100 years ago, the reality of human trafficking and women’s rights revealed in photos[청계천 옆 사진관]

Centennial Photo No. 77

This week’s photo chosen by Baeknyeon Photo is a photo from the September 2, 1924 edition of the Dong-A Ilbo on page 2. It is an article about Nam Seong-ryong, a human trafficker who sold young women to Russia, being investigated by the police. This incident is a case that clearly reveals the structural problems of society at the time, as well as the distorted perception of women.

First, let’s take a look at the article. Bukhwatae (北樺太) refers to North Sakhalin Island.

The Evils of Trafficking Women (02 September 1924)

Four women have already been sold to the snowy northern fireflies, lured by the blood-sucking ones. No matter how hard people try to eat and wear, and no matter how many sins there are in the world, the most evil are the devil’s female merchants who openly sell human flesh. Although this is not a new thing these days, it is a well-known fact that whenever we come across many poor women being sold to the scene, we keenly feel the flaws of the modern social system. As an example, Nam Yong-seok, who set up shop in the town of Danchon, South Hamgyong Province, and at the time put up a sign saying “The Three Harmonies of Contracting Business” in the port of Bukhwatae (北樺太; editor’s note: Alexandravsk), and also set up a restaurant called Daebokru (大福樓) in Seojeong (曙町) and set up a human flesh market, luring poor young women from all over the land and sea and sucking their blood, came to Gyeongseong City a few days ago with about 5,000 won in cash. While staying at the Pyongyang Inn at No. 74, North American Jangjeong, he contacted the goons who were flocking from all over and bought four women. Among them, Shin Ja-geum (申子今, 20), whose registered address was Geumcheon-myeon, Pyeongsan-gun, Hwanghae-do, was living a difficult life with her husband in Guryongsan at the time, and Lee Ok-sun (李玉順), who was also living a difficult life in Mugyojeong, were both women who had been managing their households until then, but either their fates were the same or they had parted ways with their husbands and become food for the devil. In addition, two women were Kim Hwa-won (金花園, 19), who was living at No. 233, Dalseong-jeong, Daegu-bu, and Choi Ik-seon (崔益善, 19), who was living at No. 40, Supari, Seoheung-myeon, Seoheung-gun, Hwanghae-do. Their ransoms were worth a maximum of 300 won and a minimum of 180 won, and the period of sale was 4 years. They say it is Dong-an, but they will soon make an unexpected trip to Bukhwa-tae in Loryong, where the snow is fluttering and the cold wind bites their bodies. Two weeks ago, Nam Yong-seok sent his clerk Sim Ju-taek to Pyongyang Inn and bought six women, so now about 30 poor Korean women are becoming food for the devil in Bukhwa-tae. The innkeeper Hang Bong-chan has also put up a sign saying that it is an inn, but he secretly works as a go-between and buys women, and it seems that he fills his stomach with money. A young woman named Bang Yeong-ja (方英子·20), who lives at 225 Sajik-dong, dresses up as a schoolgirl and comes and goes from the house day and night, luring women from all over the place. The people in the neighborhood seem to be criticizing her a lot, but it seems that there is still a lot of criticism from the people in the neighborhood. As mentioned earlier, how many women does Nam Yong-seok trade? There are many people coming and going from that house and gossiping, so it seems like it is a very suspicious den of human trafficking. He was summoned to the Seodaemun Police Station’s High-ranking Division and is currently being questioned.

● To summarize the article, the police are investigating a human trafficking case in which a man named Yong-seok Nam from Danchon County, South Hamgyong Province, deceived Korean women and sold them to Bukhwa-tae, Russia (now North Sakhalin). Yong-seok Nam used the Pyongyang Inn in Gyeongseong as a base to bribe four women, who were each sold for 180 to 300 won over a period of four years. Yong-seok Nam’s clerk also bribed six more women and sent them to Russia. The case is being investigated by the police, and the inn owner and a woman disguised as an exchange student have also been implicated in human trafficking. What’s interesting here is that Yong-seok Nam took photographs while committing human trafficking. In contrast to many independence activists at the time who did not take photographs to avoid leaving behind evidence, Yong-seok Nam left behind evidence that could reveal his crimes, which raises questions.
There are several reasons for this. First, he may have treated the women as commodities and taken pictures as part of a transaction. He may have used the pictures to show potential buyers the women’s appearances and used them as “advertisements.” Second, the pictures may have been a tool to threaten and control the women. He may have used the pictures to leave warnings like “don’t even think about running away” and continue his crimes secretly.

At that time, Joseon society had a severe lack of concept of human rights, and there were also insufficient solutions to the structural problems that caused women to become victims of such crimes.

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2024-09-07 20:01:33