, South Korea near Cheongnyangni station, and behind the Lotte Department Store. It's similar to the famous red light district in Amsterdam, Netherlands.The commom name for this district is "Oh Pall Pall", which means "588" in korean. This is named after a bus which once passed through this area.

Go to any train or subway station in or around Seoul and you will be greeted by the same scene. In most of these red light districts, foreigners are not welcome, and some, like Yongsan or 588, are far bigger then the Itaewon equivalent.

Cheongnyangni 588 for example is huge, a sprawling neighbourhood of alleyways lined by glass windows where the ladies parade their wares. 588 is the centre of legalized prostitution in Seoul, an effort by the government to control the spread of the red light districts. This evidently hasn’t worked as in virtually every street corner in Seoul sex is for sale.

It's named "588" because this is the district address where most of the brothels and businesses of the neighborhood are concentrated, not because there is a bus by that number which passes through the area, as commonly believed.



588 has received the brunt of police crackdowns on prostitution over the years to the chagrin of the brothel owners and working girls. The area has also gotten another 'blow' by the city's decision to do extensive development through the area.

At its height, 588 had as many as 400 women working at 150 brothels in the area, but that figure has curtailed down to 60 brothels, as of the summer of 2006 and is expected to be fully closed by further crackdowns in 2007.

The infamous "Cheongnyangni 588". It used to be one of the largest red light districts in South Korea before numerous police crackdowns - mostly due to international pressure. As of 2009, it is still in operation, although at a lesser capacity.

About Cheongnyangni 588 :
-Westerners are usually not welcome and ignored, as in most Korean red light districts.
-Prostitution is still technically illegal, and the police can question anyone caught speaking to one of the girls through the windows.
-All red light districts are off limits to US Military.



Windows full of korean girls. Most of the nearby karaoke bars and nightclubs are also venues for prostitution, and very expensive. But in the windows, the starting price is 70,000 won (about 50 USD). At night, little old korean ladys will hang out at the intersection near Lotte Dept Store and try very hard to get single males to go to the brothels behind Lotte Dept Store where the older, past-their-prime hookers do their business.

An interesting sight to see. Normal, every day people walk the streets while scantily clad korean girls sit in windows which line the streets, all day and all night. It never closes. Prostitution seems widely accepted and tolerated in Korea, but only for koreans. The girls will call out to every korean man walking by, but ignore westerners. Although foreigners of asian descent, such as japanese tourists, seem to also frequent the place.

The sprawling Cheongnyangni 588, which is not far from downtown Seoul, will be replaced with a civilian-invested railroad station, the construction permit for which is likely to be issued within the month, the official said. "A budget of 120 million won has been earmarked for fleshing out the district's redevelopment plan."



Watch Cheongnyangni 588 red light district Video here

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