USFK Curfew and Human Trafficking
As promised, I will now post regarding the USFK Curfew policy, and why it is yet another useless, unfair, and unrealistic policy. At the conclusion of the post you may also be of the opinion that the policy does nothing to stop or control it’s intent, and that the local Major Commands support human trafficking to a large degree. The policies that are in place serve only to perpetuate the cycle and climate of human trafficking in these areas of operation.
Now let us outline the Curfew policy for your reading pleasure. All personnel assigned to, in or passing through the Korean peninsula, (USFK area) are required to be on a U.S. Military installation prior to Midnight on nights not preceding a weekend or holiday (IE Sunday through Thursday) and 0100 hours on Weekends and Holidays (IE Friday and Saturday) The Curfew hours are from 2400 to 0500 and 0100 to 0500 as described above. The reason for the implementation of this policy is cited as Force Protection and prevention and control of human trafficking.
Again, another useless and disingenuous policy that serves only to increase the number of UCMJ actions initiated and completed in Korea. We will begin with the human trafficking angle. The night clubs and other such establishments near military bases throughout Korea are subject to inspections by U.S. Military authorities. The club owners and managers are given a set of requirements and briefed on the do's and don’ts. The only available enforcement of "violations" of these requirements is to place the club off limits to service members. As you may have figured out, this a mediocre system at best.
Since Americans are obviously not the primary source and income for most of these establishments. Especially those in the Seoul/Itaewon area. Near the smaller camps and smaller cities in Korea, this does have a larger effect and create a financial impact on the establishment, however this burden is passed on to innocents.
I will explain. Nearly all of these night clubs and bars employ foreign national females from various countries, to work as "waitresses" or "bartenders." These women are commonly referred to as "Drinky Girls" or "Juicy Girls." and various other colloquial names. The vast majority of these women come primarily from the Philippines and Russia, with a few other nationalities in the mix.
These women are brought to Korea under false pretenses, lured with contracts of employment for such positions as singers, dancers, DJs, bartenders, and hostesses. In order to apply for and receive these employment contracts and work visas, these woman must be in possession of an "Artist's Record Book." This document is somewhat like a passport, but it contains a portfolio like record of the jobs held in the field (singer, dancer, etc) and the years of experience and training of the individual. This includes ratings as a Singing instructor and dance instructor.
Upon their arrival in country, these women are picked up by a “Club Manager” or “Talent Agent” and taken to one of several “Night Clubs” in South Korea. In Area I of South Korea (North of Seoul) the first stop for most of these young women is Tongducheon, near the gates of Camp Casey / Camp Hovey. Here these women are distributed among the local clubs for quite literally a “breaking in” period.
The areas in which these clubs are located are notorious for human trafficking and prostitution, and many of these areas are off limits to U.S. Service members of any branch of service. This does not however prevent heavy patronage by local Korean Nationals, and in fact American civilian workers and contractors. (Since they can not be made to adhere to any curfew policy, nor be kept out of any businesses constitutionally.) These civilians can be of course prosecuted if they are caught engaging in illegal activities.
Once the girls arrive at these various clubs, their ability to be manipulated and forced to engage in and perform various duties is assessed by the floor manager or “Mamasan” in these clubs. Those who can be coerced, intimidated and strong armed into performing several services up to and including sex, quite often several times a night, with a host of men AND women, are then further distributed several days or weeks later to other clubs.
Those who display a strong will or lack of cooperation, or refusal to comply with these activities are often moved immediately before they have a chance to influence the other girls in these clubs. Those women that are particularly uncooperative or otherwise unable to be intimidated into “performing” are sent back to their country of origin. Often times the women who are sent back to their home countries are still forced to pay their contracts.
The contracts… The women that are brought to South Korea to work are done so under an employment contract. These contracts cover everything from type of job and salary, to number of days off monthly and room and board arrangements. Invariably when these women are applying for their work visas with the promise of employment and a better life for their families there arises a problem.
The problem comes in the form of receiving their visa allowing them to enter the country. The “Talent Agency” and “Promoter” provide room and board, and allowance, and purchase the plane ticket, along with taking care of “costs” associated with obtaining the visa. These costs are frontloaded directly onto the employment contracts of these women. Once in the club, these girls are not able to receive their first months pay, in order to pay “expenses.”
They are then told what job they are to hold… This brings us back to the “Drinky Girl” position. They are told to sell drinks at a rate of anywhere from ten to twenty dollars (US) per shot. Often times these shots contain no alcoholic beverage whatsoever. (Hence the title “juicy girl”) These girls receive only one or two dollars of this cost per drink. After a month of working for a salary of four to five hundred dollars per month, these girls are then required to pay the monthly installment on their contract.
The club owners tell these women that they will open a savings account for them, and “hold” their money for them. These women are given an allowance monthly, (they never receive the balance of their salary) with the club owner “holding” the money for them. The women have no access themselves to these “savings accounts” The club owner of course takes their “costs” off the top, gives a small amount of money to the girls themselves. (Out of which the girls must send money to their families, buy phone cards and incidentals, clothing, and hygiene items, as well as pay for their own medical care.)
When clubs are caught violating the various policies set down by the US Military authorities and placed off limits, several things happen. One of the initial things that happen is the women employed by the club stop getting paid. This is to punish them for breaking the “rules” and the “law,” with the club owners themselves of course never admitting any involvement or knowledge.
If the club is able to make restitution and become once again an approved establishment, the floor managers are very strict about how the girls conduct themselves for a period of time. During this time if the girls are not able to sell the volume of drinks and “services” as in the past pay is reduced, along with food, with the women being often only fed once or twice a day.
These girls are not allowed to leave the premises and most often live in the club. Dormitory style (if that) rooms accessed through a door inside the club itself. These girls not only share rooms, but often are forced to share beds, with sometimes three or four to a bed. Their lives are further regimented as they have schedules of chores and responsibilities as to the care and upkeep of not only their living and common areas but the club itself.
I could write a small book on the conditions and treatment of these women alone, but I believe the previously outlined information will give readers the general idea. With that being said, this brings us full circle with the anti human trafficking policies.
US Service members are given frequent training on identifying and reporting suspected human trafficking. Some of the signs to look for are: The employees not allowed to leave the premises, or only while chaperoned. The employees are not in possession of their passports and alien cards. The employees have someone in the club monitoring their activities, controlling their time and pushing them to sell “drinks” and other services.
The employees are allowed to sit with patrons for an amount of minutes corresponding to the dollar amount of the drink purchased. The employees act fearful around the “floor manager.” There are a whole host of other signs to be aware of a look out for, and service members are ordered to report these signs for investigation.
Oddly enough these activities occur in EVERY SINGLE ONE of the clubs inspected and authorized by the local Major Commands, in fact these establishments receive a placard hung outside that states the clubs have passed inspection and are authorized for US Service members. In fact towards the end of all the slide show presentations discussing human trafficking and the signs to be aware of, it clearly states: “buying drinks for the employees is allowed and not illegal.”
In an environment and command climate where human trafficking in not tolerated, how then is the Army able to condone and allow patronage to any of these establishments when it is reasonable to assume that the employees are working under these conditions? In plain view? Of note, recently is has also become unauthorized to take photographs in these establishments. Not by the owners of these establishments, but by the local commands charged with inspecting and enforcing the anti- human trafficking policies.
Having covered all that, where exactly does the curfew policy fit in, and exactly what if anything does it prevent or limit? The night clubs in question aren’t closed after curfew, many of them open for regular business for Korean and other foreign Nationals after curfew hours. In case I failed to mention it, during non curfew hours these clubs must agree to disallow patronage by Korean and foreign Nationals other than US Personnel during normal business hours.
The penalty for not complying with these policies? The club is placed off limits to US Service members. Does anyone at all find this at all effective? Another question comes to mind when placing all these facts in perspective… Since when is the US Army, or anyone else affiliated with the United States Government take it upon themselves to dictate how business owners will conduct their businesses on their OWN soil? Are we in the habit of involving ourselves in foreign domestic policy frequently?
Take a moment to put into perspective the fact that US civilian and government contractors, and their dependants, as well as the dependants of US Service members can no longer be required to abide by the curfew policy, as it was found to be a violation of their constitutional rights. The policy letter previously published that outlined all contractors, civil service employees and their dependants as well as service members and their dependants had to be rescinded.
The policy was re-written to exclude those not in active federal military service, with the wording changed to “highly recommend” that the civilians, dependants, and contractors abide by these policies. Why are service members not afforded these same rights? The price for our service is loss of our constitutional rights and treatment as second class citizens. Except during duty hours, during which the responsibility and level of trust placed on us far exceeds nearly any form of civilian employment one could think of.
All the while the troops are given the zero tolerance for human trafficking rhetoric, while we watch as it is condoned by the, to however small a degree, by the US Army, and ultimately the United States Government. Now there’s something for Mr. Bill O’Reilly to do an expose on.
How many more young women have to be damaged and used as a commodity under the watchful and fully aware eyes of the United States? You see the problem is not with theses young women. For them it is survival. Not only their own, but that of their families. The concept of poverty for most Americans involves soup kitchens and blankets from the Salvation Army. There are no such programs available where most of these young women hail from, and often they are the sole provider for families of six to ten people or more. Think about it folks.
Now let us outline the Curfew policy for your reading pleasure. All personnel assigned to, in or passing through the Korean peninsula, (USFK area) are required to be on a U.S. Military installation prior to Midnight on nights not preceding a weekend or holiday (IE Sunday through Thursday) and 0100 hours on Weekends and Holidays (IE Friday and Saturday) The Curfew hours are from 2400 to 0500 and 0100 to 0500 as described above. The reason for the implementation of this policy is cited as Force Protection and prevention and control of human trafficking.
Again, another useless and disingenuous policy that serves only to increase the number of UCMJ actions initiated and completed in Korea. We will begin with the human trafficking angle. The night clubs and other such establishments near military bases throughout Korea are subject to inspections by U.S. Military authorities. The club owners and managers are given a set of requirements and briefed on the do's and don’ts. The only available enforcement of "violations" of these requirements is to place the club off limits to service members. As you may have figured out, this a mediocre system at best.
Since Americans are obviously not the primary source and income for most of these establishments. Especially those in the Seoul/Itaewon area. Near the smaller camps and smaller cities in Korea, this does have a larger effect and create a financial impact on the establishment, however this burden is passed on to innocents.
I will explain. Nearly all of these night clubs and bars employ foreign national females from various countries, to work as "waitresses" or "bartenders." These women are commonly referred to as "Drinky Girls" or "Juicy Girls." and various other colloquial names. The vast majority of these women come primarily from the Philippines and Russia, with a few other nationalities in the mix.
These women are brought to Korea under false pretenses, lured with contracts of employment for such positions as singers, dancers, DJs, bartenders, and hostesses. In order to apply for and receive these employment contracts and work visas, these woman must be in possession of an "Artist's Record Book." This document is somewhat like a passport, but it contains a portfolio like record of the jobs held in the field (singer, dancer, etc) and the years of experience and training of the individual. This includes ratings as a Singing instructor and dance instructor.
Upon their arrival in country, these women are picked up by a “Club Manager” or “Talent Agent” and taken to one of several “Night Clubs” in South Korea. In Area I of South Korea (North of Seoul) the first stop for most of these young women is Tongducheon, near the gates of Camp Casey / Camp Hovey. Here these women are distributed among the local clubs for quite literally a “breaking in” period.
The areas in which these clubs are located are notorious for human trafficking and prostitution, and many of these areas are off limits to U.S. Service members of any branch of service. This does not however prevent heavy patronage by local Korean Nationals, and in fact American civilian workers and contractors. (Since they can not be made to adhere to any curfew policy, nor be kept out of any businesses constitutionally.) These civilians can be of course prosecuted if they are caught engaging in illegal activities.
Once the girls arrive at these various clubs, their ability to be manipulated and forced to engage in and perform various duties is assessed by the floor manager or “Mamasan” in these clubs. Those who can be coerced, intimidated and strong armed into performing several services up to and including sex, quite often several times a night, with a host of men AND women, are then further distributed several days or weeks later to other clubs.
Those who display a strong will or lack of cooperation, or refusal to comply with these activities are often moved immediately before they have a chance to influence the other girls in these clubs. Those women that are particularly uncooperative or otherwise unable to be intimidated into “performing” are sent back to their country of origin. Often times the women who are sent back to their home countries are still forced to pay their contracts.
The contracts… The women that are brought to South Korea to work are done so under an employment contract. These contracts cover everything from type of job and salary, to number of days off monthly and room and board arrangements. Invariably when these women are applying for their work visas with the promise of employment and a better life for their families there arises a problem.
The problem comes in the form of receiving their visa allowing them to enter the country. The “Talent Agency” and “Promoter” provide room and board, and allowance, and purchase the plane ticket, along with taking care of “costs” associated with obtaining the visa. These costs are frontloaded directly onto the employment contracts of these women. Once in the club, these girls are not able to receive their first months pay, in order to pay “expenses.”
They are then told what job they are to hold… This brings us back to the “Drinky Girl” position. They are told to sell drinks at a rate of anywhere from ten to twenty dollars (US) per shot. Often times these shots contain no alcoholic beverage whatsoever. (Hence the title “juicy girl”) These girls receive only one or two dollars of this cost per drink. After a month of working for a salary of four to five hundred dollars per month, these girls are then required to pay the monthly installment on their contract.
The club owners tell these women that they will open a savings account for them, and “hold” their money for them. These women are given an allowance monthly, (they never receive the balance of their salary) with the club owner “holding” the money for them. The women have no access themselves to these “savings accounts” The club owner of course takes their “costs” off the top, gives a small amount of money to the girls themselves. (Out of which the girls must send money to their families, buy phone cards and incidentals, clothing, and hygiene items, as well as pay for their own medical care.)
When clubs are caught violating the various policies set down by the US Military authorities and placed off limits, several things happen. One of the initial things that happen is the women employed by the club stop getting paid. This is to punish them for breaking the “rules” and the “law,” with the club owners themselves of course never admitting any involvement or knowledge.
If the club is able to make restitution and become once again an approved establishment, the floor managers are very strict about how the girls conduct themselves for a period of time. During this time if the girls are not able to sell the volume of drinks and “services” as in the past pay is reduced, along with food, with the women being often only fed once or twice a day.
These girls are not allowed to leave the premises and most often live in the club. Dormitory style (if that) rooms accessed through a door inside the club itself. These girls not only share rooms, but often are forced to share beds, with sometimes three or four to a bed. Their lives are further regimented as they have schedules of chores and responsibilities as to the care and upkeep of not only their living and common areas but the club itself.
I could write a small book on the conditions and treatment of these women alone, but I believe the previously outlined information will give readers the general idea. With that being said, this brings us full circle with the anti human trafficking policies.
US Service members are given frequent training on identifying and reporting suspected human trafficking. Some of the signs to look for are: The employees not allowed to leave the premises, or only while chaperoned. The employees are not in possession of their passports and alien cards. The employees have someone in the club monitoring their activities, controlling their time and pushing them to sell “drinks” and other services.
The employees are allowed to sit with patrons for an amount of minutes corresponding to the dollar amount of the drink purchased. The employees act fearful around the “floor manager.” There are a whole host of other signs to be aware of a look out for, and service members are ordered to report these signs for investigation.
Oddly enough these activities occur in EVERY SINGLE ONE of the clubs inspected and authorized by the local Major Commands, in fact these establishments receive a placard hung outside that states the clubs have passed inspection and are authorized for US Service members. In fact towards the end of all the slide show presentations discussing human trafficking and the signs to be aware of, it clearly states: “buying drinks for the employees is allowed and not illegal.”
In an environment and command climate where human trafficking in not tolerated, how then is the Army able to condone and allow patronage to any of these establishments when it is reasonable to assume that the employees are working under these conditions? In plain view? Of note, recently is has also become unauthorized to take photographs in these establishments. Not by the owners of these establishments, but by the local commands charged with inspecting and enforcing the anti- human trafficking policies.
Having covered all that, where exactly does the curfew policy fit in, and exactly what if anything does it prevent or limit? The night clubs in question aren’t closed after curfew, many of them open for regular business for Korean and other foreign Nationals after curfew hours. In case I failed to mention it, during non curfew hours these clubs must agree to disallow patronage by Korean and foreign Nationals other than US Personnel during normal business hours.
The penalty for not complying with these policies? The club is placed off limits to US Service members. Does anyone at all find this at all effective? Another question comes to mind when placing all these facts in perspective… Since when is the US Army, or anyone else affiliated with the United States Government take it upon themselves to dictate how business owners will conduct their businesses on their OWN soil? Are we in the habit of involving ourselves in foreign domestic policy frequently?
Take a moment to put into perspective the fact that US civilian and government contractors, and their dependants, as well as the dependants of US Service members can no longer be required to abide by the curfew policy, as it was found to be a violation of their constitutional rights. The policy letter previously published that outlined all contractors, civil service employees and their dependants as well as service members and their dependants had to be rescinded.
The policy was re-written to exclude those not in active federal military service, with the wording changed to “highly recommend” that the civilians, dependants, and contractors abide by these policies. Why are service members not afforded these same rights? The price for our service is loss of our constitutional rights and treatment as second class citizens. Except during duty hours, during which the responsibility and level of trust placed on us far exceeds nearly any form of civilian employment one could think of.
All the while the troops are given the zero tolerance for human trafficking rhetoric, while we watch as it is condoned by the, to however small a degree, by the US Army, and ultimately the United States Government. Now there’s something for Mr. Bill O’Reilly to do an expose on.
How many more young women have to be damaged and used as a commodity under the watchful and fully aware eyes of the United States? You see the problem is not with theses young women. For them it is survival. Not only their own, but that of their families. The concept of poverty for most Americans involves soup kitchens and blankets from the Salvation Army. There are no such programs available where most of these young women hail from, and often they are the sole provider for families of six to ten people or more. Think about it folks.
posted by Josh at 1:11 AM
2 Comments:
The US Army double standard is why I posted this. We have been receiving class after class on zero tolerance, reporting, identifying and prevention of human trafficking, and yet the Army still inspects and approves all of these establishments.
Where do my facts come from? The girls that work there. I average staff duty about 2 to 3 times per month, (which now includes patrolling the ville and inspecting the clubs) and Courtesy Patrol and Command Presence Patrol 2 to 3 times per month each.
So basically I am in the clubs 8 or 10 nights a month or more, for hours on end. Now that the Post has literally thousands fewer soldiers on it, there are also no customers in these clubs.
On Staff Duty that means I am in the ville visiting each club from 2130 until midnight, and CP and CPP 1800 Until Midnight. I have nothing but time, and once the girls get to know you, and see you there all the time, they talk.
That combined with the fact that Im just so damnably cute, I get lots of information.
Yea. I am posting this comment before having read the blog because I read the heading of it and I instanly think that I know what you are talking about. How hypocrytical can you be- and when I say 'you' I mean the U.S. Army- when you condemn human trafficking while at the same time quietly condone it. I think that, really, everybody sees it. Everybody knows whats going on, and yet, it still goes on. I just might be that as a morale booster, its the best shots in the arm that a young private, fresh out of highschool, can get. But at the same time, and while it is protected with such a soft signature, can we get it so that we dont have to pay $20 for half a shot of cranberry juice?
And while we're at it.... Officer's are like their best customers... really. The red carpet rolls out for them when they cum in. Wink, wink.
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