Thursday, October 2, 2008

True Love Waits

According to the results of a study by the South Korean Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs reported in the Korea Times,

The age for being sexually active is steadily decreasing, which some suggest is due to youngsters easy access to Internet porn sites.

Of course! The "some" turns out to be one
Chung In-myung, secretary general of the Korean Youth Pure Love Movement, whom the Times dubs a "sex education expert." In a marvel of circular reasoning that would do any American abstinence-only advocate proud, Chung declared,

"The Internet should be blamed most for making youngsters more sexually active ... We have found nine out of ten youngsters begin watching pornography when they are junior high school students through the Internet. For those with a strong curiosity for sex, such films may motivate them to follow what they see.''


Probably more relevant are the "video rooms", which can be rented for about $10 to watch a movie (of any kind) in relative privacy; that beats a love motel, which costs a lot more. According to the survey, video rooms and karaoke rooms are " the most sought-after spot[s] among students for sex."

Maybe the Internet's sexually exciting images were also responsible for the protest of 22-year-old Kang Ui-seok, a law student at the elite Seoul National University. Kang appeared naked during an Army Day parade on October 1, waving a fake gun he'd made from snack food, which he then ate. Says The Hankyoreh (the source for the photo above):

According to police, Kang said that If Korea were to dissolve its army, it could help underdeveloped countries by saving the lives of starving children. In explaining his demonstration, Kang said that he had appeared in the nude to symbolize the condition of being unarmed and was meant to evoke peace and nonviolence.

The police booked him on charges of obscenity later that day.