Yongjugol

Incoming Editorial·Verified August 21, 2026

The film begins with a belief: prostitution should disappear. It then turns to Yongjugol, a red-light district in Paju, where the closure of the area has sparked protests. Who are the people opposing its closure? Beyond familiar images of "crime scenes" and "brainwashed victims," Yongjugol is home to many different lives. Sex workers, activists, queer people, people living with mental illness, and other marginalized communities gather to declare that "life cannot be shut down." Even as they chant the same slogan, they remain strangers to one another. They resist easy definitions, and so do the relationships they form. As connections emerge, they develop their own strategies for protecting their lives from their respective positions. Their struggle invites us to reconsider the realities behind policies that seek to close red-light districts in the name of "women's rights."