On this episode of Women on the Line we hear from Yeoreum and Udie from Scarlet ChaCha – a sex worker-led organisation in South Korea. On 2 January 2023, the Mayor of Paju announced that he would demolish Paju’s red light district ‘Yongjugol’ within a year. In November last year the demolition commenced, and Scarlet ChaCha has been actively showing up in person for sex workers in Paju’s Yongjugol – protesting on the streets, creating signage to raise political awareness and supporting sex workers. Today we hear the first episode of a two-part series about what’s happening in Paju’s red light district and about the work Scarlet ChaCha is doing in South Korea.

Our interview with Scarlet ChaCha members was translated by Yeonhoo. You can support Scarlet ChaCha by donating to their mutual aid request @choyeonhoo via paypal. All funds will go directly to sex workers who are impacted by the demolition. 

Please note there is discussion of state violence in this episode.