Citizens vote during the midterm elections 07 November, 2006, at a polling station located in an car dealership in Glendale, California, 10 miles (16.6 km) north of Los Angeles,California. Republican control of Congress is in the balance today as voters cast their ballots across the nation. Democrats mining public discontent over President George W. Bush's war in Iraq battled to break the Republican stranglehold in Congress Tuesday, as millions of Americans went to the polls. Democratic leaders predicted they would recapture the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994, but needed to pull off a less likely clean sweep of battleground seats to seize the Senate. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK



Visit Singing Room Under Control

A singing room near Yon-san intersection in Yon-je Gu, an entertainment district, at 11 pm on November 3. A business owner willingly greeted a police control squad at first, but when the squad showed identification, the owner instantly turned pale and waved her hands. Owner Jeong (52) said, with a tearful face, “We do not have customers, to say nothing of helpers. I can’t even start the business after opening the shop three hours ago.”

The situation goes the same way for singing rooms near Yon-cheon-jang in Dong-rae Gu. Nearby singing rooms used to be crowded, with customers even lining up outside. Currently, the sound of accompaniment is running through entertainment businesses, feeling empty, but there is no trace of customers’ singing.

A business owner said, “Most customers turn their footsteps away when they hear ‘No mistress’. Sales went down to half of what they were during the last several days and I am seriously considering I might close down the shop.”
A singing room with bright lights near Soo-young intersection in Soo-young Gu at the same time. A police control force was about to storm into the place, but the basement entrance was locked fast. A restriction policy of the government was extensively spread around the town and information on patrol races all the time through connections among business owners. To avoid control, police presume that the owners install CCTV that inspects the area around the entrance or they lock the gate and take only regular customers, having secret business operations.

Police find it difficult to prove the reality after attacking a site that is suspected of operating the business with singing helpers. It is difficult even when separately interviewing the persons concerned because the parties claim they are an actual couple, but they previously exchanged personal information and contact numbers between customers and helpers.

On the day of inspection, 101 people from the Busan regional police and the district officers prosecuted a sex trade agent, eleven illegal sales of liquor, 44 liquor keeping and tacit approvals, six alterations of gambling machines, two non-registrations, three violations of facility standards and three others. There were a total of 74 businesses conducting illegal actions. The inspection started from 10 pm and lasted four hours. However, operation with singing helpers, which was a main target of this restriction, was nowhere to be found.

Apart from troubled singing room businesses, people crowd to entertainment bars where they are allowed to hire helpers and owners are blessed with ‘reflected profit’. Customer Lee (48) at an entertainment bar in Seo-myeon, Busan Jin Gu complained, “I came here because no singing rooms can offer singing helper service. It doesn’t make much difference whether you call helpers or not. It just doesn’t make any sense for expensive entertainment bars being okay with helpers, but reasonably priced singing rooms aren’t okay."

This investigation not only lacked effectiveness, but it is also predicted to be a one-time optional step. Some A, an owner of sex trade agent said, “Singing rooms where they have some connection with public servants are not under control. Owners of those singing rooms tell mistresses to take a holiday for a little while since it would be just a flash inspection."

A total of around 35,000 singing rooms are currently registered throughout the nation at the end of October and some 2,800 businesses are in operation in the Busan region.
/ 입력시간: 2006. 11.04. 08:58