Violence against women, SOS!

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The Korea Foundation for Women raises an SOS Fund every year to support a wide range of initiatives that help survivors of gender-based violence and promote violence prevention, so that women can live safely in our society.

With the SOS Fund raised in 2025, we will continue our work to respond to violence against women in 2026. Below, we would like to share the outcomes of the two projects supported by the 2025 SOS Fund.

Project 1. On-the-ground baseline study on cross-border online sexual and racial exploitation and rape culture

In August 2024, it was revealed that a group of Korean men active in Vietnam had been running a so-called “pakje-bang” (an “exposure” chatroom) on Telegram. More than 1,700 people participated in this chatroom, where they shared photos, videos, and personal information of Vietnamese women and engaged in ridicule and hate speech. It was also found that the chatroom had been in operation for more than five years.

Deeply concerned about this situation, the Korea Foundation for Women supported the following activities through the 2025 SOS Fund:

• Dispatched a team of experts to Vietnam to gather baseline data on the realities of cross-border online sexual and racial exploitation and rape culture involving Korean men

• Based on this, held a seminar reviewing current issues and relevant laws and systems in Korea and abroad, bringing the problem into public discussion and calling for structural responses from both the international community and the Korean government

• Carried out outreach activities with local organizations to share information on available support systems for survivors in Vietnam, and conducted offline campaigns in Korean-populated areas such as Korean towns, industrial complexes, and tourist destinations

Through this project, we were able to see that the rape culture targeting Vietnamese women, both online and offline, is one manifestation of structural violence created at the intersection of cross-border gender discrimination, racism, and capitalist inequality.

Working together with women’s organizations and shelters in Vietnam as well as various experts, we were also able to lay an important foundation for international solidarity toward a more gender-equal society.

Project 2. “Her Story” of Daeheung-dong, Pohang

Through the SOS Fund, we supported the publication of an interview collection titled Daeheung-dong Her Story: Those Who Open Closed Doors, which records memories and recovery processes related to the closure of a red-light district in Daeheung-dong, Pohang, South Korea.

Across the country, there has been an ongoing trend to shut down red-light districts. However, policy efforts have largely focused on ensuring that sex trade no longer takes place in these spaces. Women leaving the sex trade, however, need sufficient time and support to rebuild their lives and become economically independent, and such efforts have often faced opposition from local communities.

This project aimed not to conceal the history of the red-light district but to bring it to light, so that we can collectively recognize the human rights violations that occurred there and consider appropriate responses. To this end, we published an interview book capturing 12 diverse voices, including seven women with experience in the sex trade as well as local residents and merchants.

• Through the interview process, women with experience in the sex trade were able to share their stories with counselors, gaining opportunities for psychological healing and self-reflection.

• At the societal level, the project helped local communities to recognize and better understand issues surrounding red-light districts. It contributed to building public empathy for the exploitation and violations of women’s rights that took place there, and to shared recognition of the need for comprehensive support measures that help survivors rebuild their lives. The collection can also serve as an important historical archive, helping to ensure that the history of sexual exploitation is not repeated.

The Korea Foundation for Women works every year with a wide range of women’s public-interest organizations to consistently respond to gender-based violence. We look forward to your continued interest and support for the projects that will be carried out in 2026 with the funds raised in 2025.