Paju-si Leads Closure of Red-Light District with 'Travel Road' Education Program

Spreading Public Consensus
for the Eradication of Prostitution

Paju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kim Kyung-il) announced on the 12th that on the 11th, it conducted a "Walking the Travel Path" education program with about 20 citizens, including the Women-Friendly City Citizen Participation Group and the Unjeong New Town Association, at a base facility within the Yeonpung-ri red-light district.

Paju City held a commemorative photo session after conducting a "Walking on the Travel Path" education program with about 20 citizens, including the Women-Friendly City Citizen Participation Group and the Unjeong New Town Association, at a base facility within the Yeonpung-ri red-light district on the 11th. Photo by Paju City

The "Travel Path (a path where women and citizens are happy)" education program, which started in March 2023, is aimed at eradicating prostitution and improving awareness. It encourages direct citizen participation to build consensus on closing the red-light district and to spread a culture of gender equality. The program features on-site education, including prostitution prevention education and tours of the record exhibition hall at the base facility of the red-light district closure.

The citizens who participated in the education deeply empathized with the structural social issues that cause victims of prostitution, the necessity of protecting victims and supporting their self-reliance, and the human rights violations and sexual exploitation occurring in the red-light district. They united in their efforts to create a safe community free of prostitution and emphasized the need to close the red-light district.

A citizen living in the Unjeong area said, "While engaging in community activities, I have always wanted to make our village a better and safer place to live, but I was very surprised to learn that the red-light district still remains in Paju." He added, "I no longer want to ignore this as a problem unrelated to me and want to contribute to change."

Paju City plans to further strengthen its policy to close the red-light district by operating the "Public-Private Monitoring Group for Red-Light District Closure" to block clients of prostitution and resuming the "Owl" activities along with the Travel Path education.