Bacchus Ladies () are elderly female prostitutes in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. Bacchus Ladies are women in their 50s, 60s, and some even their 80s, who

solicit Solicitation is the act of offering, or attempting to purchase, goods and/or services. Legal status may be specific to the time or place where it occurs. The crime of "solicitation to commit a crime" occurs when a person encourages, "solicits, r ...

men in Seoul's parks and plazas for sex in nearby

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

s for about 20,000 to 30,000 '' won'' ($18–26

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

), or even less if the man is a regular client. Bacchus Ladies traditionally sold bottles of

Bacchus-F Bacchus ( ko, 박카스) is a non-carbonated South Korean energy drink, first launched in 1963. It is known by the brand names Bacchus-D and Bacchus-F, while the amount of Taurine in the latter product (2000mg) is higher. Both formulas are manufa ...

energy drink in parks popular with elderly men who became their clientele, but younger men in their 20s to 40s are also increasingly becoming regular clients. According to Dr. Lee Ho-Sun, a researcher, about 400 women work in Jongmyo Park in Seoul.

Background

2011 Poverty rate by age group in South Korea

2011 Poverty rate in South Korea (age 65+)

The Bacchus Ladies phenomenon is believed to have originated after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with South Korea being one of the countries most affected by the

financial contagion Financial contagion refers to "the spread of market disturbances mostly on the downside from one country to the other, a process observed through co-movements in exchange rates, stock prices, sovereign spreads, and capital flows". Financial contag ...

.Ng, Desmond (January 29, 2017
"Granny prostitutes reflect South Korea's problem of elderly poverty"
''Channel NewsAsia'' In South Korea's traditionally

Confucian society Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

, elderly parents were highly respected and in their old age could have relied on their children for care regardless of the economic situation. However, South Korea's rapid development since the 1960s, known as the

Miracle on the Han River The Miracle on the Han River refers to the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea, following the Korean War (1950–1953), during which South Korea transformed from a least developed country to a developed country. The rapid reconstru ...

, led to an uprooting of this culture among many younger and more transient generations of South Koreans. Subsequent rapid changes in society and attitudes of children has resulted in a

poverty rate Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

of 47.2% for South Korean women over the age of 65, the highest among the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

countries. This figure rises to 76.6% for single elderly women. The state pensions provided by the South Korean welfare system are often inadequate to cover the rising medical bills of old age. The historic male-dominated culture of Korean society meant many older women had no savings or

private pension A private pension is a plan into which individuals contribute from their earnings, which then will pay them a private pension after retirement. It is an alternative to the state pension. Usually, individuals invest funds into saving schemes or mu ...

because their youth did not provide the equal education and job opportunities of their male counterparts. Professor Lee Ho-Sun of the Korea Soongsil Cyber University in Seoul has carried out research and found many of the women who became Bacchus Ladies were involved in prostitution during their earlier years in karaoke bars and

teahouses A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whi ...

, returning to prostitution in later years because of financial pressures. At first, Bacchus Ladies had made livings by selling bottles of

, a popular energy drink in South Korea, which they sold to elderly men who socialized in the parks and plazas in Seoul. Eventually, many of these men became their main clientele after transitioning into prostitution.

Policing

Prostitution in South Korea is illegal, and the police patrol the areas frequented by Bacchus Ladies, primarily in Seoul's north-central

Jongno District Bosingak bell pavilion Jongno District () is a district () in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Road". Characteristics Jongno District has been the center of the city for 600 ye ...

. Seoul police conduct periodic crackdowns on Bacchus Ladies, but women who are arrested are usually given a warning or a small fine. Thirty three women, including an 84-year-old woman, were arrested as part of a crackdown in early 2015. After the raid, the number of working Bacchus Ladies fell to about 200. Local police believe the problem cannot be solved by crackdowns and that policies needs to be changed.

STIs

There is an epidemic of

Sexually transmitted infections Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...

(STIs) among the South Korean elderly, primarily caused by the Bacchus Ladies' use of erection enhancing substances on their clients which are often injected into a vein, but the

hypodermic needle A hypodermic needle (from Greek ὑπο- (''hypo-'' = under), and δέρμα (''derma'' = skin)), one of a category of medical tools which enter the skin, called sharps, is a very thin, hollow tube with one sharp tip. It is commonly used w ...

s may be reused 10 to 20 times. A 2014 local survey found 40% of the men were infected, while not testing for some of the most common diseases. The local government now offers

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

classes to the elderly.

In popular culture

*''

The Bacchus Lady ''The Bacchus Lady'' ( ko, 죽여주는 여자, ''The Killer Woman'') is a 2016 South Korean drama film directed and written by E J-yong. It was shown in the Panorama section at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival as well as the Seattle ...

'' is a 2016 South Korean drama film directed by

E J-yong E J-yong (; born September 5, 1966) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His feature films include ''An Affair'' (1998), '' Untold Scandal'' (2003), '' Dasepo Naughty Girls'' (2006), and '' Actresses'' (2009). Early life E J-yong ( ...

. It was presented in the Panorama section of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.

References

{{reflist Prostitution in South Korea Sexuality in South Korea

Background

Policing

STIs

In popular culture

See also

References