"It's Not Your Fault": Messages of Hope from Adolescent Victims of Sexual Exploitation [Sexual Exploitation, Out]

⑪ Four Survivors Who Escaped the Trap of Adolescent Sexual Exploitation Speak Out
After Enduring Difficult Teenage Years
Now in Their Twenties: "Let’s Live Even Harder"

Editor's NoteChild and adolescent prostitution is defined as sexual exploitation. This is because it is difficult to view children and adolescents, whose sexual self-determination is not yet mature, as subjects capable of sexual consent or contractual agreements. Children and adolescents who quickly form close relationships online through social media, messengers, and anonymous platforms are more easily drawn into sexual exploitation crimes than in the past. According to the Central Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center of the Korea Women’s Human Rights Institute, one in four (27.8%) of those who received support for digital sex crimes last year were teenagers. Compared to 2023, the number of teenage victims supported by the center increased by over 600 (a 3.3 percentage point rise). Crimes of sexual exploitation against children and adolescents are clear acts of sexual abuse. This article examines whether there are ways to prevent such crimes and what specific measures are needed, based on real-life cases of victimization.

Mumu, who experienced sexual exploitation during adolescence and uses this name in the Network of People with Experience in Sex Trade, handed a handwritten note to a reporter covering the special report "Sexual Exploitation, Out" on the 24th, saying there is something she wants to say to her 10-years-ago self. The note reads, "To myself 10 years ago in 2025 who is living diligently, it’s okay! There will be a day when things get better. Stay strong today too!" She said, "People who have experienced sexual exploitation suffer much deeper difficulties than other victims of violence," and added, "To help them escape, just like the saying ‘It takes a whole village to raise a child,’ all members of our society must come together to support them." Photo by the subject

◆ Kang: Growing into a Social Worker After Meeting People Who Understood Me

"I want to tell my teenage self, 'It was not your fault. It was not something you could have chosen. As time goes by, memories fade, and there will be more days when you can smile.'"

Kang Woojeong (pseudonym) was sexually abused by her maternal grandfather until the sixth grade of elementary school. Living with her family was extremely difficult, but her parents did not understand her and admitted her to a psychiatric hospital’s closed ward. From the age of 15, she repeatedly went in and out of the hospital, and eventually chose to become independent. As a minor, Kang worked part-time jobs to earn living expenses. However, as life became more difficult, she fell into the trap of sexual exploitation crimes. Overwhelmed by fear, Kang entered a shelter that supports young victims.

"At first, I tried to distinguish myself from the other girls living there. I had dropped out of middle school, but I had done well academically before that. Over time, I realized that everyone here was just like me. I even began to feel that the friends there had become my family. I started to believe that there could be people who truly understood me."

After regaining stability, Kang graduated from middle and high school through qualification exams, entered a junior college, and later transferred to a four-year university. After graduation, she became a social worker. Now, she works to help people who are going through difficult times like she once did. She is currently expecting a child. Although she is afraid of whether she can be a good mother, she has resolved to spend each day ensuring that her soon-to-be-born daughter can experience the adolescence she herself never had.

Kang said, "Even if a child suffers during adolescence, there must be a family to support their recovery. If there is no family, there must be national support to replace it." She added, "As a social worker, I have seen many cases where the cycle of poverty leads to early sexual experiences, early childbirth, and low-income jobs at a young age. We need a society that can break this vicious cycle."

Yoo Mijeong, who endured a difficult youth due to her father's violence and her mother's alcohol addiction during her teenage years, has now escaped sexual exploitation and is living a healthy life in her twenties. Yoo is determined to live each day diligently to look forward to a better tomorrow. She said that about ten years ago, she would like to tell her younger self, "You will gradually learn about emotions and love, and to repay that love, many aspects of you will change and bring joy," and "You will work hard at everything, and you are already doing so. You are the best person I have ever seen." Photo by Yoo Mijeong

◆ "It’s Not Failure, Just Trial and Error"... A Message from Park

Park Jingyeong (pseudonym), who suffered domestic violence even before entering elementary school, dropped out of high school at the age of 17. After dropping out, Park stayed home until she happened to join a random chat and heard that someone would provide her with food and shelter. She impulsively went to a neighborhood she had never visited before. Upon arrival, the couple she met welcomed her warmly. Park was captivated by their kindness and affection, and felt as if she had found a new family.

They enticed her by saying she could make money. After accepting, she realized it was a sexual exploitation crime, and they demanded money for food and rent, taking all the money she earned. Park’s life as a victim of sexual exploitation ended when she was caught by a police officer posing as a sex buyer. She accepted the police’s suggestion to enter a support facility for child and adolescent victims of sexual exploitation and began living there.

"Although we were not a real family by blood, my first trip away from home is the most memorable for me. Not only was it my first trip, but it was also the first time I met people who were genuinely interested in who I was."

By opening up to counselors she met at the facility, Park gradually adapted to daily life. She recalled, "I am grateful that they always encouraged me, saying that it’s okay to make mistakes when you’re young." She spent one year and eight months at the facility.

Not all the friends she met at the facility had a 'happy ending.' Park said, "Some could not adapt during probation and ran away, only to face trial again. Others, unable to understand the facility’s rules, returned to the scene of sexual exploitation."

Park said she would like to tell her teenage self, "It wasn’t a failure, it was just trial and error because you were young. You are doing well now."

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◆ A Changed Life After Meeting Trustworthy Adults

"I think adults should consistently send the message, 'This is the fault of adults,' rather than judging and saying things like, 'You behave promiscuously,' or 'It’s because your family is poor.'"

Mumu (activity name) of the Network of People with Experience in Sex Trade, who first experienced sexual exploitation at the age of 14, said, "During adolescence, you need to meet at least one adult you can trust." Mumu, who was struggling with school life and peer relationships, had a 17-year-old boyfriend at the time. He suggested that she stop going to school and spend time with his group instead, and Mumu subsequently became a victim of sexual exploitation.

"Even though I am a victim, I am terrified of revealing that fact. There is a social stigma of being 'a girl who sells her body.' But if even one adult around you says, 'It’s not your fault, it’s society’s fault, it’s the adults’ fault,' things can change."

Mumu’s life changed after meeting trustworthy adults at a victim counseling center. There, she resolved legal issues and, through job training, earned her own money for the first time. She also graduated from university. She said, "Meeting adults who believed in me for the first time made me think, 'If I ever went back to my past situation, how betrayed would they feel?' That thought made me never want to go back."

Mumu emphasized the need for effective education and stronger legal responsibility for social networking service (SNS) platform companies to prevent child and adolescent sexual exploitation. She said, "It can take ten times as long as the period of victimization to escape the effects of sexual violence," and added, "Appropriate education on child sexual exploitation is necessary to prevent such incidents from happening."

◆ A Pledge to Live Even Harder Tomorrow

Yoo Mijeong (pseudonym), who could no longer endure her father’s violence and her mother’s alcohol addiction, left home as a teenager. Living as a 'runaway youth,' she was unable to graduate from middle school and endured all the contempt and disregard from those around her alone, eventually becoming a victim of sexual exploitation.

Yoo said that the reason she was able to find stability during her three years at the facility was thanks to the people who believed in her. She recalled, "The memory of someone waiting for me and welcoming me still remains precious. Most days, I was afraid and scared to go home, but when I entered the facility, my steps felt light, and I considered that place my home."

Now healthy, Yoo said, "I look forward to what interesting things might happen tomorrow. I want to enjoy life a little more." These days, she is determined to become someone who loves herself a lot. She also said she wants to grow into someone who can love others deeply.

For the protection of their identities, pseudonyms have been used for the victims of sexual exploitation who participated in this interview.

※ If you are experiencing difficulties due to digital sex crimes, domestic violence, sexual violence, prostitution·sexual exploitation, dating violence, or stalking, you can receive support 24/7, 365 days a year through the Women’s Emergency Hotline 1366 (☎1366). For counseling related to child and adolescent sexual exploitation, anonymous one-on-one counseling is also available through the Korea Women’s Human Rights Institute’s youth counseling channel D4Youth (@d4youth).