The State's Sexuality : Prostitution and Postcolonial Nation Building in South Korea / Park Jeong-Mi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Park, Jeong-Mi, 1976- author.

Series:

Asia Pacific modern ; Volume 20.

Asia Pacific Modern Series ; Volume 20

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prostitution--Korea (South)--History--20th century.

Prostitution.

Sex workers--Political aspects--Korea (South)--20th century.

Sex workers.

Prostitution--Government policy--Korea (South)--20th century.

Prostitution--Law and legislation--Korea (South)--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (295 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2024]

Summary:

The State's Sexuality uncovers how the lives and work of women engaged in prostitution, long considered the most abased members of society, have been strategically intertwined with the lofty purpose of building South Korea's postcolonial nation-state. Through a complicated, contradictory patchwork of laws and regulations, which Park Jeong-Mi conceptualizes as a "toleration-regulation regime," the South Korean state did not merely exclude sex workers from ordinary citizenship; it also mobilized them for national security, national development, and the making of a gendered citizenry. In the process, the newly independent state was constructed, augmented, and consolidated. Sex workers often protested such draconian policies and sometimes utilized state apparatuses to get recognition as citizens. Based on expansive, meticulous archival research and sophisticated interpretation of historical records and women's voices, Park rewrites the dynamic history of South Korea from 1945 to the present through the lens of prostitution.

Contents:

Introduction : Weaving prostitution into the narrative of the nation-state

The struggle for a new nationhood : the liberation, abolition campaign, and postcoloniality

Hot war, cold war, and patriotic prostitutes : prostitution for national security

"Pivotal workers to obtain foreign currency" : prostitution for national development

Ladies and gentlemen (and prostitutes) : the making of a national community and gendered citizenry

The feminist attempts to reconstruct a moral nation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780520396470

0520396472

OCLC:

1446799094