Sex Trafficking in North Korea
Many North Korean women who escape North Korea become victims of sex trafficking. 80 percent of those thousands of refugees become commodities for purchase. The only practical escape route for fugitives is through China. China’s lack of marriageable women creates a demand for North Korean women who are at risk, of being forced to work in brothels or online sex chatrooms, or are brought and sold as wives.
The most popular marketplaces are in the three Chinese provinces closest to the North Korean border—Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang-—but North Korean brides are sold to men throughout China. Many of the buyers are farmers. Some have physical or mental disabilities that make them unsuitable as husbands in the eyes of Chinese women.
Recruiters travel from village to village, keeping an eye out for potential brides. They spot a pretty young woman and follow her home. When they see a widow with a beautiful daughter, they say:
“Why do you leave your daughter like that? If you send her to China, she can get money and have an education. Why don’t you send her?” They keep talking and gain trust, and then—
“OK,” the mother says, “I trust you. Taker her.” Then he takes the girl into China and sells her. This is one of the tricks.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Nezaj, Meg. Sunflowers in the Dark. 2012. Zane, Jacob. Human Sex Trafficking Exposed in North Korea. 2011. Interviews by Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) organization. Images appropriated from getty and illustrated by Tiffany Kim.