'Adult Festival' Canceled in Paju Following Suwon

At the Request of Paju City... Studio Rental Cancellation Decision

The 'Adult Festival' that was canceled in Suwon was scheduled to be held in Paju, but it was ultimately canceled after the company (studio) that had rented out the venue decided to cancel the reservation due to Paju City's strong response policy.

View of the Imjin River from Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi Province
[Photo by Yonhap News].

On the 5th, Yonhap News reported that the company in Paju City, which had agreed to rent the venue for the Adult Festival, canceled the reservation. It was reported that the company expressed its refusal to rent in response to Paju City's request to fully reconsider the rental.

The 'Adult Festival' was originally planned to be held in Suwon City over two days, from the 20th to the 21st of this month. Although attendees had to verify their adult status to participate, opposition arose from Suwon City and civic groups due to the provocative nature of the event and the venue being only 50 meters away from an elementary school. Ultimately, on the 29th of last month, 'Suwon Messe,' the original venue, canceled the lease contract citing a violation of the Education Environment Act, forcing the organizers to change the location.

After searching for an alternative venue, the event organizers announced the day before that the location had been changed to 'K-Art Studio' in Munsan-eup, Paju City. Upon hearing the news, Paju City held an emergency countermeasure meeting and declared that it would take all measures to cancel the event, adopting a strong stance. They also requested a full reconsideration from the studio that had signed the rental contract.

On the 5th, Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju City, stated in an emergency press release, "If the Adult Festival, which commodifies sex and objectifies women, thereby instilling a distorted perception of adulthood, is held in Paju City, the construction of a gender-equal society that Paju City has actively tried to build will become unattainable."

He continued, "Paju City has the most studios in Gyeonggi Province, and various dramas and movies are filmed here, so this could also have a negative impact on Paju's studio industry." He added, "We will continue to closely monitor and cooperate to ensure that such events that commodify sex and instill distorted perceptions of adulthood do not take place anywhere in Paju or nationwide."