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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SEOUL 000287 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US
SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; FEBRUARY 23, 2010 
 
TOP HEADLINES 
------------- 
 
Chosun Ilbo 
Autonomous High Schools Face Probe over Illegal Admissions 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Uncomfortable Truth about University Tuition Fees; 
ROK Tuition Fees Second Most Expensive in OECD 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
Former Ruling GNP Chairperson Park Geun-hye Allegedly Rejected 
President Lee's Proposal to Meet 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
President Lee to Tackle Education Reform Head-on 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
Blue House Allegedly Secretly Investigated Pro-Park Geun-hye 
Lawmakers to Pressure Them on Sejong City Revision 
 
Segye Ilbo 
ROK Fast Becoming a "Multicultural Society" 
 
Seoul Shinmun 
Schools under Criticism for Turning Blind Eye 
on School Violence 
 
 
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 
---------------------- 
 
According to an ROKG official, chief ROK nuclear negotiator Wi 
Sung-lac will visit China today to discuss the resumption of the 
Six-Party Talks. (JoongAng, Dong-a, Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, 
Seoul, KBS, MBC) 
 
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan will meet in Washington on Feb. 25 
with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the North Korean 
nuclear issue. (JoongAng, MBC) 
 
According to a study by an ROKG-run institute, hundreds of ROK women 
enter the U.S. as sex-trade workers every month. (JoongAng) 
 
 
MEDIA ANALYSIS 
--------------- 
 
-N. Korea 
-------- 
Most ROK media covered chief ROK nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac's 
Feb. 23-24 visit to China to discuss the resumption of the Six-Party 
Talks. 
 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo quoted an ROKG official as saying that 
Wi will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, to be briefed 
on North Korea's top nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan's recent trip 
to China, and to discuss ways to resume the multilateral talks. 
JoongAng also noted U.S. Special Representative for North Korea 
Policy Stephen Bosworth's reported visit to Beijing in the near 
future, and the planned Feb. 25 meeting in Washington between 
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Secretary of State Hillary 
Clinton. JoongAng also expected that the relevant parties would 
engage in full-blown discussions about resuming the Six-Party 
Talks. 
 
Moderate Hankook Ilbo, meanwhile, reported a senior ROKG official as 
saying: "The U.S. is seeking a visit to China by Ambassador Bosworth 
to be briefed on recent China-North Korea talks and to discuss the 
resumption of the Six-Party Talks.  Given that chief nuclear 
negotiator Wi is going to China in such a rush, there will likely be 
a U.S.-China contact this week." 
 
 
SEOUL 00000287  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
FEATURES 
---------- 
 
SEX TRADE BRINGS HUNDREDS OF KOREANS TO U.S. 
(JoongAng Daily, February 23, Page 2) 
 
By Reporter Hong Hye-jin 
 
Study: Smuggled into the country, some turn to drugs and gambling. 
 
A first-of-its-kind study by a government-run institute has revealed 
that hundreds of Korean women enter the United States as sex-trade 
workers every month. 
 
Twenty-two Korean prostitutes and industry insiders who worked in 
the United States were interviewed by the Korean Institute of 
Criminology for four months beginning in May last year. 
 
According to Jang Joon-oh, a senior researcher in charge of the 
project, most of the Korean women paid brokers $10,000 to help them 
cross various borders leading to the United States.  Seven out of 18 
Korean sex workers interviewed told Jang they were smuggled into the 
United States from neighboring Canada and Mexico.  The seven women, 
who work in massage parlors or karaoke bars, said they hid in cars 
to cross borders, or risked their lives by sneaking past the 
U.S.-Mexico border with Mexicans. 
 
The 11 other sex workers arrived in the United States on tourist 
visas. 
 
All 18 of the sex workers interviewed were illegal aliens in the 
country.  One earned a green card after she fabricated marriage 
documents, but faces deportation to Korea if caught by U.S. 
immigration. 
 
A 36-year-old sex worker who worked in the industry in the United 
States for five years confessed she hid herself under the back seat 
of a van and illegally entered the United States from Canada.  Since 
taking up the sex trade, she has acquired a holiday drug and 
gambling habit of $10,000 a day. 
 
The study also found that some women who went to the United States 
for sex work saw Internet advertisements reading, "Escape recession: 
Looking for "unni" (women) who want to work in the U.S." 
 
The respondents said they worked more than 13 hours with seven or 
eight customers a day on average.  Eighty percent of the clients 
were Americans and the sex workers said they were paid around $200 
per hour, with $80 of that money going to the owner of the sex 
business.  The interviewees said they earned at least $10,000 a 
month. 
 
Many Korean sex workers in the United States frequently move to 
other states to avoid crackdowns.  They normally start working in 
western cities such as San Francisco or Los Angeles and move to 
Dallas, Atlanta and New York.  "The sex industry wants to lure new 
clients, and they prefer to switch their workers often," Jang 
explained. 
 
Jang, who conducted his interviews in the United States, said the 
women's American dream of a decent life turns upside down quickly. 
 
"Many Korean sex workers don't speak English at all, and they can't 
get on the bus alone," Jang said.  "It's nearly impossible for them 
to live a normal life in the United States." 
 
Korean women in the sex industry in the United States were generally 
satisfied with the high salary, but they get homesick and feel 
lonely because of the language barriers and other factors.  Jang 
said many turn to drugs or gambling to escape their reality. 
 
"It's important to determine the illegality of sex work, but we also 
need comprehensive research on whether Korean sex workers in the 
 
SEOUL 00000287  003 OF 004 
 
 
United States were exploited or have had their human rights severely 
infringed," Jang said. 
 
(This text was provided in English by the newspaper.) 
 
 
CHILDREN GIVE U.S. SOLDIERS THUMBS UP AND SAY "PLEASE GIVE ME SOME 
MONEY" 
(Chosun Ilbo, February 23, 2010, Page 6) 
 
By Correspondent Lee Ha-won from Bagram Air Base 
 
Chosun Ilbo Correspondent Lee Ha-won, boarding a bulletproof armored 
vehicle, accompanies U.S. soldiers on their patrol outside Bagram 
Air Base. 
 
On the morning of February 21, 1st Lt. Brian Waddy of "Task Force 
Gladius" under ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) 
Regional Command East came to pick me up.  He reached out his hands 
to me, saying with a serene look on his face, "Welcome to a far away 
land."  He was the person in charge of helping me until my 
activities under the Embed Program in Afghanistan end. 
 
Task Force Gladius is tasked with patrolling and guarding the areas 
around Bagram Air Base.  On February 21, it was assigned the mission 
of patrolling Area G near the airbase and carrying out public 
services. 
 
The vehicle that I boarded for my first mission was a Mine Resistant 
Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, which is specially designed to 
survive mines and explosives.  It looked much larger and stronger 
than a Humvee, an all-purpose, modern-day jeep which the U.S. 
military usually uses in its operational areas.  The door of the 
MRAP was almost too heavy to open with one hand.  My tap on the door 
window failed to make a sound due to the vehicle's bulletproof glass 
fittings as thick as a finger joint.  The state-of-the art 
communications equipment installed in the vehicle makes it possible 
to communicate with headquarters and other vehicles at any time. 
When I asked "What does this vehicle cost? About 100,000 dollars?" 
1st Lt. Waddy responded, "It seems to be several times more 
expensive than that." 
 
He noted, "MRAP vehicles were deployed to Afghanistan last year 
because of poor road conditions.  You are lucky."  Now that I was 
sitting in a military vehicle with body armor and even wearing a 
helmet for the first time since my discharge from military service, 
I grew more nervous.  Before leaving Bagram Air Base for patrol, 
soldiers from Bravo Company loaded their rifles with live 
ammunition.  They had reserve bullets around their waists. 
 
I was sent to the ISAF Regional Command East, where the headquarters 
of the U.S. Bagram Air Base is located.  The ISAF Regional Command 
East controls Parwan, where the ROK's Provincial Reconstruction Team 
(PRT) and troops for its protection will be stationed, as well as 
Bamyan, Panjshir, and Kapisa. 
 
Area G, where TF Gladius's Bravo Company went out on patrol, is a 
relatively safe region, but U.S. soldiers did not let their guard 
down.  One soldier, sitting in the backseat between the first 
lieutenant and me, kept watch in every direction with the upper half 
of his body outside the vehicle and his hands on a 360-degree 
revolving machine gun.  Whenever the machine gun swiveled, making a 
big noise, the lower half of his body would move right beside me. 
While three MRAP vehicles moved along a narrow road in Afghanistan, 
reconnaissance aircraft and transport planes were seen flying in the 
sky.  Some U.S. military aircraft were flying low enough to look 
into every nook and cranny of the region. 
 
In this region, there are two things that antagonize the U.S. 
military:  rocket launchers and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). 
 The Taliban, which mainly controls the southern part of 
Afghanistan, does not have much influence over Parwan Province, 
where the ROK's PRT will be deployed.  However, some members of the 
Taliban sneak into Parwan and come close to Bagram Air Base to fire 
 
SEOUL 00000287  004 OF 004 
 
 
rockets and then run away.  Also, U.S. troops remain on high alert 
because the Taliban attempt to set off  remote-controlled bombs when 
U.S. vehicles pass by. 
 
When I arrived at the center of area G, U.S. forces kept their 
armored vehicles in line and stood on both sides to start patrolling 
on foot.  When I deviated from the line for a moment to take 
pictures, Lieutenant Waddy approached and warned me not to get out 
of the line. 
 
The patrolling company first stopped by a police station which had a 
well located in the middle.  The building was reminiscent of the ROK 
in the 1950s.  Deputy Chief Nabi Kohestani welcomed the U.S. troops 
with a smile.  A soldier took out a large picture he took a few days 
prior.  The picture was of a U.S. soldier and an Afghan policeman 
sharing food together and putting their arms around each other's 
shoulders with a beaming smile.  One soldier said, "We became 
friendly with policemen in this area.  We have developed trust in 
each other." 
 
The Bravo Company went to the center of this area, which was packed 
with shops, together with the Afghan police.  U.S. troops have made 
it a rule to patrol this area with the Afghan police.  Sergeant 
Rodrigues of the company said, "We can minimize backlash from 
residents by patrolling with Afghan police."  U.S. forces also 
intend to increase residents' trust in them. 
 
Residents in this area are friendly toward U.S. troops.  U.S. forces 
frequently provide goods for residents and school supplies for 
students, striving to shore up their image as U.S. forces extending 
a helping hand to residents.  Also, many young Afghans have found 
jobs at Bagram Air Base.  Bagram Base, where tens of thousands of 
personnel are stationed, has had a considerable impact on the local 
economy. 
 
This (the impact on the economy) seems to be why residents now 
approach the patrolling U.S. forces without hesitation, and smile as 
they hold out their hands to shake (with the soldiers). (Afghan) 
children raise their thumbs (in appreciation) of the U.S. forces. 
Some of the children approach the armored vehicles, shouting, "Give 
me the money." 
 
During their patrol, U.S. forces receive and deal with suggestions 
from residents through an interpreter. 
 
By the time the patrol was over, a U.S. soldier was surrounded by 
ten Afghan residents.  A resident grabbed the young soldier, asking 
him to buy a chicken he brought.  The resident said, "Fifty, fifty," 
by which he meant the chicken costs fifty dollars.  The soldier 
refused with a smile, but the resident was persistent in his demand. 
 Other residents, who had been watching this, also implored the 
soldier to buy their chickens.  In the end, when the soldiers of the 
Bravo Company returned, two chickens were also aboard the MRAP 
vehicles.  They paid 10 dollars for each chicken. 
 
A soldier said, "We sometimes buy goods to develop friendships with 
local residents.  Today, I bought a very unique one."  Other 
soldiers nicknamed the two chickens that boarded the MRAP vehicles 
"combat chickens." 
 
 
TOKOLA