"Just a Doll" vs. "Misogyny" Real Doll Experience Room, Prostitution Controversy

Real Doll Experience Rooms Flourish Even in Front of Apartment Complexes
Some Say "Isn't This Prostitution?" and "It's Embarrassing for Children to See"
Experts Say "Real Dolls Imply Domination Over Female Bodies"

Real doll. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] # A female office worker in her 20s, Ms. A, recently passed by a shopping complex near an apartment complex and could hardly believe her eyes. She spotted a signboard that read "Real Doll Experience Room" on the front of the shopping complex. Ms. A said, "I was shocked to see such a business right next to the apartment complex," adding, "I have no idea how to explain this to students." She continued, "Real dolls are adult products, so charging money for an experience like that is prostitution, isn't it?" expressing her outrage.

Since a court ruling last June allowed the import permit for real dolls (sex toys resembling the human body), so-called "Real Doll Experience Rooms" have been springing up everywhere.

The problem is that there are criticisms that these Real Doll Experience Rooms are essentially prostitution. Although they use adult products to satisfy sexual desires, the act of paying money in the process is seen as a form of sex trade. Some women view this as an insult to women and express discomfort.

Another issue is that such Real Doll Experience Rooms can be established right in front of apartment complexes.

Mr. B, a man in his 40s who recently witnessed a Real Doll Experience Room at a shopping complex in front of an apartment complex, said, "It is unacceptable for such a business to be openly established in front of an apartment," adding, "Although they call it an experience room, everyone knows what kind of room it really is. It is also problematic from an educational perspective."

A man is looking at a real doll (female). Photo by Yonhap News

A petition titled "Please Ban the Operation of Real Doll Experience Rooms in Residential Areas" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 31st of last month.

The petitioner pointed out, "The business of 'Real Doll Experience Rooms,' which rents out places and products for a fee in officetels and shopping complexes in urban areas using this product (real dolls), is problematic in terms of public morals and education."

They continued, "Among the residents living in the officetels where these businesses operate, there are families with children, newlyweds, and middle-aged couples. Residents suffer not only mental stress but also material damages from having adult entertainment facilities in the same building."

The reason Real Doll Experience Rooms can proliferate in front of apartment complexes is that they are classified as a free business type and do not require separate permits.

However, since Real Doll Experience Rooms are registered as adult product stores, they are prohibited from operating within 200 meters of school boundaries under the "Act on the Protection of Educational Environment." In summary, as long as these rules are followed, Real Doll Experience Rooms can operate virtually anywhere.

On the afternoon of September 28 last year, participants shouted slogans at the "Protest Against the Ruling Allowing the Import of Real Dolls" held at Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

◆ Women Say "Real Doll Experience Rooms Are Clearly Spaces for Prostitution"

There are also opinions that Real Doll Experience Rooms sexually insult women. Ms. C, a female office worker in her 30s, said, "The very term 'Real Doll Experience Room' is absurd," adding, "I know real dolls are adult products, but the moment you pay money, that is simply 'prostitution.'"

She continued, "I don't understand why adult products are used outside," expressing frustration, "It's upsetting that people want to realize their sexual fantasies in such rooms."

Since real dolls are not human, the Special Act on Prostitution cannot be applied. In the mid-2000s, when crackdowns intensified with the enactment of the Special Act on Prostitution, Real Doll Experience Rooms flourished under the name "Doll Experience Rooms," but discussions about punishing them for prostitution never progressed beyond the debate stage.

Ms. D, a female office worker in her 30s, said, "The argument that they cannot be regulated because they are not human shows a lack of understanding of the seriousness of the issue," adding, "The problem is that real dolls objectify women sexually and are played with at will." She further noted, "Simply debating whether they are human or not misses the essence of the problem."

Some experts point out that real dolls embody a will to dominate women's bodies.

Professor Yoon Ji-young of Konkuk University's Body Culture Research Institute, in a paper titled "Real Dolls, Eroticism of Domination," presented at an academic conference co-hosted by Ewha Womans University’s Ewha Institute for the Humanities in October last year, stated, "If women use devices to focus on what their bodies feel, male adult products like real dolls focus on dominating women's bodies, which is a clear difference."

She added, "There is no consideration at all of how the objectification of women's bodies as instrumental tools for men's treatment and sexual desire relief causes personal infringement or psychological and physical harm to women, or how it can be a traumatic factor in some respects," criticizing the situation.