Korea Life Blog - In the News (2)

Another bit of scandalous news. Take a look at this piece from today's JoongAng Daily:


Police investigate swinging set of doctors, executives, professors


[Lee Chul-jae] Seoul police are investigating a spouse-swapping sex ring, but they have not been able to press charges against the high-income swingers because no law exists against couples exchanging sexual favors.

Seven middle-aged couples gathered Oct. 5 in the evening at a home in Icheon, Gyeonggi province, southeast of Seoul, according to the police. They started the evening with a barbecue and drinks, and afterward they undressed and began dancing while exchanging partners. They retired in pairs to separate bedrooms with someone other than their spouse. The people, who were members of a swingers club, included physicians, executives of medium-size businesses, public servants and college professors.

The couples got to know one another by way of an Internet site. They exchanged personal information and photographs by email. To ensure that the couples were actually married, wedding photos or a copy of the family registry were also presented.

The Web site was operated by a man who told police of another get-together that took place a year ago when four couples met at a karaoke bar in the Gangnam district in Seoul to swap spouses, he said.

The operator of the Web site said he had introduced more than 30 married couples, and most of them had advanced degrees. They seemed to be attracted to swinging out of curiosity, but some appeared to become obsessed with swapping after five or six encounters, he said. ��But I have not heard of one couple who broke up because of the experience,�� he told police.

The chief executive of a trading company, who was a member of a swingers group, said his wife first said the idea was ��sick�� but eventually she had herself talked into encounters with a college professor and a school teacher.

A police officer said there are about 10 Internet sites catering to swingers and about 6,000 people are believed to be members. Most of the sites operate on servers based in other countries, he said.


by Lee Chul-jae jackkim@joongang.co.kr

2003-10-16


Similar coverage appeared in today's Korea Herald that focused more on the couples who did their swapping at the no rae bang (first singing and drinking, then going to different rooms to have sex with their new partners).

I can understand the no rae bang owner being arrested for promoting sexual intercourse at his business, but why are the police arresting the website operators? They weren't showing pornography on their sites, which would be illegal here - they just provided a means for married people with peculiar yet mutual desires to meet others who have the same interest. What's wrong with that?

On the cover of several Korean newspapers, there were pictures taken by hidden cameras showing the swingers getting undressed. If any of my diligent Korean speaking readers could dig up the links to these photos, a lot of readers here would probably appreciate it.