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| Sex dolls displayed on the website of a local company selling the products / Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
The government's latest decision to scrap a ban on imports of life-size sex dolls has reignited debates on sex doll experience cafes where customers pay money to enjoy the products in a private space.
The Korea Customs Service announced on Monday it will lift the ban on the import of complete-bodied sex dolls, ending a years-long dispute with importers of the products. Although there are currently no laws specifically prohibiting the import of sex dolls, customs authorities had been seizing most of them, citing a clause that bans the import of goods that may harm public morals.
The customs agency's move came after a series of court rulings sided with the importers by saying that the use of sex dolls should be left to individual discretion. The authorities, however, stressed that child-like sex dolls and those resembling certain people will continue to be banned.
The lifting of import bans came as good news to owners of sex doll experience shops that have been increasing here in recent years. These shops offer customers a chance to enjoy the sex dolls at a private place. Now that the import ban is lifted, the shops will be able to provide their clients with more product options, not limited to domestically manufactured ones.
But the operation of such businesses in Korea is still in a legal gray zone, with opponents describing them as a "new form of sex trafficking."
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| A sex doll experience shop operating at a commercial building / Korea Times file |
Under current laws, sex doll shops and cafes are classified as "free business" types, and thus running the business itself is not illegal. It is also not subject to the Special Law on Sex Trade, as the use of sex dolls does not involve the sex trade.
However, the facilities are subject to the Children Protection Act, which prohibits adult entertainment establishments from operating within a 200-meter radius of schools. But opening a sex doll experience shop near private cram schools, parks and other places children can gather is not a violation of laws.
Last year, a sex doll shop was found to be operating in the same building with a child consultation center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, leading to protests by residents and parents. But the local authorities could not find legal grounds to regulate the business.
Due to an absence of proper guidelines and regulations on sex doll shops, last year, the police launched a crackdown on such facilities based on the Child Protection Act and Building Act.
Jang Yoon-mi, a spokesperson at the Korea Women Lawyers Association, said now that the government has decided officially to legalize the import of sex dolls, there should be strict and detailed guidelines on the use and distribution of the products.
"Keeping the businesses in the shadows may lead to adverse effects and make it more difficult for the authorities to monitor the legitimacy of such facilities in the long term. Based on social consensus, related authorities should establish concrete guidelines on how and where these businesses can operate," she told The Korea Times.
She also pointed out that there don't seem to be detailed standards on determining whether a sex doll is child-like or not.
"How are they going to tell whether the doll has mimicked a girl, an adolescent or an adult's body? There's going to be a lot of confusion about this," said Jang.
Legal issues aside, sex doll experience shops are likely to continue to operate in the shadows due to the backlash from women's rights groups, who claim that sex dolls fuel the sexual objectification of women.
The National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women, a coalition of women's rights groups condemned the custom agency's move, which they view will spur the sex doll market.
"Following a court ruling that allowed the import of sex dolls (in 2019), hundreds of sex doll experience shops ― which are no different from illegal brothels ― have popped up in the country. The authorities are turning a blind eye saying that there are no legal grounds to regulate them. The custom agency's decision will only worsen the problem," it said in a statement.
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