--- description: Hundreds of sex workers and pimps make a dramatic statement as their businesses are shut to make room for redevelopment. title: South Korean Prostitutes Protest Closing of Brothels image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) # South Korean Prostitutes Protest Closing of Brothels by [TIME](/author/time/) May 18, 2011 4:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) May 18, 2011 4:00 AM CUT Hundreds of sex workers and pimps make a dramatic statement as their businesses are shut to make room for redevelopment. ### Seoul, South Korea, May 17, 2011  Face-painted South Korean prostitutes, wearing mourning clothes, join hundreds of their fellow workers to participate in a rally in Seoul. Along with pimps, they were demonstrating against the closing of their businesses. Lee Jin-man / AP ### Procession  Red light districts around the capital have been forced to close down to make room for the development of apartments and office buildings in Seoul, May 17, 2011. Lee Jin-man / AP ### Dramatic  Prostitutes in mourning clothes march during a rally in Seoul, South Korea, May 17, 2011. Lee Jin-man / AP ### Close Up  One of the participants in the rally. Lee Jin-man / AP ### Flammable  In their underwear and covered in body paint, some of the protesters doused themselves in flammable liquid during the demonstration in an attempt to set themselves on fire, May 17, 2011. Lee Jin-man / AP South Korean Prostitutes Protest Closing of Brothels - Photo Essays - TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7033132/south-korean-prostitutes-protest-closing-of-brothels/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7033132/south-korean-prostitutes-protest-closing-of-brothels/"},"headline":"South Korean Prostitutes Protest Closing of Brothels","datePublished":"2011-05-18T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:44:42.736Z","description":"Hundreds of sex workers and pimps make a dramatic statement as their businesses are shut to make room for redevelopment.","url":"https://time.com/archive/7033132/south-korean-prostitutes-protest-closing-of-brothels/","keywords":["LightBox"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/time/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7033132/south-korean-prostitutes-protest-closing-of-brothels/","name":"South Korean Prostitutes Protest Closing of Brothels"}}]}] ```