Well, how about putting a stop to prostitution for the sake of stopping prostitution?

When I saw the article titled "Brothel Bust Ignites Protest" I knew it was going to be good. A prostitution crack-down has been underway in Jangan-dong, apparently, since July 28th, and the pimps aren't happy, especially after one of their own hanged himself in a parking garage last week. Said the deceased:

``We are aware it's illegal. But there is no choice but to do this for a living at least for now. Please suspend the operation for a while and give us a chance to look for another job,'' Choi said in the will.

The death added fuel to the pimps' anger, leading them to take to streets Friday to protest against what they call the cleanup operation.

The police chief's resolve is unshaken, though:

Despite the backlash, Lee Jung-goo, chief of the Dongdaemun Police Station, reaffirmed he would not ease up on the crackdown until his district is recognized as ``prostitution-free zone.''

``I will put all my energy into eradicating the red-light district during my term since it has become a hotbed of tax evasion and other heinous crimes,'' Lee said.

Um . . . instead of eradicating the red-light district because it's a hotbed of human trafficking, indentured servitude, disease, and abuse? I'm not against a legal sex industry, but this article is just weird, go read it all. A minute-long video report here. In related news, the KOREA BEAT posted a translation of a Sports Seoul article on the sex industry. Damn, I haven't heard of most of those types of places.