{"id":2206996,"date":"2024-10-31T17:57:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T08:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2206996"},"modified":"2024-10-31T17:57:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T08:57:36","slug":"preserve-or-destroy-roks-last-venereal-disease-detention-center-sparks-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/10\/preserve-or-destroy-roks-last-venereal-disease-detention-center-sparks-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Preserve or destroy: ROK\u2019s last venereal disease detention center sparks debate"},"content":{"rendered":"
A two-story concrete building sits fenced off beside Dongducheon\u2019s Soyo Mountain entrance, partially obscured by barbed wire and overgrown vegetation. Peeling paint and collapsing ceilings reveal its age, and graffiti marks its walls.<\/span><\/p>\n To most visitors, the site is little more than a derelict structure, abandoned since 1996. However, for over two decades starting in 1973, this building served as a Venereal Disease (VD) Detention Center for comfort women.<\/span><\/p>\n While the term usually refers to women coerced into sex work for the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, the comfort women who were housed at this VD Detention Center were women who contracted sexually transmitted infections <\/span>after serving U.S. soldiers<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The ROK government, with support from the United States Forces Korea, established this and similar centers as part of a <\/span>\u201cclean-up\u201d campaign<\/span><\/a> aimed at regulating health standards around U.S. military bases.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, this abandoned detention center is the only one remaining in South Korea, and plans to demolish it and redevelop the area have led to a pressing debate among local activists, city officials and residents.<\/span><\/p>\n Activists argue that preserving it as a peace museum could foster historical education and acknowledgment of a painful chapter in U.S.-ROK relations but officials and residents argue that demolishing the site is the first step toward economic revitalization.<\/span><\/p>\n HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CIVIC CONCERNS<\/b><\/p>\n Dongducheon <\/span>purchased<\/span><\/a> the land from a private educational corporation, Shinheung Academy, in February 2023, which sparked immediate calls from women\u2019s groups and civic organizations to preserve the structure. By Aug. 2024, however, the city council had <\/span>allocated funds for its demolition<\/span><\/a>, intensifying the conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n Activists argue that demolition would erase significant history and prevent South Korea from fully addressing its past mistakes. They view preservation as essential for a complete reckoning with the past and a tribute to those who suffered systemic neglect and exploitation.<\/span><\/p>\n The stakes have risen as activists mobilize civil society groups, reaching beyond local boundaries to involve provincial lawmakers and representatives from the central government. Since Chuseok \u2014 South Korea\u2019s mid-autumn harvest festival \u2014 activists have <\/span>camped<\/span><\/a> near the building to prevent its demolition, clashing with local business owners who, alongside contracted demolition crews, seek economic revival.<\/span><\/p>\n For activists, the debate is not just about preserving a single building; it reflects unresolved national discussions on South Korea\u2019s alliance with the U.S., social justice and historical responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n